Community buy-in to Plan Hamilton is critical to the plan’s success. A group of citizens led efforts to implement Vision 2020, the comprehensive plan that preceded Plan Hamilton, and their involvement was a primary reason for positive change in Hamilton. Therefore, Plan Hamilton wants to follow in Vision 2020’s footsteps in regards to citizen involvement. Soon after Plan Hamilton was approved by the City of Hamilton City Council in March 2019, approximately 60 stakeholders came together to talk about implementing the new comprehensive plan.
Since the initial conversation, two groups have formed and are working to see meaningful change within the next 18 months. The first group’s objective is “To Improve Hamilton’s Housing Stock.” They are working on a blight audit that will be used to track improvements and will be seeking improvements to Hamilton’s regulations regarding blight remediation. They also hope to identify and promote services that help Hamiltonians improve their homes.
The second group’s objective is “To Building Neighborhood Leadership and Engagement.” They are working on identifying opportunities for training for 17Strong leaders to help them be as equipped as possible for building engagement in their neighborhoods and creating change. They are also hoping to increase 311 utilization and bring awareness to other City tools that are helpful to residents.