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Dates:
Friday, October 19, 2007 – 6:00-10:00 p.m. (food and refreshments provided)
Saturday, October 20, 2007 - 9:00 a.m. - 4:30 p.m. (food and refreshments provided)
Location: Long Hill Township Library
Sponsors: Long Hill Township Planning Board, Board of Adjustment, and Township Committee
Goals:
- To jointly create a shared vision for ideal, desired future development of "Downtown Long Hill" on Valley Road (Main Ave. to Morristown Rd.)
- To provide maximum public dialogue and input to guide the Planning Board as it carries out its responsibility to update the Long Hill Township Master Plan
- To create task forces to carry on and implement critical initiatives developed during the conference
Approach and Agenda:
The format of the conference follows the guidelines and agenda for Future Search Conferences, adapted for the unique challenges and opportunities present in the Valley Road area and Long Hill Township in general. For information about the Future Search process, go to: www.futuresearch.net
This is designed to be a work session: no presentations, no speeches, no pre-conceived plans or ideas, no "observers." What we create together is what we get from the conference. For that reason, residents and business owners who choose to participate should be prepared to attend both days ready to work at the conference and in task forces after the conference. This is your chance to help design the future of Long Hill.
As the participants in the 1999 Long Hill Township Future Search will recall, the process:
- Encourages collaborative dialogue among a large group of different perspectives, interests, and expertise
- Fosters creative, breakthrough thinking in addressing real problems and challenges and finding desirable, attainable solutions
- Brings the "whole system" together in involving all stakeholders in the township's future - we solve the problems of a complex community as a complex community, leveraging the shared insights and expertise of all
- Leads to action - a Future Search Conference is not a one-time event; it's the beginning of concerted effort towards a shared vision for the future
- Success is directly related to the contributions and commitment of the participants
For highlights from the 1999 conference, please see: http://www.longhillnj.info/lht/futsearc.htm
[Note: For people who attended the 2001 one-day follow-up, that was not a Future Search, but rather a town meeting to continue working on the initiatives from the initial Future Search in 1999.]
Participants:
This is a working session. People spend the day and a half in mixed small discussion groups. Accordingly, the number of participants needs to facilitate effective discussion, which means groups have to be limited in size – ideally 8, maximum 10 participants pre discussion group.
Since a critical success factor for Future Search Conferences is to get "the whole system in the room," participants are selected to represent the key stakeholder groups within Long Hill Township:
- Elected officials and township employees
- Members of the Planning Board and Board of Adjustment and township consultants
- Representatives from public safety (Police, Fire and Rescue Squad)
- Local business owners (with a preference for business owners in the Valley Road "Town Center")
- Representatives of the Environmental Commission, Shade Tree Commission, Open Space Committee and Historical Commission
- Representatives from Education and Recreation
- Senior Citizens (7 representatives)
- Resident representatives at large – 20 (5 each from Meyersville, Millington, Stirling and Gillette/Homestead Park)
Selection for the first 6 stakeholder groups will be by volunteers. Selections for the last two (Seniors and Residents-at-large) will be decided by public lottery if the number of volunteers for any one group exceeds the designed number of participants. To volunteer, click here.
There are three success criteria for participants:
- Care deeply, perhaps passionately about the future of Long Hill Township and the creation of a vibrant "Town Center" that serves the needs of all members off the township
- Be willing to fully participate and share your ideas, expertise and commitment
- Take the time to familiarize yourself with the creative ideas and best practices available to us as we design a future for the Valley Road "Town Center." These include resources that will be available on the Township's website and at the Library.
Because this is the beginning of a process, not a one-time event, there will be ample opportunities for further resident and business owner participation in the process in the coming months.
Desired Outcomes:
The 1999 Future Search Conference that produced a number of important, concrete results, notably the creation of the new Town Hall, the creation of a new Library, the construction of the Senior Citizen's Center, stronger environmental standards and ordinances, and the beginning steps towards creating a network of natural "Greenways" linking the communities and commercial areas of Long Hill Township.
The purpose of this conference is also to produce tangible results:
- Clear direction and best-practice thinking for the Planning Board as it revises the Master Plan for Valley Road and modifies ordinances to support the revised plan.
- A strong, shared vision for the future of Valley Road that makes it a "best-in-class" example of community planning.
- Task forces to take on some of the critical tasks required to bring that vision onto reality, especially including achieving grant and County/State Government funding to support project initiatives (thus protecting residents from added tax burdens to support desired development).
- Use the revised Master Plan to better enlist the efforts of developers as partners, in ways that support the town's vision for the future, rather than working against it.
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