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ALTERNATIVES AND ANALYSIS: There are a number of alternatives available for structuring a public participation process. Basically, public participation can involve workshops, public meetings, public hearings, committee or subcommittee meetings, charettes, community surveys, and other mechanisms. In fact, a successful public. participation process will probably involve a combination of some, if not all, of these activities. most important, however, is identifying the primary public par- ticipation entity. It is necessary that some committee, agency, commission, or group be designated as the prime public participa- tion entity. In its capacity, the designated group would work with the staff to secure adequate community input during the comprehensive plan preparation process. Several major options exist for establishing a public partici- pation entity. First, the LPA (the Planning and Zoning Commis- sion) can also function as the County's comprehensive plan citizen advisory committee. Under this alternative, the P&Z would be responsible for conducting meetings and obtaining publi input for each of the eleven required comp plan elements. The disadvantages of this option are the time demands on the P&Z members and the limitation on the number of residents who would be on the advisory committee. A second alternative would be to appoint a separate citizens advisory committee which would be responsible for as fisting the staff in plan preparation and in obtaining public Nput. With this scenario, the CAC would still make recommendations to the Planning & Zoning Commission which would still be responsible for making final recommendations to the Board of County Commissioners. The citizens advisory committee could be structured in one of several ways. The CAC could be a separate group of individuals appointed by the Board of County Commissioners; alternatively, the CAC could be formed with the P&Z as its nucleus and other inter- ested persons appointed to serve. By having a relatively large CAC with the P&Z as its nucleus, subcommittees could be formed to work with the staff on each element, and one P&Z member could be appointed to each subcommittee; this method disperses work and time demands, maintains liaison between the P&Z and the advisory subcommittees, and allows broad representation from a wide variety of interests. Supplementing either alternative should be a technical advisory committee. Composed of planners (or representatives) from other jurisdictions and various other technical -type persons, the TAC would provide assistance to the staff and, like the citizens advisory committee, submit recommendations to the P&Z. Through the TAC mechanism, the County can obtain input from the municipal- ities within the County, adjacent counties, other governmental entities, private sector technical interests, and various groups with expertise in certain fields. Also included in the technical advisory process should be the various standing committees (e.g. Parks & Recreation, Beach Preservation, and Finance Advisory) related to required comprehensive plan elements. An important aspect of a Citizens Advisory Committee is that it be representative of the community. For that reason the CAC should include representatives from all geographic parts of the County as well as representatives from a variety of occupations, profes- sions, special interest groups, and community organizations. On March 26, 1987, the Planning and Zoning Commission voted unani- mously, 7-0, to recommend that the Board establish la citizens advisory committee comprised of the seven Planning and Zoning Commission members and twenty other concerned citizens. RECOMMENDATION: Staff recommends that the Board of County Commissioners establish 13 APR 2 1 °937 BOOK