Proposal for Village Expansion

On November 11, 2015, during a regular Village Meeting, the Village came to consensus regarding this Expansion Proposal.
Committee Members volunteered Jan 2016:
Big John, Nathan from WE, Tim, Lois and Sam
NEXT MEETING TBA

1: We as a village are empowering a committee to design the new village space with Path Planning, provided that the committee adheres to the following three lists while doing so: A list of mandatory criteria regarding the design of the space, a list of conditions that must be followed for village to move forward with the new space, and a wish list of design elements we hope come to fruition.

2: The mandatory criteria list for the committee is as follows. The design must be:

3. The list of mandatory conditions that will be followed for our consent stand is as follows:

4. The wish list for the area includes:

Full notes from this meeting below…
Ocf Path Planning web page
David’s original map

minutes review and many drawings

Selections from Village minutes and communications regarding this issue, newest to oldest:

Expansion accurate boundary measurment – image of space 5/8/2016
Expansion Design Committee notes, 2-29-2016
Expansion Design Committee notes, 2-8-2016
January 2-16 Village Meeting – committee formed
November 2015 Village Meeting Notes
September and November 2015 Village Meeting notes
August 2015 Design Workshop Notes
April discussion re: joint Path Planning and CV committee proposal
March Meeting notes
February 11, 2015 Village and Booth Notes
January 14, 2015 Village Meeting notes
November 12, 2014 Village Meeting agenda item
Notes from October 2013 meeting consensus to create a design committee
Questions for Path Planning and for Village from Diane Albino 9/2013
CV Meeting – Wednesday, June 12, 2013
Community Village Meeting 3/13/13
Community Village Meeting, February 13, 2013

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Your creativity and deliberations are needed to help define a design that can preserve our sense of community, keep us and our kids safe, and hold true to our mission of education and example in pursuit of progressive social change.

Below is an image of the village and the new real estate being offered by the Fair. Updated 5-2016. Click to enlarge.

Design #12-2016 with updated boundaries and possible use ideas
Uploaded 5-2016

Design #15, Dispersed Entry

This idea uses a divided entry like our Info Booth entry, and a barrier to slow the traffic.
Click to enlarge.

Design #14, “Spirit Center” Center Green

This option uses this space is a new and exciting way, creating a Spirit Center on the right side with Portal, Yurt & Pyramid, booth and garden. At least 3 new booths. Design features will slow traffic and minimize noise.
Click to enlarge.

Design #16-2016 Mis-directing path
No direct line of sight from 13th into Village proper

Design #17-2016
Yurt is not moved, 4A is on 13th, entry portal is rotated

These two below images are one possible structure/space design for a portal dedicated to spirit…
Click to enlarge

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Expansion Design Committee notes, 2-29-2016

Present: Nathan, Tim, Sam, Lois.

Neighbors: We discussed the fact that the PP folks had not consulted with the possible affected booths along 13th – booths that it was hoped would be relocated to allow for a wider 13th in that area. We realized that it was important to get the Village’s go ahead prior to other negotiations. We decided while those negotiations with the 2 affected booths continue, we would not engage with those boothies, but will ask the PP committee to keep us updated on their progress.

Design: We brainstormed different design ideas. One train of thought was that the entry area at 13th would be the first to be built, and talked about design ideas related to the entrance. One idea had an island with paths on either side, kinds like around the Info Booth. Another idea involved creating a facade stretching across a few 13th fronting booths with a single opening for the entrance. Another train of thought involved beginning with a path route through the new area, and determining entry location and interior structures based on the path route.

Question for PP members: When building in this new space in phases, how will we manage the space that will be built in later phases?

PP has scheduled a walk through the area after their meeting, at 3:30 March 20. Members of the Village committee will be there with hopes of staking out structure spaces to better determine the size, etc. of the space.

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Expansion Design Committee meeting 2/8/2016

Present: Dea, Sati, David Tipton, Lois, Jain, Chase, Tim, Nathan and Big John

We discussed the boundaries of the space. David asserted that the original drawing he offered is not perfect but is very accurate. His drawing is the basis for all the designs displayed on our web page, and is now updated to better reflect the projected usage of the boundary along 13th. # Where the maps we have been using show a “buffer” zone and “Peace Parker”, the new version shows one or two booths along 13th on the left and a slightly moved water fountain and benches on the right, with a curved space sort of funneling folks into the new entrance. David stressed that people “flow” (like water) is an important aspect of Path Planning and is something we should keep in mind as we work on designs. The updated map of the space is attached.

We asked about the status of the project so far. David asserted that the 2 booths along 13th that will perhaps move will be offered other spaces, and he hopes at least one of them will do so. Even if they do not move, the present booth structures would become less deep and booth camping behind them would convert to the Village expansion space.

We discussed the criteria the Village consented to in November and David believes that all of them can be met, that none of them conflict with Fair guidelines if we do it carefully. We talked at length about the criteria “Will have a narrow entrance and a slow flow of traffic” in particular. We asked if the space between the Info House water spigot and the P&J booth could be defined as “narrow” (foot traffic kind of funnels into that entry) and David agreed it could.

David mentioned that, as with anything at the Fair, any design we finalize may be altered somewhat during implementation, so committee members will stay involved during that process. We discussed planning, and will likely move forward with a 2-3 year plan that could be implemented all at once or in phases. The committee hopes to be able to have at least one or two designs ready for full Village scrutiny by June, so that construction drawings can be prepared in the Fall as well as a capitol budget for submission late this year. David hopes at a minimum to have the 13th street portion and entry ready for Fair 2017. It remains unclear how much more could be done by then.

