Post-submittal Facilitated Meetings for Proposed Development
Facilitated meetings after an application has been submitted to the City's review/decision process are an opportunity for an applicant to meet with neighborhood associations, neighborhood coalitions, or property owners to discuss a proposed project in a meeting facilitated by the City Legal Department's Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) land use mediators.
Who Can Request a Facilitated Meeting
For some types of applications, the Integrated Development Ordinance (IDO) allows Neighborhood Associations or Neighborhood Coalitions within 660 feet of the proposed project and/or property owners within 330 feet of the project to request a facilitated meeting. If requested in time, and the facilitated meeting is required for that type of decision, the City will not make a final decision on the application until the facilitated meeting has happened, and the summary has been provided to participants and the decision-making body.
- IDO Table 6-1-1 establishes which applications are eligible for a Facilitated Meeting request.
- IDO Subsection 14-16-6-4(K) establishes the required timelines for the meeting request for different types of decisions.
Even if the City doesn't require a facilitated meeting, any two parties can still agree to use ADR's free services to have a facilitated discussion to help resolve issues, leverage opportunities, understand constraints and challenges, and find areas of mutual benefit. Requests can be made directly through the City's Alternative Dispute Resolution webpage. ADR's land use dispute mediation is a City service available to anyone at any time.
How to Request a Facilitated Meeting
If the facilitated meeting is about a proposed project associated with an application under review by the Planning Department, Neighborhood Associations or Neighborhood Coalitions can email [email protected] to request a facilitated meeting.
Requests must include, at a minimum, the following information:
- The project number and case number of the proposed project.
- The address of the proposed project.
- The name of the requesting Neighborhood Association or Coalition and contact information for ADR to use to schedule the facilitated meeting.
- Why a post-submittal facilitated meeting is being requested.
- What specific items are requested to be discussed.
- What outcomes are wanted from the discussion.
- A commitment to negotiating with the applicant in good faith about how the proposed development could be changed to lessen anticipated negative impacts on the surrounding area in ways that can reasonably be accommodated by the proposed development.
In general, Neighborhood Associations and Coalitions are encouraged to share any concerns they have about a project with the facilitator prior to the facilitated meeting so that they can be passed on to the applicant in advance. This allows the applicant the opportunity to prepare their presentation to address them and makes the conversation at the meeting more productive for everyone.
What to Expect from a Facilitated Meeting
Outcomes from the meeting may vary, but note that the City's decision-making body can only implement those that are within its purview according to the specifics of the application and the site (if applicable) as established by the IDO.
These discussions are opportunities to address issues, answer questions, explore opportunities, and resolve conflicts. For many application types, the City may not be able to condition an approval based on what is agreed upon between the parties involved in the facilitated meeting. Private agreements between parties that involve what gets developed that go beyond what the City requires through the IDO would need to be documented and enforced by the parties to the agreement. The parties could use ADR's free services to resolve issues as they arise, or private agreements can be addressed by the courts.