As part of its mission to boost engagement with community residents, the County of Marin has debuted a new online tool designed to make it easier for people to provide feedback on a variety of program and projects – especially for residents who have a tough time attending public hearings in person.
Open Marin is a web-based civic forum that expands options for participation in County government. It encourages dialogue on specific issues and allows constituents to read what others are saying about hot-button topics.
“The County is excited to launch this new program to provide an additional venue for community involvement and transparency in important policy decisions facing Marin County,” said Judy Arnold, President of the Marin County Board of Supervisors. “The more people we are able to engage and the more feedback we are able to receive will help make both our County government and community stronger.”
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The first topic on Open Marin is the Stream Conservation Area Ordinance, which is scheduled for consideration by the Planning Commission beginning April 1. If passed, the ordinance would expand existing stream protections to establish stream setbacks and permitting procedures for development near streams. The County’s Community Development Agency is seeking input from residents who might be impacted by the ordinance or have strong feelings about it.
“The Community Development Agency is excited to be participating in the launch of Open Marin,” said Suzanne Thorsen, a planner with the agency. “We hope that residents will share their questions and feedback with us, and in turn their statements will be provided to County officials for consideration in their decision process.”
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Open Marin will prove most handy for community members who can’t attend public hearings because of work schedules, family commitments, travel and other “real life” events. Residents can still send an email, mail a letter or attend a public meeting to share thoughts with County officials.
First-time Open Marin users will be asked for a name and home address so that County officials and other Open Marin users know which statements come from local residents. All personal information is kept confidential through a privacy agreement.
Open Marin is based on the Open Town Hall tool offered by Peak Democracy, a non-partisan software company whose mission is to build public trust in government. Based in Berkeley, Calif., Peak Democracy has worked with more than 50 government agencies across the United States to power more than 900 online forums. The user satisfaction rate is greater than 95 percent.
“This is a milestone in how the County does business,” said Mona Miyasato, Chief Assistant County Administrator.
You can read what others are saying about the proposed stream conservation ordinance and share your own opinion at marincounty.org/openmarin.