Moving forward, we decided we would reach out to Booth Coordinators asking them to discuss with their boothies if they were interested in occupying a different booth, either in the expansion area or in a booth that might be available if another group moves there. At David’s request we will try to schedule our meetings either before or after a Path Planning meeting so that travel to our meeting is more convenient (he lives far away), likely beginning in March. We also hope, as a committee, to visit the site soon to stake it out and better assess the space. In the meantime, us locals will meet Monday the 29th at 7pm, again at 2096 ½ Arthur St.

Thanks to all who participated.

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January 2016 Village Meeting

Expansion Committee
We were briefed about the state of this project so far and solicited Villagers to participate in a Expansion Design Committee. Committee needs to be staffed, be trusted and be honored. Likely meet weekly for a while and work with Path Planning, starting by going to their meeting on Sunday. Other Villagers are encouraged to participate on the Committee, but the Village hope is that all those participating will commit to the duration of the process and to its success.  Regular reports from the committee will be expected. Big John, Nathan from WE, Tim, Lois and Sam volunteered.

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November Village Meeting Notes

Hello Village,

Last night’s meeting was a beautiful example of the loving spirit of our village. The last few village meetings have been really something to be proud of where everyone has been speaking up and feeling heard and conversation has flowed easily and warmly. For those of you who have been needing to see the spirit of our values in action, these meetings have been that for many.

Tim posted the minutes from October’s meeting, and at that meeting the group consensed to move ahead with accepting the new village space from path planning, provided that certain conditions were met: that a committee from village would be actively involved in all aspects of design and implementation and that village would provide that committee with a list of conditions that must be met by the design in order to be approved.

At last night’s meeting our task, set forth by October’s consensus was to finalize that list of criteria that must be met by the design and path planning. We had 28 villagers present. It was a wonderful sampling of our beloved village with elders, the usual suspects, new faces, people who have had deep concerns throughout the process, and people with persistent excitement present. Sam Rutledge facilitated.

Our agenda was short: Agenda Review, Welcomes, Discussion of Expansion, One Fun Thing, Announcements, and Closing.

We spent the majority of the time talking about the list and the committee who would be tasked with communicating and designing with Path Planning. In the end  we reached consensus on the following:

1: We as a village are empowering a committee to design the new village space with Path Planning, provided that the committee adheres to the following three lists while doing so: A list of mandatory criteria regarding the design of the space, a list of conditions that must be followed for village to move forward with the new space, and a wish list of design elements we hope come to fruition.

2: The mandatory criteria list for the committee is as follows. The design must be:

3. The list of mandatory conditions that will be followed for our consent stand is as follows:

4. The wish list for the area includes:

Blessings villagers 🙂

Katie MacCionnaith

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September and October Expansion notes from the Village Meetings

October:

“Here’s the skinny on what went down. Splat facilitated. It was his first time out of the gate, and he did awesome.

We talked about the plan, and everyone at the table agreed that all the concerns that had been raised by the group are addressed by elements in the designs we have or could be addressed by tweaking some of those elements. The group was uncomfortable, however, coming to consensus on such a big issue in such a small meeting.
We also agreed in principle that coming to consensus on the actual design would be unmanageable for the Community Village.
What the table generally thought was the best way forward was to generate a list of requirements for a final design (we have been discussing this, but people want to see it in a formal list: things like;
“The design is safe for children.”
“The design preserves green space”
“The design has adequate space for workshops”
“The design preserves space for quiet reflection.”
“The design does not compel any booth to move if the booth doesn’t agree to move.”
“Peace Parker must become an expressly NON SMOKING area.”

The meeting decided to direct the Council to develop such a list at our next meeting to bring back to the November Village meeting.

The hope is that the November Village meeting will make adjustments to the list of criteria, and then agree to move forward with the new space understanding that those criteria must be included in a design. From there, a smaller group will begin to work with path planning to finalize a design. The hope is that after the November Village meeting we can tell Path Planning that we are at a YES as long as our criteria can be met. Everyone present at the end of the October meeting agreed that with one more month for the word to get out that we’re close to a decision and the proposal posted to CV Drum after next week’s council meeting, a consensus in November would be appropriate.”

So please, all come on November 11 to Growers Market and participate.
Village Expansion Design ideas here:
This Page

September:

Expansion Design Discussion/Presentation

Overview:

Four Design Workshops were held, attended by different people, some opposed, some enthusiastic, some ambivalent. Tim and Tulsi were at all four, the rest came and went. Design ideas were discussed and amended, and drawings were inspired and inspiring to many there.
Tim explained what the icons on designs 3B, 5 and 9 (see them here) meant – tipi (circle with X inside), yurt (daisy like circle with circle inside), pyramid (triangle shape) – and noted that the “buffer along 13th” space is actually the Fair’s plan to widen 13th there with an inviting space that we understand to be the Fair’s design but ours to maintain. This area will be redone, without a smoking area, whether we consense on expanding or not. Green in the drawings is green space or behind-booth camping, the blue rectangle is the entrance to Council and Meadow camps.
Tulsi then explained the drawings she made representing an area-wide “floor plan” of seating and meditative spaces clustered around a 12-15 square foot structure with a translucent patterned roof. Those drawings will be posted as soon as I can get them scanned.
It was explained the different designs were created to attempt to address concerns the Village had expressed during previous discussions of this expansion: traffic, noise, kids’ safety and green space preservation. Design elements to accomplish this include meditative spaces, signage encouraging quiet, a walking pattern that includes turns and twists and mis-direction, distracting activities like interacting with booth personnel and interactive displays, and more.
People then had the opportunity to walk around and look at the designs and drawings (mounted on foam board) and write comments or ideas.
Following that, a round robin discussion took place commenting on the designs. Notes from that discussion follow here. (go here to see all the previous discussions and drawings)

