Deliberation Falls Church City

Video highlights & survey results for fall deliberations

Ninety-seven people who live or work in Falls Church City deliberated on October 25 and 27 about the future of the City Center. They met in small groups; they engaged a panel of city leaders; and, they proposed actions that individuals, community groups and government should take with respect to information sharing, community and citizen engagement, and city policies.  In a post-event survey, two-thirds of 73 respondents called for better information via the City website on City Center developments. 

There is interest in a possible spring deliberation on the topic, What Does It Mean For Falls Church to Be An Independent City?

Video clips

Click on the hyperlinks below to view YouTube clips that highlight themes struck at the deliberations.  The YouTube clip will open and play in your web browser.

Questions, suggestions & conversation - Various deliberators (8 minutes, 29 seconds)

How we got here - Peter Holran (3:31)

What it should be and how to finance it - Steve Rogers (4:56) and Gary LaPorta (3:38)

VPIS' perspective - Keith Thurston (4:19)

Architects' perspectives - Paul Barkley (4:09) and Paul Emmons (5:18)

Ways forward - Pete Behr (4:33) and Wyatt Shields (6:25)

Survey ranks deliberators' action ideas

Deliberators suggested 32 actions that individuals, community organizations or government should take regarding the future of the City Center.  In a subsequent online survey, 73 respondents rated those suggestions.  Two of the highest rated suggestions were:

·    Keep City website on City Center up to date (84% rated this Most Important)
·    Create a website that consolidates all City Center information to give citizens current information in one place (78% rated this Most Important)

A suggestion for an "e-development newsletter" got significantly less support (48% ranked this Most Important).  The survey results resonate in the YouTube clip remarks by one deliberator that citizens should not need to attend public meetings in order to be up to speed on City Center developments.

As found by a survey after deliberations last spring, large majorities of respondents want more community organizations and individuals to engage in City affairs through voting, civic action, and other means. 

The highest-rated policy suggestion on the City Center was that sidewalks be wider than 14 feet, which 60% of respondents rated Most Important.

The complete results of the survey can be accessed in PDF form by clicking here.  The discussion guide, What is the Future for the City Center? can be accessed in PDF form by clicking here.

What deliberation can do and has done in Falls Church City

Deliberation Falls Church City offers a chance to be heard, and a reason to listen.  Over 250 people have deliberated, responded to surveys, or otherwise gotten more involved in community life through deliberation this year.

Deliberation is a tool for use in community education and, if widely desired, community problem-solving.  Deliberators sometimes change their minds based on what they hear; for a few, deliberating is a catalyst to action.  More often, deliberators gain a better understanding of differing' points of view; they come to value deliberation as a safe public space in which to speak and learn about crucial public issues.

The two sets of deliberations undertaken in 2007 in Falls Church City were educational, not problem-solving.  This was intended.  Educational deliberations aim to raise civic engagement, a goal which deliberators have endorsed.  Problem-solving deliberations are used in communities where the political process is deadlocked or a failure; deliberators have not suggested that is the case in Falls Church City.

Deliberation Falls Church City is an experimental effort to determine whether and how deliberation can play a useful role in a functioning body politic.

Some of the most appreciative deliberators have been new residents of the City.  We hope to keep extending the reach of the deliberations and diversify participation more.  Our primary means to do so is via sponsoring community organizations, and via the DFCCVA website and our email list. 

You can help. 

• Send a friend a link to this post with the suggestion they join our e-mail list by visiting www.DFCCVA.org  and entering their email address into the "Get email updates" box.

• Ask us to speak about deliberation to your neighborhood association or community organization.  Just write us at Steering@DFCCVA.org.

Spring deliberations

After the fall deliberations a group of volunteers met and discussed a possible topic for a spring deliberation: What does it mean for Falls Church to be an independent city? This topic could be an issue for deliberation prior to the upcoming City Council elections.

Thank you for taking an interest in deliberation in Falls Church City.

