Content Engagement Conversation - City of Centennial

Our guest on Thursday, 2/27/2020 was Stewart Meek, Economic Development Specialist with the City of Centennial, discussing the Streets at SouthGlenn redevelopment project. Below are the key takeaways from the conversation.

Background Information

The Streets at SouthGlenn is a mixed-use center in Centennial, CO. The owner-developers are considering changes to the Master Development Plan (MDP) to allow for additional redevelopment which may include retail, residential, office, and entertainment uses. The City has created a webpage and emails out a newsletter to share information about the project. A number of concerned residents have come together and formed a group called “Neighbors for the Streets at SouthGlenn”, which has its own webpage and sends out its own newsletter. There has been some local media coverage of the project. A formal application has not yet been submitted to the City.

Challenges

• There is a lot of complicated information to convey about the project such as zoning, financing, the ownership structure, different development phases, and approval criteria.
• Hundreds of comments have been received from residents before an actual application has been submitted.
• The neighborhood group has independent communication with the developer and sometimes has new information before the City. The group has also released information without fact-checking. This makes it look like City is behind the ball or not being truthful.

Key Questions That Emerged

• What is the appropriate level of detail to share, when, and how?
• What is the best way to collect comments and questions, and how do you group the comments without imposing bias?
• How can the City be seen as the trusted voice?

Group Suggestions

• Have a simple, visually appealing landing page or fact sheet on the project webpage so people can quickly view the basics, then include links to more information for people who want to dig deeper. View the City of Bridgeport zoning code rewrite page as an excellent example.
• Provide multiple ways for people to comment. A general comment form allows people to vent, while more focused comment options enable people with specific comments to make them where appropriate. Online engagement givers visitors the ability to see and respond to each other’s comments, which is a useful tool to help filter out the vocal minority. The image below is an example of how comments can be directly embedded with a PDF document. You can also see it in action on the Leavenworth County Comprehensive Plan webpage.
• The City of Centennial hired a facilitator to run the community meeting, and also prepare a summary report of the comments received. This helped remove the perception of bias associated with City staff summarizing the comments.
• The City may want to have a candid discussion with the developer about how they may be undermining their own project by sharing information directly with residents before sharing it with the City.

We Want to Hear From You!

What additional suggestions or ideas do you have? Share them in the comments below!

Konveio OpenLab was our bi-weekly web meeting during the start of the pandemic where we discussed the content engagement challenges of clients or followers. The goal was to explore solutions together, both with input from the Konveio team and other participants and learn from each other along the way.

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