Expansion Designs Feedback
(more comments on the expansion page online)

– Noise and crowd density is not really an issue because it is noisy anyway, a lot of which comes from the stage.
– If there is a way through the Village, people will use it to pass through. In front of Wild Edibles is a pinch point now. But even so, we should do this for the good of the Village and try to mitigate the potential damage.
– put the meditation structure at an angle rather than square with the entry.
– make the path not look like a shortcut (see design #5), a new entry could reduce congestion in front of Green Earth. Folks who get caught in the dead end now are just looking for a way to get to Main Stage from Shady Grove.
– a widened 13th could eliminate some 13th Ave congestion
– do we need a new entrance? we already have 3…
– better signage could help direct people to 13th to go to the Main Stage
– more traffic would benefit our non-profit activists, giving us more chances to spread the word about our issues.
– the sideways/backwards entry path in design #5 would discourage folks looking for a short cut from 13th Ave.
– with a functional traffic pattern, a destination and a thoroughfare. It could be a space that makes people go “Wow” so they can’t just walk through it.
– “I am inspired by this proposed structure and we can impress the Fair, too.”
– the dome design can affect traffic, create more safety, more sanctuary, more quiet. Find things we like about the Village and make MORE of that!
– the “floor plan” maze drawing looks more like a maze than a path – folks might not make it into the Village
– “I like all the designs. It may take a few years of experimentation to see what works over time”
– most of these designs have very little effect on the present Village proper – no disruption.
– a story was told (not about the Fair) about how cool a day care place would be without all those pesky kids. As for new traffic in the Village, why worry about “all those pesky people” interfering with our place? We are there to engage people, be compelling and get people’s attention.
– even our small efforts can affect the whole planet. We can capture fair-goers’ imagination with our boldness, newness and audacity.
– Wild edibles wants more space, Intentional Communities wants to move away from the stage and have more space, Apollo’s Den and Rainbow Village want new booths. We can do this.

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August Design Workshop Notes

August 24, third meeting:

Tulsi brought sketch drawing of both the area and some design elements. They included much public space centered around a square structure of 4 posts and an open roof or transparent dome, with Spirit Booth on one side and other elements (spiral, etc) around the center structure. Village members could use this for information space, sacred space, message space, lots of possibilities. Much excitement was seen in people’s comments. The emphasis on public space was encouraged. Fewer booths would need to move.

Discussion around our part in the Fair included a desire to make something impressive and cool, partly to show how the Village can be a dynamic and creative place.

Tim also shared a few new design ideas (see design # 3A, 3B, 6,7 and 8 above) that were attempts at providing many options that could meet concerns and be exciting, including the need to include behind the booth camping for booths who hae it now (like H&H) and who don’t want to lose that if they move to the expansion area.

Also dicussed were ways to present these ideas at the September Village Meeting (Sept 9, place TBA) in such a way as to encourage creative discussion. That discussion will continue at the next Workshop Meeting, Tuesday Sept 8 at 2096 1/2 Arthur St, 7pm.

August 12, second meeting:

Discussion centered around process and designs and how will booths react to designs that move their booths.

How best to move forward – should we spend the effort to create detailed images of possible design elements even though in the end they may not be used or be heavily edited? Some folks felt Villagers could better understand the possibilities if good images were viewable. Others weren’t so sure. In the end, it is up to the person doing the work to decide if they wanted to do so.

Designs – Possible options were viewable (see designs #4-5), one based on last meeting’s discussion of an “activist” themed area, another design open to any takers who wished to move or expand their booth, or to new booths, but without a theme – just a “floor plan” designed to discourage using it as a shortcut.
Comments included excitement that these designs had possible camping space. No consensus was sought to determine if these designs fully addressed the three issues (safety, traffic, and noise level), but there was general agreement these designs made some progress in all issues.

Booth involvment – It was noted that not all booths affected or moved in these designs have been part of the workshop process this Summer. Though all booths did participate in developing the three issues mentioned above. Booths that presently use camping behind them, do not necessarily have similar space behind a new booth in the Expansion Area in some of these designs. How would that impact a booth’s eagerness to approve a design? While some thought an individual or booth whose ‘traditional’ camp spot was no longer availabe should not scuttle the expansion, but should consider first the good of the Village, others responded that the Village would then need to step up working together and find camping that would work for those people, in order for consensus to be achieved.
The group asked Tim to share these notes with the Council, and ask them to make sure each booth coordinator had access to a copy (this web page) and would make an effort to distribute it to all the booth’s members.

