The executive committee is responsible each year for selecting neighborhood planning areas for organizing.
The process begins with a review of neighborhood statistics for 48 areas identified north of 95th Street, excluding those areas already active or covered by a homes association. City staff from the Neighborhood Conservation Program and Long-Range Planning Division of Planning and Development Services recommend eight of these areas for consideration. The executive committee then selects three or four of these to be organized based on the recommendations and statistics provided.
The following statistics are analyzed during the selection process:
- Population
- Number of single-family units
- Number of duplexes
- Multifamily units
- Owner-occupied single-family units
- Owner-occupied duplexes
- Renter-occupied single-family units
- Renter-occupied duplexes
- Home values
- Trend in property maintenance violations
Good candidates for selection are areas where:
- There is a high percentage of single-family units.
- Trends indicate a turnover from owner-occupied to renter-occupied units.
- Trends indicate deteriorating property maintenance.
- Home values are lower than the mean.
- Residents express an interest in organizing their neighborhood.
The staff of the NCP follows a three-step approach for organizing neighborhood residents.
- Every household in the neighborhood is mailed an informational
letter. The letter asks if residents are interested in meeting their neighbors,
improving their neighborhood and learning how to communicate better with
city government. If they support these activities, they are requested to
call to be added to a mailing list for an informational meeting.
- Those on the mailing list are sent an invitation to
an informational meeting.
- The staff facilitates the first meeting, providing information about the program, the benefits of organizing, expectations for the group, and the staff support provided. At the end of the meeting, the group decides whether or not to organize and residents volunteer to serve as chairpersons to guide the group through the organizing process.
After several years of research and organization, a set of guidelines for organizing a neighborhood was established.
In Overland Park, areas with a population between 300 and 2,000 (300 to 500 homes) seem to work best for recruiting members for active participation in neighborhood activities.
Neighborhood groups should include only areas that do not have an existing organization, such as a homes association. Establishing an independent organization will help maintain its identity, distinguish its purpose, and identify leadership roles.
Neighborhood group meetings should remain open to all residents and be held in a public location, such as a school or community center.
Adopting bylaws will establish a foundation on which the organization can build and identifying block representatives will ensure adequate representation of all residents.
Strong leadership is crucial to successful organizations. Therefore, leadership and organizational training is critical and initial leaders must cultivate new leaders to ensure strong, long-term organizations. Most importantly, residents should organize themselves for the broad purpose of building a sense of community, rather than rallying around a single issue.