Our speaker for July 26 fell through, so our planned forum on neighborhood retail in support of 15-minute neighborhoods has been postponed. 

However, this hole in our schedule has created an opportunity. Let us explain.

The Building Form Overlay event at the Petaluma Woman's Club on July 12th inspired a wealth of retrospection. A few themes and questions have emerged. We'll explore these themes at our meeting on Wednesday.

1. Many Petalumans are unaware of Urban Chat or KBYG
   The Overlay event was attended by over 150 people, a number that far eclipses typical KBYG attendance.
   
   Of course, much of this was driven by the focus of the evening, but some was likely driven by more established outreach than that of Urban Chat. 
   How do we reach more Petalumans with our message?
   

2. For many the Overlay discussion was "too technical"
   Land use and zoning are technical topics; there's no getting around this. Given this backdrop... 
   How do we make land-use discussions more accessible and relevant to a wider swath of Petalumans?
   

3. The tenor of the meeting was often suspicious and disrespectful
   The jump to conspiracy theories and false information was palpable and deeply disturbing.

   Many in the audience seem to have come to the meeting not with the intention of learning, but with the intention of sharing their anger with the proposed Building Form Overlay. 
   How do we reframe the goals of discourse to encourage thoughtful, productive dialog toward a common vision for our community?

We've re-envisioned the June 26 forum as an opportunity to lay bare what concerns us and to begin to define a broader advocacy approach that combines short-term public demonstration projects with longer-term efforts such as zoning changes and revised funding priorities.

The evening will be structured differently than our typical forum.

Approximately 20 community members will speak for 3 minutes each about what concerns them most about Petaluma's direction in the context of Urban Chat's mission.

We ask that speakers spend some of their speaking time laying out their concerns and their remaining time focused on advocacy solutions that might move the needle of change.

The speakers will be followed by breakout groups to discuss what was heard, what resonates, and what we'd, collectively, like our next steps to be.

Meet our speakers!

Our speakers are you.

Send an email to sharonkirk@urbanchat.org to sign up to speak. 

The first 20 speakers we hear from will be given three minutes to express themselves. (First signed up, first to speak.) Each speaker will be timed so please prepare in advance.

Let's amplify our message to impact tangible change!