Shaping Orange County's Future Final Full Report

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THE CITIZENS' ROUNDTABLE "A PROPOSAL OF THE SHAPING ORANGE COUNTY'S FUTURE TASK FORCE Background/Rationale The Citizens' Roundtable has been described in the SOCF 2030 Vision as a modern substitute for the "public squares of an earlier America," places where citizens met regularly in villages and towns to share ideas related to the new nation, its government, and its people. Unlike most current advisory boards in Orange County and its municipalities which have a specific focus and purpose (i.e. the Planning Board, the Board of Adjustment, the Recreation Commission), the Citizens Roundtable would engage citizens in the discussion and analysis of a broad range of concerns and issues related to our countywide community life. As we begin a new century and a new millennium, we look back on a period of recent history within which our diversity has seemed more important than our unity; what divides us more compelling than what draws us together. Clearly, that diversity itself, coupled with the mobility of modern life and the electronic technology which has changed our workplaces, social habits, and ways of communication, are all responsible for this "degree of separation" our society is experiencing. It would appear that we have less common history, less sense of place, and far fewer opportunities to interact directly with one another than was the case years ago. As we assess these new realities, many of us wonder how we can connect as citizens and neighbors to develop and sustain common values. Thus, we search for meaningful tasks that bring us together work and ideas that we share, and plans to which we can all contribute. Purposes In setting forth the purposes of The Citizens' Roundtable, it is important to note first, that much of the thrust for this idea comes from the success of the Shaping Orange County's Future initiative and the work of the Task Force established to lead this effort. Thus, the SOCF Task Force serves as the model for The Roundtable concept, the model for engaging citizens in community issues and ongoing community planning. For more than three years, this group of thirty citizens, appointed by the County Commissioners from a list of volunteers expressing interest in the project, and supported by county and municipal planning staff, has worked together to identify community values and, with those providing direction, to articulate a positive vision of what Orange County could be like thirty years from now. The purposes of The Citizens' Roundtable will be much the same, that is, to provide citizens from throughout the county with a place for informal discussion of ideas and concerns of special importance to them as well as to the larger community and its quality of life. The Citizens' Roundtable will also serve as a sounding board for ideas and plans on which the elected boards would like citizen feedback. But most important of all, The Citizens' Roundtable will review progress on the SOCF recommendations, as presented to the County Commissioners and the Council of Governments in June, 2000, and make an annual report to those bodies. Additionally, the group will look at changing conditions and suggest "course corrections" to the original recommendations.