August 3, (first meeting)

As promised here are my (Cass) meager notes from last nights meeting:

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April Village Meeting notes

Katie: Diane will introduce this CV council

signs and proposal (not an OCF proposal, but a CV proposal) for 5 minutes and then we will discuss it for 45 mins.
Diane: Like in the village, in the council, there is not a one-mind about the entrance. The council chose me to introduce this.
The council proposes that we form a joint committee of OCF and CV members. This cmte will focus on solving all the issues and concerns with the possible new entrance. [The cmte will prepare a presentation to the village.] A subset of these issues [also of which there are exhaustive lists of these issues from prior meeting notes, if anyone wants to learn what they are] include:

If the cmte cannot solve these issues, then the CV can reject the new entrance.

Katie: Clarifying Questions?

David: What is the timeline? Sam: We don’t know the timeline.
Villager: if we say yes, we get options. But if we say no, there will be no change? Katie: we’re thinking of forming this cmte, saying “yes” means we are interested and we can talk. [Saying no means we do not form the cmte.]
John: If people are open to ideas will step aside so only people who have concerns will be on the cmte? Sam: That is a relevant question! Council did not address it.
Villager: will the cmte work with path planning (PP) and OCF? Katie: we hope!
Ben Barrett: When will we know about the craft lot? Katie: we don’t know. Villager: we missed the boat for the craft lot this year. Next year there will be a form. Last year 3 separate groups contacted OCF about the craft lot and it was confusing for them. (Tim: the committee did present re: the Craft Lot but wasn’t included as the development was downsized due to storm cleanup work hours. There were no “missed boats”)
Villager: we will vote in 45 mins? Katie: yes, we hope.
Oblio: Tonight, we will make a yay or neigh if we start a dialog to see if OCF can meet our needs? Katie: yes.
Villager: I thought we have been discussing this all along. Sam: What originally was brought by PP was a yes/no for the concept. If we came to them with consensual support, they would form a design cmte. Today, we want to say to PP, we are not at consensus yet, but if we get a design, we might be able to consense. Tim: we are trying to answer the concerns that villagers cannot choose without a design (people in the “maybe” group from the March mtg). Then the designs will be presented to the CV mtg in November or January for us to review. The vast majority of the village was in the maybe group. [Recall that maybe meant that they were not sure if they wanted to discuss the entrance or not.]
Villager: It seems like the proposal was backwards. We should now propose what would work for us. OCF created division, we should come up with a proposal.
Joe Magner: At the January meeting, David from PP said it was OUR plan, it will be what WE want. This is our decision, [not theirs.] We need a team to generate maps and design [so that we can make a good decision.]
David: Please let me rephrase. This seems like too little time for this fair. Would the design be for next fall? Sam (?); Yes
Villager: I was also at the January meeting and the walk through last fall. PP said this would happen next year at the earliest. They do not have a plan that they are shoving down our throats. I want all people who have concerns to join the cmte. I am not attached to the entrance, but I am attached to how we are [and how we operate and relate to each other.]
Villager: It has been a while since I have been to a CV mtg, but I have gone to PP mtgs (worked as a scribe). [What I came away with is this]: get involved, change happens… get involved.
Sam: I started out not supporting the path, now I don’t care, but am attached to present to OCF a face = we, CV are weird, but can be reasonable.
Villager: shit happens, life goes on.
Villager: suggest a short cut: if yes only says we meet with PP (path planning)
John: proposal to talk to the fair, but still some feel strongly = no. want to approach the fair, can only do this is “no” people buy in. question: if  “no” person, are you willing to serve on a cmte? 3 people raised their hands, therefore we should do it.
Matthew: I have worked with bureaucracy for 35 years, OCF asked for consensus, we consensed “no.” (Not true)
Villager: I have been part of the citizen planning cmte, I know the needs of open space and quiet space, these are rarely served by development.
Villager:” I am the keeper of the yurt, I hear discussing from the OCF, what do we get back in exchange for the path?
OMO: last month Kelsey talked about going to the county courthouse, which happened yesterday, preserving the atmosphere. The only way to do that was to talk about it. We are a community, we see a paradigm and we look beyond.
David: as part of consensus, initially I was deeply opposed, it [new entrance] still has issues. If a person has an issue, we cannot make a decision, we cannot make it until we come upon consensus. We need to meet on site to walk the entrance.
Villager (Jackie?): there are strong voices, [this is an] underlying thing. “this is not for us.” But ok to have this position. [I’m[ glad people keep making statements, “not right for us.”
Villager: If no cmte, is this a no?
Same: I think that question comes from a position from wanting a “no.” Consensus we have (1) the power of the block and (2) the power of the agenda (we can bring things to the agenda again, and again, and again). This keeps the balance [between the block and the agenda].
Rick: I am on the construction crew. 3 issues: (1) they may be giving us space in the Craft Lot! Also, on cmte to determine what to do in the space. We were offered space, I proposed we design a garden, OCF said no. they wanted to give energy park the cell charging area instead. The real issue is space. We need space. If our answer to OCF is _______ [sorry, I did not get this part]. If we don’t take this opportunity, OCF may give the public more space and this might mean more noise for the CV.
Oblio: I have been in the fair for 10 years. I am not pro nor anti path, I am pro info. What I hear is that quiet space is more important than LGBTQ or Apollo space. If quiet space is important, then how [can we find] “yes and” instead of “no.”
Ben Barrett: I am honored to be stewards at the OCF. Only way we can lose is to not participate.
Peter: timeline seems arbitrary. We don’t have enough info, I am opposed to the path.
Jackie: we are not talking about the plan, we are talking about a cmte.
Ben [who we know loves us all, as mentioned in the past two meetings, which is why I know his name now.]: I see people who want to see closure, I see the cmte as responsibility to answer these concerns.
Arthur: I have been for it, before I was against it, now I am neutral. This is our decision. I want to hear from proponents, to see a real plan.
Louis: the proposal, in order to come up with a plan, we need the cmte. The fair has only been open to us. We have always been making the choice for us. OCF/PP has not been telling us what to do.
Villager: the cmte should include proponents in addition to opponents.
Katie: straw poll? If not comfy with proposal, raise your hand: 1 hand went up.
Matthew: [this is] classic co-option
Sam: I don’t know you well, Matthew, but I love you (Matthew: I love you too). Sam: [I] ask [a] question: is there a proposal we could go to the OCF with that you would be happy with?
Matthew: we will come back to you in 5 years.
Dea: I don’t want to speak to the path, I do want to say this: I see a small number of people who are co-opting the entire process. [I find] it disturbing that we can stop the process because a few people are taking over.
Sam: Matthew, you and me, sit down, talk it out, strong P.O.V., continue the dialog, and bring back a discussion next month.
OMO: a point of process, pure consensus. Therefore, if one person feels strongly is the heart of consensus.
Jackie: are there any blocks to the proposal? No
Jackie: are there any stand asides? 5 hands
Jackie, can we put this on the table for the next meeting (and have a decision in May, which we don’t typically do), are there any blocks for this? Y 1 hand.

