River Road-Santa Clara Neighborhood Plan <br />Engagement Summary <br /> <br />Page 3 of 11 <br /> <br />section of residents. Small group meetings were held with high school students, affordable housing <br />residents, Spanish speakers, and rural residents in Santa Clara. In addition, a group of neighborhood <br />volunteers and City and County staff did door-to-door canvassing of local businesses to gather their <br />input on the neighborhood. <br />• Rural Santa Clara: SCCO includes rural residents who live beyond the urban growth boundary (UGB). <br />Members of this community are more unlikely to participate in broader neighborhood workshops <br />that are not tailored to their unique geographic location. The project staff and volunteers thought it <br />was important to target outreach efforts at these constituencies. A rural Santa Clara workshop in <br />December 2017 attracted over 20 participants. <br />• Business Canvassing: Regardless of whether <br />business owners and employees reside in the <br />neighborhood, they have a stake in the outcome of <br />the neighborhood planning process. However, they <br />are often tied to their workplace and may not be <br />able to attend conventional neighborhood <br />outreach events. Community volunteers and <br />project staff made a concerted effort to reach out <br />to businesses in the River Road and Santa Clara <br />neighborhoods. In November and December 2017, <br />neighborhood volunteers teamed with City and <br />County staff to conduct door-to-door outreach. <br />These pairs spoke with nearly 300 businesses along River Road and in other commercial areas <br />throughout the neighborhoods. They promoted the planning process, conducted interviews, and <br />encouraged business owners and employees to get involved. <br />• Inclusive Outreach: Building a foundation of trust and democracy starts with understanding who has <br />a stake in the outcome of the project and how and when they can participate. Public meetings are <br />often filled with elderly, white, middle-class people listening to public servants slogging through long <br />presentations. To involve youth, low-income residents, people with disabilities, and communities of <br />color, project staff and community volunteers forged relationships with community partners who <br />have earned the trust and respect of historically marginalized community groups through consistent <br />service. Working in collaboration with organizations such as Saint Vincent De Paul, Food for Lane <br />County, and the school districts, the project involved people who do not typically attend public <br />meetings. <br />This targeted outreach to rural Santa Clara residents, the business community, and historically <br />marginalized community groups helped diversify the voices involved in the neighborhood planning <br />process. The values, hopes, and concerns expressed by these stakeholders were balanced with those <br />expressed by other members of the public to create a comprehensive community vision. <br /> <br />City staff and community volunteers <br />canvassing neighborhood businesses