Town of Oro Valley

The Town of Oro Valley’s rapidly growing and increasingly diverse population presented a challenge for updating the Town’s General Plan. The goal was to involve as many residents as possible in identifying goals and priorities to guide decision making, as the Town’s demographics and needs had changed substantially since the previous 2005 plan.

Our Involvement

Gordley worked with the Town to develop a comprehensive public participation plan with strategies to involve residents and build a climate of collaboration, ownership and support for the Plan. We worked with the jurisdiction to brainstorm ideas and formed a citizen’s group that ultimately became ambassadors as we trained residents to, in turn, be trainers for the outreach process. 

Our public participation plan included ample opportunity for a variety of traditional and non-traditional methods of participation. The plan included a statistically projectable telephone survey and the design, launch and implementation of the region’s first use of MindMixer, an innovative online social media technology that encouraged community involvement and conversations between participants. From small group meetings to community pie socials, our team managed a process by which residents became invested in and positive about the outreach process and resulting General Plan. 

Outcomes

This public involvement effort was so effectively planned, comprehensive and successful that it built a unique community connection with the planning process that won awards at both the national and state level. 

Your Voice, Our Future