 

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March Village Meeting notes about the Village Expansion

Melissa handed out some updated map copies and gave a brief intro. Answers to some common questions will have to wait, except for 1) the path does not have to be 12 feet wide always – it can get slimmer or fatter at various points. 2) The frontage on 13th is 60 feet, mostly for the Rest Stop. 3) The Fair wants a better Rest Stop. 4) The new path was designed to make a better Rest Stop, not to relieve traffic congestion (a common thought at first). It seemed to some on Path Planning that it would be very easy to see a path going from the back of the Rest Stop right into CV. So they brought the idea forward. 5) A “not straight” path is better than a straight one, according to PP. and 6) The Fair will NOT force us to accept a new entrance – it’s up to us.

So I started taking a few notes about the comments people made, but they were all the same as other meetings: “It would be cool, more space, a chance to grow” and “too noisy, too intrusive, too different.” Blah Blah.  About 15 – 20 people were in the “no” group, maybe 50 another “yes” group, and another 50-60 in the “Maybe” group. Hardly anyone moved between groups.

While the facilitators tried to make it clear the discussion wasn’t about ‘should we agree to the new path’, but about ‘should we agree to continue the discussion with Path Planning’. Some people didn’t understand that.

 

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February 11, 2015 Village Meeting notes

New Entrance (Sam): Sam introduced the agenda item and reviewed what we did in the Jan mtg. (we used breakout sessions to seek creative solutions). The new path idea was originally from Path Planning (PP). Tonight, we breakout in groups based upon our booths. We will discuss the proposal with one main goal, to list the benefits to our booth (and the Village) from having this new path. We can also do the following: (1) We will generate a list of questions (what we don’t know) to send back to Path Planning. (2) Should we continue talking about it? In our booth group, are we done? Is it too hopeless that we must stop considering this?

Dea: Could we have more background on this process.

Sam: PP proposed the bench area, a smoking area called Peace Parker, as a location for a “pocket park” (PP has been looking for places to make these pocket parks around the entire fair). Someone suggested that they could poke a new trail to the CV at that location, so they brought this idea to the CV 2+ years ago. We discussed this new path idea at many meetings and we did many round robins about it. For the last 2 mtgs, we chose to do breakout sessions to try to get more focused. This meeting we will breakout into our booths, loosely (accepting new CV members who do not have a booth yet, join a fun sounding booth to join). Note, OCF is offering substantial new space to the CV. 35 feet of 13th 12 feet wide path. Refer to notes from last time in the “Theater of Change.”

Arthur: Congestion on 13th

Sam: According to PP villager (name?), not so much about traffic, but about making the path at Peace

Parker (widen the path, not a “freeway”).

Louis: Can the booths think about how the new path may benefit the booth?

Nel: note takers need to take really good notes since we won’t have time to go over the results of this session at tonight’s meeting.

Sue T: Those who took notes, Sue has attended PP mtgs for years and they meet this weekend. If anyone has a question for PP, get them to Sue so she can bring them to the next PP meeting. Here is her email: theolass@efn.org

Villager: Clarification? Path width = 12 feet

Sam: if not part of a booth, pick one.

Breakout: Questions for Path Planning from individual booths:

Questions and issues around the New Village Entrance Proposal

Where goes Pyramid, Tipi and Spirit Quiet Space?
Option:
Behind Village Stage
Into:
Green Space / Green Zone: “CV-SG-RiverSide-Junct-E.13th-CV.”
(Or “Landman’s Landing” as a “WORKING-placename” .

This is basically a New Loop.
Consider:
Distance from C.V. Meadow near Village Stage to S.G. BackStage Gate On Riverside Best Guesstimate is about 125 feet.
Is there really enough Space now?
Will there be enough Space in the NEAR future of Long Tom erosion at our already most eroded point?
At the Outset, this New Loop would greatly reduce the size of probably THE Largest Preserve in the Eight.
Two exits are required for Evacuation.
Where would these entrance / exits be located?
Which Village Booths along there would have to go elsewhere or be reduced?
Would some ‘behind the booth’ camping be re-purposed, where would those campers go?
Would there be enough foliage for buffering of Sound Pollution on the Pyramid, Tipi, and existing Moon Lodge Quiet Spaces by their being located between the Village and Shady Grove Stages and still really allow for a Quiet Space?
Riverbank Erosion:
We know The Shady Grove Stage will be in Change this year or next.
The Buddha Belly Old Growth Maple may have, what, a mere decade!?
In a few years would a new loop infrastructure have to move away from the erosion back into the Village? Where would they go?
What would be the residual damage to the left-behind New Loop in the Green Space / Green Zone?
Is behind the stage is too noisy?

