Let's Make Public Hearings More Public

Note: Back in 2018, Travis Parker, the Planning Director for the City of Lakewood, Colorado, wrote two articles for Strong Towns about the impact a new website was having on helping his community reach more people for public comment on important local issues. He returns to give an update, including skyrocketing engagement rates.

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“We no longer live in a world where we can legitimately limit participation to those who can spare hours of their time.”

In today’s golden age of technology, governments have fallen years, if not decades, behind the rest of society. We live at a time where you can order food, watch a movie, get a ride, or turn on your air conditioning—anywhere, anytime—from your smartphone. But basic interactions with local government still require a telephone call, email, or even in-person visit.

This is beginning to change and we are on the verge of a major technological shift in government services. Apps are now available in some cities for service requests and to identify infrastructure needs. Online payments are available for most services and online applications available for many types of permits.

The area that governments have been slowest to modernize and seem most reluctant to change is the public hearing. Local councils and boards still meet weekly in auditoriums across the country to discuss policy and make decisions. Government leaders invite, and even expect, public comment on issues but the primary, and often only, method of input is a microphone in front of the dais—a practice far more anachronistic than most of us chose to acknowledge.

Is the problem a failure to recognize that there is a problem? City Councils have become conditioned to think that a few dozen participants in a hearing represents major participation, not because it is anywhere near a true sampling of public opinion, but because it actually is a large number of people willing to give up their evening to offer comments.  However, we no longer live in a world where we can legitimately limit participation to those who can spare hours of their time for the privilege.

“In 2019, the site increased participation by over 800%.”

Fortunately, over the last three years, the problem has been solved by innovative cities and at least this one proven solution is available. A website that started a few years ago in Lakewood, Colorado and has since been adopted by other cities is showing over 800% increase in active participation.

The site, developed in partnership between the City and a private software development company, People Speak, provides interactive public hearings online over a course of days rather than a single evening. Presentations and other materials can be reviewed, questions asked, and public comment given. City Council members still hold a live hearing but have already received and read the vast majority of public input prior to the meeting.

The results of the site, which has been active in Lakewood for three years, are staggering. Beyond increasing overall participation more than eightfold, participation by 35-54 year olds is more than ten times higher and the number of participants under 35 is more than 100 times higher online than in-person!

You can find the City’s 2019 analytics report here.

Moreover, all of this has been done without increasing meeting times or adding work for staff. Meeting lengths have remained constant because most comments are read and issues raised prior to the meeting. Automated packet creation through the website’s publishing tools has lowered the time it takes the City Clerk to create a meeting packet from an average of four hours to an average of thirty minutes.

When I first wrote about the next evolution of public hearings in spring of 2018, we were still learning more with each case. Two years later, the successful experiment has become a best practice and the results speak for themselves.

This technology increases representation and inclusivity. It is not only easy and convenient, but it saves time and money. It’s how technology is meant to serve us, so we can best serve our citizens.

The adoption of this technology by other cities has further proven its viability and the recent availability of grant opportunities for communities with tight budgets should help ensure that more local governments are modernizing their decision making process.

The world around us is changing quickly and our cities need to adapt. Modernizing the public hearing process to include more voices is now an easy step for governments to take and for many of us commenting on actions before our local City Council will soon be as easy as ordering dinner.

Image of the Lakewood Planning Commission via the City of Lakewood website.

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About the Author

Travis Parker is the Planning Director for Lakewood, Colorado. He has over 20 years of experience in local government at the city and county level in Colorado, Virginia, Indiana, Iowa and the District of Columbia. His career has focused on land use planning and improving public engagement, and he has led efforts to rewrite a number of zoning ordinances and comprehensive plans. Currently, he is working on innovating public engagement through technology, including designing a system for online public hearings.

He has a Masters of public administration from George Washington University a degree in urban planning from Iowa State University.  He and his family enjoy the mix of urban and natural environments in Colorado.