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CONTACT THE ENTERPRISE Jocelyn Robinson, News editor jrobinson@heraldnet.com

Forward Shoreline begins community process

By Amy Daybert
Enterprise editor

A new program announced by the organization Forward Shoreline is a visioning process for the entire community those who are spearheading the effort said.

"It's a discovery process and we really want to hear what the community believes is important," Art Frohwerk of Clearpath, LLC, a facilitator of the program, said.

The Shoreline 2035 Program is open to and dependent upon the participation of all community members. Working with an established set of guidelines, groups of residents will focus on an array of topics such as housing, transportation, economic opportunity, environmental enhancement, education, safety, and recreation. Groups of up to 20 people will hold working sessions on the topics and coordinate to bring professionals from other cities to Shoreline to be the focus of community meetings surrounding the individual topics.

"The result will not be a Forward Shoreline project, it will be a community project," David Endicott, executive director of Forward Shoreline said.

A discussion titled "Building Community Cooperation" in the Schirmer Auditorium on the CRISTA campus on April 16 was the first in a series of meetings sponsored by Forward Shoreline to plan for the city's future. King County councilman Bob Ferguson and state Rep. Ruth Kagi, D-Lake Forest Park, led a discussion to address ways to build rules for civil discourse and avoid contentiousness.

"If we want families and businesses to move to Shoreline, individuals and public and private entities must be willing to work together to solve community problems," Rep. Kagi said. "Planning for the second phase of the Aurora project demonstrates that progress is being made. I am hopeful that we can all put past grievances behind us and work together for a brighter future."

She told of her experience hearing the Dalai Lama speak in Seattle recently and about the need for dialogue between groups of people who disagree. Councilman Ferguson offered his opinion about how he believes it is essential to relate to colleagues on a personal level and articulated the necessity of being willing to compromise.

"I have seen instances when elected officials have the required number of votes for their legislation, and consequently they discount what others have to say," said Ferguson. "If leaders take the initial opportunity to work together, it can eliminate a lot of hard feelings and lost time."

The Shoreline 2035 Program was introduced at the end of the meeting.

"We are on this journey to have a shared vision," Frohwerk said. "What that means going forward is we'll be learning a lot together."

But before residents can begin plotting a course for the city's future, Frohwerk said, ideas will need to be articulated and relationships consisting of respect and trust will need to be established over the next month.

"One of our first challenges is how do we get (residents) to understand each other as well as better understand what they think they believe in," he said. "Our job is to create conditions that will find people who want to participate who have an opinions, who have concerns, who have ideas and find ways to help them articulate their thoughts and at the same time learn some new fundamentals."

Once a set of guiding principles is developed, individual groups will be formed according to different topics, meetings will occur throughout the summer and findings could be presented as early as February 2009.

Forward Shoreline chairman Don Sands is hopeful that many residents become involved in the Shoreline 2035.

"When I first got involved with Forward Shoreline I thought a good goal would be to possibly assist in the process of affirming this vision of what Shoreline is and should be and this is the project that's come out of this idea," he said. "If we have a vision and everyone buys on to that vision then we will have a much greater chance of having it happen."

Residents could work together to decide what type of growth, housing, and green development trends should be incorporated in a 25-year vision as part of the program, according to Sands. Opportunities to change some things occur rarely -- up to every 60 years -- he added, and the city is currently in the best position to accept change.

"We want people to understand it's a process they will help create if they simply join on," Frohwerk said.

For more information about the Shoreline 2035 program and opportunities to become involved, visit www.forwardshoreline.us.