Other booth generated comments:

IC: Increase in traffic is good for us. Would love to have more groups in Village. If CV can contribute to less 13th congestion, we should. Some of our peaceful vibe might get lost, but we may be able to find a way to place booths to prevent that. Maybe push the stage back so there is more room for audience. We are kind of excited…

Doors: Concerns around child after hours safety has been addressed. A cicuitous path would just be a shortcut, not a highway. We are in favor of a new entrance.

Fruit Booth: No answers accepted yet on how to preserve green space and tranquility and safety.

Areas: Will creating a new behind the stage area mess with Moon Lodge? Why not make the new entrance a pathway between two new booths and close that entrance after hours. We could help the Fair recruit more diversity with more passes. Read more of Bob’s idea here.

Health and Healing: We are open to the idea of a new entrance. Don’t want to lose behind the booth camping. Hope to see complete plan before final decision. A bnew booth, though, could help us spread our mission with more light and visibility.

Spirit Booth: just the same questions – can we take more time (no), what are the exact dimensions (coming at March meeting), what exactly is being offered and how do we solidify the offer?

Arts Booth: We like this concept. We might find new workshop space, we already have lots of noise and traffic where we are, we can be intentional re: kids safety. Seize this rare opportunity to spread our values.

Green Earth: We discussed if we want our booth to move to the new space, even though we have made a beautiful booth over the years. Or it could be a co-op booth. More questions, too.

Little People – Youth Power:

The first notes are from our first meeting in January to discuss our thoughts and feelings regarding a new entrance to the Village. After the discussion this was what we came up with to try and summarize what was said. 
-There are serious concerns about displacing yurt, tipi, and quiet healing areas.
–Automatic negative if it would mean loss of tipi and yurt. There would need to be a new approved quiet location for these.
–When brainstorming ideas for where this would be, we were not able to come up with a viable solution, but would love to hear if someone else did.

-Loss of green space is a concern.
-Loss of camping is a concern

-Concerns with increased path traffic: that the Village green will become a moving path. It is a communal play/gathering spot to be preserved.
-Stage area might be affected by flow of traffic.
-When the stage is occupied, path space is extremely limited.

-There are trust concerns that the design will be compromised. Some of us cite the New Kids Loop that was sold as a “narrow winding path”, but ended up a large highway (wide and straight). How much control would there really be? Fear of ending up with something different than was planned and not liking the result.
–One thing that would help with this concern is a clear understanding of how much say the Village would have and how they would be able to implement this say. Would there be a committee to keep an eye on the process? Would we be able to do anything if it was not going as we wanted?

Here are the notes from our breakdown at the meeting last night:

How would Little People and Youth Power specifically be effected?
– Possibly more noise around the booth
– Maybe more kids to watch. Solution: maybe setting a capacity?

Concerns:
-Being sold a path we don’t need
–Solution: Make a path somewhere else where a path is needed

-Heavy traffic on Saturday
–Solution: Stop growth, sell less tickets, then we would have less traffic jams

-The Village is a archeological site and should be preserved.

Questions:
-Where would the Tipi go?
-Where would the Yurt go?
-If we had a booth at the entrance to the path that people would walk through, how would we get approval for it? Is it even a real possibility? Who would build it?

As of right now the majority of booth members do not want a new path.

Jay Paton: Here is a Drum post from Jay

 

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New Entrance Breakout, January 14, 2015

