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a <br /> i <br /> i <br /> i <br /> ;i <br /> MEMORANDUM <br /> TO: Beyond the Basics Participants <br /> FROM: John Shardlow, Institute Presider <br /> RE: Practical Advice for Conducting Public Hearings (meetings) <br /> INTRODUCTION <br /> Community Planning is a governmental process that both directly and indirectly affects the <br /> rights and responsibilities of citizens. As altruistic as one's objectives may be in <br /> undertaking a community planning effort, it will inevitably involve the restriction of the <br /> rights of some and place some additional economic burdens on others. <br /> Our American System of Laws contains guarantees and safeguards to protect the rights of <br /> individuals and land owners. It also provides local governments with the authority to plan <br /> and to pass laws (ordinances) to restrict and limit the rights of individuals and landlords, <br /> to serve the greater common good. <br /> Public hearings and public meetings include the presentation, deliberation, and ultimately <br /> the decisions regarding proposed governmental actions. Such actions might include the <br /> amendment of a portion of a comprehensive plan, a change to some standard within the <br /> zoning ordinance, or the approval, modification, or denial of an application. <br /> When all is said and done, all of the issues involved in such meetings can be divided into <br /> two categories. The first category is the purpose that the governmental body seeks to <br /> achieve in taking the action, e.g., the end to be achieved. The review of these issues <br /> focus on whether these objectives are within the scope of the governmental authority and <br /> will, in fact, serve a legitimate purpose. The second category of issues focuses on the <br /> reasonableness of the means to achieve the stated purpose. Does it unfairly discriminate <br /> against, place a disproportionate burden on one group more than another, or is it simply <br /> unreasonable for any of a number of other reasons. <br /> Public hearings, therefore, must serve a dual purpose. They must first involve a complete <br /> presentation of what is being proposed. In other words, they should include a complete <br /> disclosure of what is being considered and a fair and open assessment of the issues raised <br />