As part of any successful and meaningful planning process, it is crucial to have community participation and involvement throughout the entire process.
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The Encanto Neighborhoods area has been a focus of several planning efforts in recent years. One of these major efforts started in the Fall of 1995 with the Euclid Place³s project. This project involved development of a planning method focused on a 500-acre area surrounding the Euclid Avenue Trolley Station. The site was selected at that time because of its transit opportunities, potential for redevelopment in the area, cultural diversity, and active citizen participation. The product of this effort was a plan which addresses reduction of energy consumption to help households save money; creation of jobs and attracting businesses into the area; reduction of dependency on automobiles and reduction of air pollution, as well as creation of parks and open space. Subsequent to the Euclid Place³s project, several of the community members involved in that process continued their active participation in the planning of their community. A good example of this participation is when several community members opposed establishment of a produce distribution center along Market Street across from the Malcolm X Library in 1999. The Euclid Market Action Team (EMAT) was then formed out of these previous efforts to allow direct community participation in community planning activities and projects.
Following these efforts, community members wanted the opportunity to develop a master plan for the area around Euclid Avenue/Market Street prompting the City of San Diego Planning Department to pursue grant funding to support this request. Other community-based organizations, such as Jacobs Center for Nonprofit Innovation, have also been involved in the process and assisting the community with production of the master plan document. |
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In the case of this planning process, the creation of the master plan document was the result of numerous community meetings as outlined below:
- Kick-off Meeting: An opportunity to introduce community members to the master planning process and to invite them to participate in the process.
- Planning Circles: Working groups of residents came together in their own homes to share their visions for the community. Twenty-three "Planning Circles" met weekly over a three-week period to discuss the strengths, weaknesses, threats and opportunities in the community.
- The Planning Framework: Results from the Planning Circles were used to develop the framework for the rest of the planning process. This phase bridged the Planning Circles with the more formal, in-depth planning that would take place with the Charrettes.
- Charrettes: Group exercises that allowed residents to work with planning consultants in preparing the master plan document. A total of five charrettes were held over a period of almost two months in order to develop the master plan.
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In order to take the master plan effort to the next level, the community was once again involved in the next phase of this planning process. This phase involved preparation of specific design guidelines that address the master plan document recommendations; preparation of detailed urban design/landscape architectural plans for commercial core areas identified by community members via the charrettes that were held in the community; and preparation of a detailed pedestrian/bicycle network plan that interconnects all parks, schools, residential areas and major land uses. |
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