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Section 3: Public Involvement

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Public Involvement Planning and Guidance

Public involvement is a critical part of the project planning process, and can be a major factor in the overall success of a project. The success of public participation is largely determined by how thoroughly and thoughtfully it is planned. It is imperative that the public involvement process and project goals are carefully considered before choosing the appropriate strategy.

The framework of the public involvement process includes:

Public Involvement Plan. A fundamental first step in the public involvement planning process is the development of a Public Involvement Plan (PIP). A PIP is a living document that serves as a planning resource for TxDOT staff and consultants to better understand the overall goal, strategy and communication procedures for a specific project or initiative. It is a blueprint to reach a desired outcome and it outlines what is needed to effectively involve the public in the project planning process. At a minimum, a PIP must satisfy any requirements applicable to the specific type of public involvement being conducted as established by the applicable TxDOT Division (e.g., public involvement conducted as part of the environmental review process for transportation projects must comply with applicable requirements in the Environmental Affairs Division's Public Involvement Toolkit).

District or division staff can develop a PIP using a template, or they can contact the Public Involvement Section for assistance.

Develop a PIP using a Template. A district or division can create their own PIP using the PIP template. This editable document provides the components of the PIP along with instructions and examples. The planning template includes the following:

The plan should be continually evaluated and updated as needed to adapt to changing stakeholders and circumstances as the project development progresses.

Contact the Public Involvement Section for public involvement planning assistance and PIP development. A staff member from the Public Involvement section will then contact the district or division team member to discuss the project and public involvement goals, the level of public involvement needed and then will research and develop the plan for review and approval.

Meeting Planning and Facilitation. Determining the structure and approach of a public meeting or stakeholder meeting is yet another important consideration from a public involvement planning standpoint. The Public Involvement Section team can assist with building effective meeting plans and coordinating meeting logistics, such as designing meeting layouts and providing the appropriate meeting supplies. The Public Involvement Section works with districts and divisions to identify any Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) considerations. Compliance with the ADA is not only required under Federal law—it is the right thing to do. Meeting locations must have adequate public parking and accessible entries to be compliant with ADA.

In addition, the Public Involvement Section team of facilitators can assist districts and divisions in providing thoughtful engagement opportunities with innovative collaboration methods. The team can assist districts and divisions to develop facilitation plans; create facilitation materials; provide the necessary supplies; and serve as a neutral facilitator during meetings. Contact the Public Involvement Section to learn more about using creative public engagement methods to create an effective and collaborative meeting.

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Public Involvement Notifications and Outreach

Public meetings and public hearings allow the public to participate in the transportation planning process and to better understand the road, rail and aviation projects that affect their communities, and are often required as part of the NEPA process.

Legal Notice Requirements. TxDOT is legally required to notify the public about a public meeting or public hearing and this notice is a critical aspect of the planning process. If the project is the subject of an environmental assessment (EA) or environmental impact statement (EIS), the hearing notice will be combined with the notice of availability of the draft EA or EIS. In addition, TxDOT is required to develop notices that alert the public about specific milestones in the environmental review process and offers the opportunity to review environmental documents. Notice types include Notice Affording Opportunity for Public Hearing; Notice of Availability of a Finding of No Significant Impact; and Notice of Availability of a Final Environmental Impact Statement/Record of Decision.

Notice requirements vary depending on the type of project and notification. These requirements can be found in the TxDOT Environmental Affairs Division's Public Involvement Toolkit.

Online Notice Requirement. In addition to supporting the legal requirements for public hearings and public meetings notifications, the agency requires districts and divisions to place certain types of notices on TxDOT's website, including notices of public meetings, notices of public hearings, notices of opportunities for public hearings, and notices of availability of certain environmental documents, as explained in the TxDOT Environmental Affairs Division's Public Involvement Toolkit. Notices about upcoming public meetings or hearings must be published on TxDOT's website at least 15 days prior to the event as outlined in the TxDOT Environmental Affairs Division's Public Involvement Toolkit. In many cases, posting information prior to the 15-day requirement can be even more helpful for the public, so early coordination is important. The Public Involvement Section will help develop online notices with the assistance from districts and divisions.

