The process towards the Town of Golden’s Official Community Plan was about giving ‘Power to the People.’ For a town of about 4,000 people the outreach strategy was very successful, reaching over 1,000 citizens. The process also saw 300 youth surveys completed and returned.

A steering committee was created that was diverse, with ages ranging from 12-80 years. The committee used consensus decision-making. Small groups would learn about different topics and report back to the larger group for decisions.  Education was woven into process via options presented to committee members and the steering committee embraced smart growth principles.

The Town of Golden discovered that standard open house formats can be dull so they made an effort to do things that were different: Jam night at local pub; talking to people at a coffee shop; setting up tables outside grocery stores; holding events at schools; and hosting a public ski night.

To view the Town of Golden's 2008 OCP click here.