Rate Deliberators' Action Ideas on the Future of the City Center

Ninety-seven people who live, work or own a business in Falls Church City turned out on October 25 and 27 to deliberate on the future of the City Center. They proposed ideas for actions that individuals, community groups and government should take with respect to information sharing, community and citizen engagement, and city policies.  We invite you now to rate these ideas in an online survey.  The survey results will be included in a public report on the October deliberations. It will be issued before Thanksgiving.

Anyone who lives, works, or owns a business in the city is invited to take the survey.   Click here to take the survey now.  The survey will open in your computer's web browser.  The survey should take ten minutes or less to complete.

Looking ahead, the survey invites you also to rate topic ideas for Spring Deliberations 2008.  The topic ideas, like the action ideas, are from participants in the October deliberations. The last pages of the survey request information about you.

The survey period ends on Friday November 9 at 12:00 a.m. 

In a survey after a deliberation last spring 130 respondents called for greater civic engagement on the matter of "The City of Falls Church - What Are We Becoming?"  They emphasized that more citizens should vote and join City boards and commissions and civic groups, and that the City should reach out in specific new ways to better inform the community.  As School Board Chair Craig Cheney promised, the Falls Church City Public Schools subsequently posted the schools' strategic plan prominently on its redesigned website.  A summary report on last spring’s follow-up survey is available by clicking here.

Deliberation offers a chance to be heard, and a reason to listen. Thank you for taking an interest in deliberation in Falls Church City.

Spring Deliberation Day 2007: Trade-offs & Common Ground

Deliberation Day 2007 took place on Saturday March 17, 2007 in Falls Church City, Virginia.  The topic was "Falls Church City - What Are We Becoming?"  An online survey followed, to rate suggestions by participants on what individuals, community organizations and government should do.  A full report, the results of the survey, a partial transcript and comments from survey respondents are at the links on the left.  You are encouraged to comment on any of these by clicking on the comment button below.  Your comments are moderated and will generally appear on this site within twelve hours.  We hope, in this way, to keep the deliberation going.

Deliberation Day provided a safe public space for those well-versed and those new to City affairs to engage one another and learn.  In response to stated desires for greater consultation and involvement, the event's Steering Committee is considering whether to stage mini-deliberations this Fall to reach out to a greater share of the City population.  Watch this space for news or join our mailing list by sending a blank message to List@DFCCVA.org.

On Deliberation Day participants identified three key trade-offs affecting decisions on the City's future:

• How to balance the City's environment between its village legacy and a more urban future.  They wanted the City to remain a unique place, but did not agree on how a village sensibility can co-exist with a more urban look and feel.

• Application of the City's master plan was cited by some as too susceptible to exceptions for developers.  Others countered that the City's use of the special exception ordinance has restored economic momentum and enabled the City to bargain effectively with developers.

• Fiscal Responsibility:  Some argued that urban-style redevelopment along the commercial corridors is the best way to sustain the City financially.  Others countered this sacrifices the character that has made the City an attractive residential community, and called for less City spending instead.

The participants and a panel of City officials identified consultation and citizen involvement as common ground: the more consultation and involvement, the better.  Respondents to the online poll emphasized that more citizens should vote, volunteer for City boards and commissions, and take part actively in civic affairs. For more information on what they said, click on the links at left to see some or all of the report.

The purpose of the report is to encourage continued deliberation about the future of Falls Church City.  It does not provide answers or solutions to the challenges the City faces, but rather, it highlights the trade-offs and the common ground that emerged at Deliberation Day on March 17, 2007.

The challenges faced by the City today will return repeatedly for consideration as new opportunities and problems arise.  The need for deliberation, in order to reconfirm or redefine what the trade-offs are and what the common ground is, will continue.

Establishing common ground is particularly important.  It is a means to set achievable community goals, on which individuals, community organizations and government then must act.  Cycles of deliberation and action can bind a community more closely together.

Deliberation Falls Church City
May 11, 2007