The public must be given an opportunity to be involved in the planning process. A good public outreach effort does more than just inform the public of the plan’s development. It teaches the public and motivates them to act.
Even though members of the public may not be technical experts, they can:
- Identify community assets and problem areas.
- Describe issues of concern.
- Share threat and hazard history.
- Prioritize proposed mitigation alternatives.
- Share ideas for long-term public involvement after plan adoption.
Many mitigation actions will happen on private property. This means that the public should be engaged early to understand community priorities. Public engagement should happen during each step of the planning process.
| Step | Role of the Public |
|---|---|
| At the beginning of the planning process… | Introduce the plan update and identify potential areas of concern that should be included. Ask the public about the biggest issues that they see: - “What keeps you up at night?” - “What hazards concern you the most?” - “How do these hazards affect your home, work or neighborhood?” |
| Once the risk assessment is complete… | Review progress and provide additional local context to the hazard profiles. Help identify potential actions for the mitigation strategy. |
| After the final draft of the plan is finished… | Review the plan. The public needs to be given an opportunity for review. The planning team should carefully consider their feedback and make edits to the draft as necessary. |