Chautauqua County Community Summits

Since 1998, the Urban Design Project has been assisting Chautauqua County government in a series of interrelated efforts intended to connect robust citizen participation, performance based government, inter-municipal cooperation, and countywide strategic planning in an integrated program of governance reform and community development.

These efforts included the program for government reform outlined by the transition team of County Executive Mark Thomas; the passage of a County charter amendment for "performance-based governance" and development of the Comprehensive Performance Partnership; and the Chautauqua County Community Summit Series, starting in November 1999, continuing in June 2000, and currently, local community summits, interest group meetings, and Local Waterfront Revitalization planning sessions.

Work is continuing toward the creation of a countywide strategic plan in 2002. That draft vision and principles statement and citizen priorities for action generated through the grassroots-level involvement at the community summits is guiding this effort. When complete, the draft strategic plan will be used as a means to refine and communicate the emerging model for collaborative action among public, private, and third-sector organizations in Chautauqua County.

The aim of these efforts is nothing less than a transformation of the culture of agencies of government, community based organizations, and Chautauqua County overall, as well as a more efficient and effective address to the publicly-identified priorities of economic development, environmental stewardship, human development, and government reform.

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