Village Entrance Discussion: Tim and Sam facilitated this section
We have discussed this during three meetings in 2013 and 3 meetings in 2014, which revealed some commonly reoccuring concerns:
Removing dead end by yurt and traffic flow, opportunity to expand village with the Fair budget and support with possibly more passes and traffic, more stranger traffic, quiet space relocation issues, security of children, and how to arrange a map with as few changes as possible.
The village divided into groups based on these concerns, with villagers participating in the groups that most closely reflected their top priorities on this topic. We discussed these topics in the spirit of finding solutions to these concerns and how to make this entrance work in order to reflect the nature of our consensus process (problems are presented with possible solutions).
Report from small groups:
1) Security of Children:
Concerns of nightime play safety: Nightme crash gate/wattle fence/alteration of path at night (some were concerned this solution could cause confusion for those used to the path in the day).  More nightime lighting. Roped-off circle of safety in the green with some lighting of some sort and possible adult supervision. Co-op parent babysitting at night, which some booths currently do.
Age-appropriate boundaries could change: Childcare folks could provide suggested guidelines. Parents currently set these boundaties in the rest of life and others areas of Fair and can adapt. Kids meeting each other and knowing each other would increase safety (Youth Booth might help coordinate this). Youth Booth could have a larger lounge.
More paths equals more risks: A booth in the path could slow the flow (is there a fire code issue with this?).
Stage Visibility: Ran out of time
Creation of new dead areas: Ran out of time
Traffic Flow/ flow through cul-de-sac: Ran out of time
2) Current Map Functionability:
If current map indicates what happens the traffic might escape into the village…maybe not…Can we control the flow?
3) Noise for Yurt and Tipee:
Perhaps relocating the yurt and tipee behind the stage and art booth and health and healing. But, council camp might also work with more security. Moving them to new crafts lot? Could keep the dead end with a Grateful Dead End sign.
4) Small Change Group:
Tipee and Yurt relocation to behind stage is a concern about displacing existing village campers. What is the square footage we have to work with? If Spirit Booth were to relocate, maybe we could put the yurt and tipee there. Could the path be more narrow?
5) Big Change Group:
Uncensored brainstorming which was catagorized into: ambiance, structure, an egress with a booth in the new path, a bridge with two stories, booths reshuffle and resize, less walls, quiet space and sitting areas, tunnel, waterslide, winding path, hall of mirrors, secret garden, class space, bigger tipee, revival tent, more draw in and interactive and action, visually active, participants create, art booth space, glitter shower, more ambiance, water arch.
Feedback and comments:
1) Square footage: we don’t know exactly, so lets come up with ideas that excite us.
2) New passes and how wide should the path be: we dont know, but at least wide enough for one cart to go through. We dont know about passes.
3) New kid loop brush clearing was violent. Will it be like that?
4) Everyone has been moved at some point. Displacing campers is the fair norm.
5) Fair land is magical and grows during fair…it gets physically bigger during fair. So, whatever we see off-season is misleading.
6) Width of path and exact numbers can be massaged to fit our creations and creative/exciting ideas are in line with Fair ideals.
7) Consensus in March or April. Discussion next meeting. Consensus is just to do this, NOT the exact plans. A consensus to create.

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Notes from November 12, 2014 Village Meeting:

Path Planning Proposal –  David Tipton
The Path Planning Committee is keeping this proposal active, with plans  to move forward increasing space along East 13th .  The goals of the PP committee  are to make  adjustments to the path in order to improve the quality of site conditions and the experience for the public.  They are working to provide increased width and little “plaza” or pocket park type areas that give people a place gather and rest as they wander East 13th.

The new CV entrance proposal is kind of an off-shoot from a plan to develop a rest area at the existing open area along the main path.   He recognized an  opportunity to not only  open up that area, but connect it to the Village, expand the plan a bit more and the Village would gain a little more space and location for greater public exposure.

It is up the Village to decide if new entrance path would happen.    Keep in mind that the sketched maps on the web-site are meant to suggest ideas for layout, because the final configuration would be very flexible and would be worked out with the Village.

David pointed out that Sue Theolass comes to all of the PP meetings representing the Village.  He hopes that continues, and perhaps someone from the Village could be a backup for her and also attend.

[relevant links: Path Planning Committee Page |  Past CV discussions about this issue]

Q&A with David Tipton

Q:  The Village will decide if the path happens, correct, and not the Fair?
A:  Yes.  Path Planning is offering, not telling us what will happen.  It is also a timing thing, because they would be in a position to help us construct and make changes to the Village (labor help, support for funding)
At this time, the Fair has no intentions of making us do this—down the road as the Fair’s needs increase, it could happen.  The LUMP directs things like paths and traffic flow, public use areas, etc.  Cul-de-sacs are a safety concern, in an emergency and dead end is not a good thing, and it isn’t in compliance with requirements that may be imposed due to insurance.

Q:  You are saying we have that chance for help now; but if we put this off too long, or dropped it now—we might not have this extra support if perhaps the Village wanted to expand in that area in the future?
A:  It’s on our list of work right now.  In the future, making changes at this location may no longer be a priority.  Right now, we know we would be able to help the village create its vision.   Furthermore, if the Village doesn’t approve the proposal, then the Fair will proceed with creating the new “plaza” space along East 13th  as a rest/gathering area for the public.

Q:  We would have an influence over how the traffic would flow through this area?  Could we create a winding path that would slow people down and that would prevent line of sight to the main path.
A:  Yes.

Q:  Does PP generally have positive experiences working with other groups or booths when making changes at the Fair?
A:  By and large, everyone ends up happy.  The PP group does try to work with all the issue and concerns.  Effort to see that it is better for the whole fair including those experiencing the change.  Changes are discussed and agreed or condensed, then the PP and the people facing the change all have strong backing and support.  Sometimes there are little problems, but they try to work it all out.

Q:  What about the loss of green space in that area?
A:  There isn’t much real green space back in there, actually.  It’s already been disturbed a lot.  So impact to green space would be minimal, and no tree cutting.

Q:  What about the children that run around and play, and what about security.  Could we put up a wattle gate after sweep?
A:  Sounds like a possibility.  Might cause a little confusion, however, idea deserves further discussion as a solution.

David had to leave the meeting at this point.  He would like us to share notes with him from the discussion tonight.

Some discussion points:

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October, 2013

Proposed new Path into Village: Recent Path Planning meeting a short discussion occurred that Village had placed “new Village path” on back burner it. This caused concern within the path planning meeting. We need to get our questions answered that we have already brought up. What are our needs from the Village to make this work? What about security and all of the other things that have come up with this? Fruit Booth has a lot of kids and they are really concerned about safety and preserving the feel of the Village and don’t want an 8 style path through Village.

If the issue is that there is a bottleneck around a particular food booth why not find a better place for the booth? Concerns: Frontage on East 13th? What is happening about this?

