On May 29, 1973, former Gov. Tom McCall signed into law SB 100. This landmark legislation moved Oregon into the vanguard of growth management efforts and put into motion the creation and adoption of statewide planning goals to govern the development of local comprehensive land use plans. The first of Oregon’s nineteen statewide planning goals emphasizes that each governing body should create a program of citizen involvement to allow the public to be involved in ongoing land use planning. The first step for most planning projects is to determine a citizen involvement process that is appropriate to the scale of the planning effort.

Citizen involvement ideally captures a broad spectrum of affected residents and works to clarify how they can be involved in all phases of planning decisions. This includes notification of pending proposals, ensuring provision of technical information in an easy to understand format, providing easy access to communication with policy makers, and making sure there are sufficient funds in the budget to conduct effective citizen involvement activities.

While there are guidelines and recommendations of how to conduct citizen involvement processes, each jurisdiction determines what will work for them depending on their resources and the situation at hand. Generally, an oversight Committee for Citizen Involvement (CCI) reviews local citizen involvement efforts and makes recommendations with regard to current land use proposals. The CCI may be an appointed body of citizens—as in our case here in Jacksonville—or, the function of the CCI may be transferred to another committee such as the Planning Commission—as is the case in Medford.

Here in Jacksonville, the formation of the CCI last February provided a necessary first step to a review of the Comprehensive Plan, last updated in 2008. For several years, our City Council, Planning Commission and local citizens have recognized the need for revisions to the Plan. With the CCI in place and attentive to the importance of citizen involvement, the City can begin to facilitate meaningful discussions about revisions which aim to clear up inconsistencies within the plan and the development code as well as ensure the documents continue to meet the needs of our citizens.

The composition and role of the CCI is defined for Jacksonville in Chapter 1 of the City’s Comprehensive Plan—available at the City website: http://www.jacksonvilleor.us/?page_id=32. Jacksonville’s CCI meets monthly, usually at 5:15pm on the 3rd Wednesday of the month, in the conference room at New City Hall. Agendas for these meetings can be found at the City’s website: http://www.jacksonvilleor.us/?page_id=385. The CCI consists of seven citizen members, as appointed by the City Council, and a council liaison.

Citizen members:

Marty Bishop: Marty retired from public administration in California about seven years ago. There was never doubt that he and his wife, Connie, would settle in Jacksonville. They love the music, culture, and beautiful scenescape that Southern Oregon offers. They participate in many volunteer activities in the area and appreciate the civic mindedness of their neighbors in the community. Marty looks forward to fostering access and involvement of all our residents in continuing to make Jacksonville a unique and vibrant living environment.

Linda Graham: Linda moved to Jacksonville (from Medford) in 1966 & has seen this city go from rags to riches. She, and husband Bill, moved back to Jacksonville in 1992 to buy & operate Scheffel’s Toys from her parents. She was on the Chamber board 25 years, 15 as treasurer. Linda has served on Budget, Safety & Parking Committees, as well as CAC’s for Public Safety buildings, Urban Growth Boundaries & City Comprehensive Plan. An avid gardener and grandmother to twin boys keeps her very busy when not running the store.

Whit Parker: Whit and his wife, Jo, moved to Jacksonville in 2006 after living in the Denver suburbs for many years. After graduating from the University of Denver with a degree in History and Public Affairs, Whit practiced residential real estate for more than 22 years. An unexpected career change presented itself shortly after the couple moved to Jacksonville when they bought the Jacksonville Review. For Whit, Jacksonville’s natural environment, the slower pace of life and becoming involved in civic work are the best things about living here.

Tom Pratum: Tom and his wife Peggy Leviton are relative newcomers to Jacksonville, having owned a home here since October 2016 and living here full time since their retirement from the Humboldt Bay area in May 2017. Tom has been a research scientist and instructor at the University level at the University of Washington, Western Washington University and Humboldt State University. It is not uncommon to see Tom and Peggy on the Woodland trails with their dog Roger, or just by themselves enjoying the wildflowers in the Spring.

Jason Reilly: Jason is a lifelong Jacksonville and Rogue Valley resident. Jason is the youngest member of the CCI, and applied with an intent to represent the interests of the younger families in the community. Jason and his wife Stephanie have identical twin girls who attend Jacksonville Elementary. Jason is interested in issues related to parks and rec, open spaces, trails, and facilitating information sharing between the City Council and the general populace of Jacksonville. Jason’s personal interests include hiking and backpacking, live music and playing chess.

Andrea Thompson: Andrea came to Oregon from Massachusetts at age 17 to attend school. She fell in love with the state and vowed she would one day call it home. After 25 years as a professor of American literature and Native American Studies at Cal State, Chico, Andrea retired and fulfilled her vow. Andrea continues to do consulting for tribal agencies in Oregon and California. She is completing a book on life writing, and she and her husband, Marshall, enjoy exploring the beauty of southern Oregon.

Jason Williams: Jason Williams is a chiropractor working in Jacksonville for almost 20 years. His diverse background as a business owner, parent, community volunteer, firefighter and a property owner gives him multiple vantage points for understanding the relationship between city government and its impact on life quality and civic satisfaction. His goal is to improve communication from the city to the citizens and expand the channels through which residents can participate in shaping the activities of the city government.

David Jesser: City Council liaison.

Our Jacksonville CCI looks forward to working with you. Please feel free to reach out to us by contacting CCI Chair Andrea Thompson at athompson@jacksonvilleor.us.