After interviewing various stakeholders in the South Willamette Special Area Zone (SW-SAZ) process, including WE CAN members and supporters, Oregon Consensus has released their initial assessment of next steps for the SW-SAZ process.
They found that while the issue is of deep importance and we all value getting it right, there is a lack of trust, no effective venue for communication, and different understandings, misunderstandings and disagreements. They recommend a process forward that includes as a first step, key community members and representatives of the City working together to build trust, improve communication, and develop better mutual understanding.
WE CAN supports processes that include the full diversity of interests and opinions, and that strive to find a balance between different points of view. We support a next step that includes building better relationships between the wide variety of stakeholders who will be affected by the outcome of the SW-SAZ process, and believe that neutral facilitation will allow us to move forward in a constructive fashion.