Response from Sue there will not be booth frontage on East 13th. A possibility is Cart De Frisco moving which might solve a lot of this. The other concern is the bottleneck around tipi and yurt. They were talking about the entrance on east 13th being 12 feet but then it would narrow to 8ft. as it comes into the Village. There are 3 one year only booths and many conversations happening. The path is not going to be as wide as the 8 as this would be too big. We would not have security come in to complete sweep. We should take a look at the maps they presented to us and decide what we want to do and who could move.

Concern: Quiet space for workshops. This won’t happen if Village can’t consense on having the path. Is Liberty Coffee moving? We don’t know.

How do we move forward from here to get concerns addressed? Each booth was presented with a map from David Tippton when he presented at the Village. The map is “fuzzy” {defined: as not being well defined} because we are waiting to hear from all stakeholders involved. Nothing will be done until everyone has come to agreement and everyone is on the same page.

Ideas: form a committee for the New Path into the Village and then the committee can come back to Village with concise info. We need answer questions Diane sent out before we can move forward. Where will quiet area move to? Where will we have workshops? Fruit Booth drew maps of how the path might look and the concerns they have and they would like to be part of the new path committee. How do people’s concerns get addressed? How do we present solutions to concerns? The committee can address the Village concerns and Sue can work with David T. and Kirk to address questions that have arisen about space, congestion, etc. We are hearing more from people with concerns v. people who are excited about this. Might be time for someone to call some of the booth coordinators to spread the word and get a representative from as many booths as possible especially the ones impacted. A committee would have a more focused approach to all of this. As another thought the river is winning and 10 years from now we may not have strawberry lane.

Proposal: Liaison’s from Council will talk to each booth coordinator. Consensed ~ Next Council meeting will discuss this.
Proposal: Form a committee for proposed path into Village at Nov. General mtg. Consensed

 

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Note from Diane Albino, September 24, 2013:

Proposed New Community Village Path Issues to Consider

Questions for the Path Planning Committee:

Questions for the Village to answer

In 2012 there were 20 workshops in the Yurt and 16 in the Tipi. These workshops included several focusing on meditation, Reiki, Qigong, yoga, and a daily women’s grounding circle. 8 events took place in the Green Space, including Dances of Universal Peace and the Mad Pride gathering. (in 2013 there were over 40 workshops.)

What could we do with the new space, and how will we decide?

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CV Meeting – Wednesday, June 12, 2013

New Village Entrance Report – Diane
Entrance Report:  Kurt and David presented intention for new path from 13th St. into the Village.

Some things are not clear – how wide is the clearing?   Answer:  8 ft., 12 ft.
Where will we move displaced booths and areas?
Where will quiet space be established?
Payoff is more camp space and more booth space

We need a clear understanding of what is on the ground now, how the space would change.  We can revisit what we want to do in the fall.

Creating the new access is an option – not mandated.

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Community Village Meeting 3/13/13

New village entrance: proposal to relieve congestion in front of liberty coffee and chicken place. There is also a concern about dead ends which we may have in the village and Fair believes this may be a safety hazard. They are trying to eliminate dead ends. There are some booths on 13th that can be removed as they are one year booths. They have offered this opportunity to discuss another way to access main stage. People would be going through village to access main stage. This issue will be part of the path planning committee. We really need 2 or 3 people to begin participating in path planning meetings. We only have 8 council members this year and we need help. Please look at the diagrams from the last month’s notes. Kurt and David are coming next month to answer concerns and address questions. Look at the entrance into the village and you will see both sides have room for expansion. This is just an idea. Nothing has been set in stone.

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Community Village Meeting, February 13, 2013

New Path Planning Discussion: Path planning possibility (15 min Sue and David) ~ an idea was floated. It’s not going to happen this year!! REPEAT ~ it’s not going to happen this year!! What is being thought about is a second entrance along East 13th. Benefits and draw backs to this idea. We would like to introduce you to this idea before rumors start. Map presented with concept and copies will be given to booth coordinators. David is from red tag construction and path planning committee. We are a board elected committee and are a combination of different crews. We look at ways to make fair more comfortable for people. We look at adding new benches, new paths, etc. Fair is getting larger and mostly it’s us that are expanding. Something we look at specifically making things more comfortable. One of most congested spots at fair is liberty coffee outside village. There is really little opportunity to add seating space. There is significant opportunity to make changes to this part of the path where a number of 1 year turn over booths are on 13th. If we created another entrance we could create more camping, more seating, but would need to move pyramid and tipi to make this happen, or possibly just turn the pyramid around. This would be an opportunity to spread out, to add to help the whole fair. It would create bench space and increase space for the Village. The fluidity of this new concept would make the fire lane area safer. David will come back next month with Kurt Sholtz to address concerns and answer questions. Path planning committee represents a lot of people and everyone voted that it was a great idea. We just want you to consider it. If you go to Family website, you will see a link of maps, including these maps. Action: Please see your booth coordinator for a copy of the scale map. David will be back next month and we will also put it on the CV website for people to look at.  

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In the midst of sparkling crystals, aromatic foods, and a river of people rests an island of idealism, the Community Village. At the heart of the Fair, Community Village promotes social and environmental awareness by providing a forum for the free communication of ideas. The process of putting The Village together is as significant as the end itself, as we organize cooperatively through consensus decision-making.

Since 1976, we have grown from a modest display of appropriate technology to a community involving the energies of individuals from over 90 organizations.

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