Community Plans Continuum

About the Program

Category: Community and Economic Development (Best in Category)

Year: 2018

The San Bernardino County Community Plans Continuum (Program) is an innovative approach to planning for and engaging with 52 rural and suburban communities dispersed over 20,000 square miles with a diversity of geographies (Valley, Mountain and Desert), ecosystems and socio-economic factors. The Program is empowering diverse unincorporated communities to chart their own future and develop community-based solutions. The County embarked on a Program where 52 communities on a continuum participated in a multi-step community engagement process of 66 workshops, immersion in each community and extensive coordination with County agencies to expand community planning to more residents with limited funding to create 27 web-based, living documents. This innovative approach required addressing community needs and created community-specific plans focusing on community-led solutions without extensive reliance on San Bernardino County services or funding. This Program is an example of utilizing an innovative process to provide grassroots planning to individual communities. A diverse panel of seven San Bernardino County departments, Michael Baker International and PlaceWorks, as well as community leaders, collaborated with community residents and businesses to create successful and replicable community action plans. County staff will follow the communities as they move forward with their action plans, tools and capacity building in meeting the needs and wants in their community by building on their strengths, opportunities, values and aspirations.