During 2011-2012, the City and its consultants — Beckwith Consulting Group — will be working to engage the entire Edmonds community in developing a strategic plan. Establishing a process that ensures broad community input is essential to the credibility of a strategic plan and its success. By conducting interviews, hosting open houses and workshops, meeting folks one-on-one, and conducting surveys, the City is hoping to use community input to develop a strategic plan that helps city leadership to make decisions with the confidence that they are responding to the citizens’ stated desires. These web pages are devoted to the strategic planning process and will hopefully make information related to this process readily accessible to the public. Information and notices of community meetings and events during the strategic planning process will also be posted on the City’s government channel (Channel 21). For additional information, please contact Stephen Clifton, Community Services and Economic Development Director at 425-771-0251 or This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. .
Click on the topic areas below to explore information about the 2011-2012 strategic planning process.
Strategic Plan Material 2011-2012
Identifying Strategic Planning as a priority
The following summarizes the steps leading up to the 2011-2012 strategic planning process.
June 2, 2009 — the Edmonds City Council passed Ordinance 3735, which amended the Edmonds City Code, Title 10, adding a new Chapter 10.75 Citizens Economic Development Commission.
December, 2009 — The Edmonds City Council adopted the first Community Sustainability Element as part of the Comprehensive Plan. A key to implementing sustainability was identified as making a "tie between long-range comprehensive planning, mid-range strategic planning, and short-term implementation decisions embodied in budgeting and operations."
January 19, 2010 — A Combined Economic Development Commission and Planning Board 2009 Annual Report was submitted to the City Council and presentations were given by the Edmonds Economic Development Commission and Planning Board Chairs during the City Council meeting. The combined report contained six recommended higher priority initial proposals as part of a multi-faceted approach to economic development; as no single proposed strategy, policy, or program can assure success for the community or fix its problems. One of the proposals was for the “City Council to commit to developing a strategic plan, then reviewing/updating every year, ideally corresponding to the City Council’s annual retreat; this includes setting goals and continually assessing progress metrics.”
March 16, 2010 — The Edmonds City Council approved Resolution 1224, which expressed support for the Edmonds Economic Development Commission (EDC) and Planning Board to move forward with their six higher priority recommendations. One of the proposals was for the “City Council to commit to developing a strategic plan, then reviewing/updating every year, ideally corresponding to the City Council’s annual retreat; this includes setting goals and continually assessing progress metrics” and to “develop a community vision that addresses a balance between quality of life and growth objectives while furthering Edmonds’ “green” initiatives”.
December 21, 2010 — The Edmonds City Council voted to approve funding to pay for a strategic planning process and plan as part of the 2011 budget.
April 5, 2011 — The Edmonds City Council voted to authorize City staff to advertise/issue Request for Proposal (RFP) for a Strategic Plan.
April 20, 2011 — Request for Proposals issued.
June 21, 2011 — A Strategic Planning Review/Interview Committee consisting of two City Council members, two Planning Board members, two Economic Development Commission members and five City staff submitted the top two consulting teams for review by the City Council. The Edmonds City Council voted to enter into a contract with Beckwith Consulting Group to prepare a strategic plan.
July 12, 2011 — The City Council Finance Committee voted to forward a recommendation to the full City Council supporting authorizing the Mayor to sign the Professional Services Agreement and to place the draft agreement on the July 19, 2011 City Council Agenda as an action item.
July 19, 2011 — The City Council authorized the Mayor to sign a Professional Services Agreement with Beckwith Consulting Group for Strategic Planning and Visioning Consulting Services.
Introduction & Overview
Budget - Scope - Process Introduction
- August 26, 2011 Press Release - City of Edmonds Kicks Off City-wide Strategic Planning Process.
- City of Edmonds Strategic Plan Request For Proposal – Issued April 20, 2011.
- Strategic Planning and Visioning Process – Professional Services Agreement.
- Edmonds Economic Development Commission Strategic Planning Subgroup Report.
The document "Strategic Planning and Visioning Process – Professional Services Agreement" contains Exhibit A, Statement of Services and Scope of Work, which describes tasks and deliverables related to completing the process and plan. This document also contains a timeframe for the overall process.
The overall process is described by the following graphic (click on the graphic to enlarge):
September 14, 2011 – Strategic Planning and Visioning Kickoff – City Council, Planning Board and Economic Development Commission Retreat #1.
Information Scan
Scan results (Task 2)
- The consultant team is examining a variety of data and trends; information will be posted here as it becomes available following Retreat #2 (see below).
Stakeholder Interviews (Task 3)
- Ongoing, as scheduled by the Consultant.
Retreat #2 (Task 4)
Public Opinion / Input
Mail-back surveys (Task 5)
Student surveys (Task 6)
Internet surveys (Task 7)
- Adult Survey
- Young Adult Survey
- Employee Survey (anyone who works in Edmonds)
Retreat #3 (Task 8)
- Scheduled for February 28, 2012, in the City Council Chamber...
Visioning / Charrette
Task 9: Identify & prep visioning Charrette delegates
Task 10: Conduct Charrette
Task 11: Analyze Charrette results
Task 12: Retreat #4
Strategic Plan Development
Task 13: Develop plan
Task 14: Public forums
Task 15: Retreat #5
Strategic Plan Testing
Task 16: Phone/internet survey
Task 17: Public Forum
Task 18: Retreat #6
Strategic Plan Adoption
Task 19: Final draft strategic plan documents
Task 20: Planning Board, City Council public hearings