The process of posting a notice to the TxDOT website includes:

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  • Plan the content and timing much earlier than the 15-day requirement by contacting the Public Involvement Section to determine the online notice timing and to begin gathering and organizing online materials – contact the PI Section as early as possible
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  • Coordination with the Public Involvement Section to post online notices should begin one month in advance of the 15-day deadline date; the Public Involvement Section recommends starting this planning process as soon as the public hearing or meeting date has been identified
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  • Forward a copy of the legal notice to the Public Involvement Section to include as a hyperlink within the online notice
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  • Provide a project location map associated with the public meeting or hearing to the Public Involvement Section as appropriate
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  • Discuss any translation needs for the legal notice or other materials prior to posting on the TxDOT website; follow the translation process using the statewide procurement purchase order. More information can be found about this process and the time required on the PI Section Crossroads site
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  • Public Involvement Section drafts the notice based on the legal notice provided by the district or division (for environmental review-related notices, the legal notice will have been developed using a template from the TxDOT Environmental Affairs Divisions' Public Involvement Toolkit)
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  • District/division reviews the draft online notice provided by the Public Involvement Section, which shows how the online notice appears will appear on txdot.gov, make any edits and provide approval to the Public Involvement Section
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  • Public Involvement Section works with Web Services to get the online notice live on the TxDOT website and have the online notice posted on the Meetings, Hearings and Notices Schedule page
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  • Update the notice with additional project information; for example, forward any schematics, exhibit board or presentation materials that would be helpful for the public
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  • Forward the meeting summary report as appropriate to the Public Involvement Section; the public appreciates reviewing how their comments were addressed and any meeting notes.

Additional Outreach. Beyond the legal requirements of notifying the public about meetings and hearings, districts and divisions have a duty to support the agency’s Public Involvement Policy to incorporate a range of strategies to encourage broad participation reflective of the needs of the state’s population. It is incredibly important to use every method available to ensure the public is aware of these meeting opportunities.

Building awareness of these opportunities is achieved by using a variety of best practices and outreach strategies. The Public Involvement Section can assist with the development of a Public Involvement Plan to outline additional strategies for outreach; contact the Public Involvement Section early to discuss potential additional notification strategies. Districts and divisions can refer to the Public Involvement section on Crossroads for guidance or consider enrolling in the OPI100 Effective Public Involvement training to learn more about outreach methods.

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Public Involvement Materials

The Public Involvement Section assists districts and divisions in developing a variety of public involvement materials in a public-friendly and creative approach. The Public Involvement Section not only assists with creating print materials, but also places these materials on the TxDOT website. For the sake of transparency to the public, all appropriate materials should be placed online for easy access.

The Public Involvement Section develops online materials including the development of online notices and project pages, as well as virtual meetings and hearings. Project pages summarize key elements of a project, study or initiative in an easy-to-understand and concise manner. Other supporting materials, such as maps, fact sheets and presentations can be added to project pages as hyperlinks. Project pages can include interactive Project Tracker maps and email subscription “buttons.”

Limited English Proficiency (LEP) Considerations. Texas is a diverse state, and many communities have high levels of persons with limited proficiency in English. Translating English language documents to foreign languages or securing an interpreter benefits the agency by building trust and confidence that public input matters. Translating materials into Spanish should be viewed as a matter of routine.

The Public Involvement Section can help with researching the demographics of the community and determining an overall strategy for translating materials, as well as reaching underserved populations.

ADA Considerations. The Public Involvement Section can assist with ensuring materials are accessible to all citizens and in compliance with ADA considerations.

TxDOT Branding. The Public Involvement Section will create and review materials in compliance with TxDOT branding, and will provide branded TxDOT public involvement templates as appropriate.

Types of Materials for Public Hearings and Meetings. The Public Involvement Section reviews and develops a variety of materials specific to public hearings or meetings, such as:

Types of Materials for Outreach. The Public Involvement Section reviews and develops a variety of materials specific to outreach:

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Public Involvement Best Practices and Resources

There are a variety of best practices and resources available to districts and divisions to assist with the planning and execution of outreach activities.

The Public Involvement Section Crossroads website provides many educational materials and training opportunities to build knowledge and offer strategic recommendations.

Public Involvement Training Opportunities.

The flagship EPI100 introductory public involvement course provides the foundational aspects of effective public involvement strategies and resources for TxDOT staff and consultants. EPI200 (developed in partnership with the University of Texas - Annette Strauss Institute for Civic Life) is an advanced-level, research-based public involvement training aimed at providing a deeper understanding of internal public involvement planning as well as the introduction of the Approach to Strategic Internal Planning (ASIP) tool. EPI100 is a prerequisite and participants should already have a basic understanding of effective public involvement strategies.

Staff can sign up for these courses by visiting PeopleSoft and entering: EPI100 or EPI200.

Public Involvement Section Newsletter – Connecting our Communities. Connecting our Communities is a quarterly public involvement newsletter on public involvement policy issues and relevant public involvement topics such as open carry at meetings, guidance for construction outreach, accommodations for individuals with disabilities and project spotlight stories. Contact the Public Involvement section to be added to the distribution list.
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