The Danville community has a new way to connect with their Town government. The newly launched www.DanvilleTownTalks.org expands the community’s options for providing input, ideas, feedback, and comments on local issues. The first project to feature on the new site will be Danville’s state-mandated Housing Element Update. Residents can complete surveys and submit comments through the website or add comments and ideas via text.
The Town has opted to use ‘Bang the Table’ for the engagement platform, a company that was founded to increase community participation. It provides online engagement for local governments around the globe and has over 10.5 million community participants.
“We’ve observed during the pandemic that our residents appreciate the ability to participate and weigh in on Town issues at a time and place that is more convenient for them. I’m excited about the new site’s ability to expand the range of engagement and feedback options for our community members”, said Town Manager Joe Calabrigo.
With the State of California declaring a 'housing supply crisis' and holding all local communities accountable for accommodating an assigned housing target, regardless of available land capacity, the Town wants to involve as much of the community as possible in the Town’s state-mandated Housing Element Update. The Town aims to harness community feedback to create a plan that reflects Danville's core planning values while meeting regional and state-mandated housing goals.
The Town will also provide workshops virtually and in-person (when it is safe to do so), online community surveys, and a housing simulation tool. Moving forward through the process, the Town will also seek community feedback in the identification of sites to accommodate future growth and the review of the Draft Housing Element.