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The Neighborhood Planning Office (NPO) was created in 1994 to implement the goals of the Comprehensive Plan for neighborhood planning. The office began work in January 1995 with a goal of creating 30 neighborhood plans in four years. The program was extended for a fifth year and the NPO closed June 30, 1999, after which its functions were folded into the Department of Neighborhoods (DON). Throughout the planning process the NPO worked with the Office of Management and Planning (OMP) and DON. Each neighborhood was assigned a staff member to oversee the planning process, and consultants were hired to facilitate communication between community members. Areas of priority were urban centers, manufacturing and industrial centers, urban villages, and distressed areas.

The planning process was broken into three steps: pre-application, Phase I, and Phase II. Work on the pre-application for funding included creating an Organizing Committee, setting neighborhood boundaries, developing planning guidelines, and developing neighborhood profiles and maps.

Phase I included outreach to community members, organizations, and businesses to organize and discuss the state of the neighborhood, writing a community vision statement listing the values and goals of the neighborhood, and creating a Planning Committee to lead Phase II. The results of Phase I were reviewed by the community in a validation step to ensure that the community as a whole was represented in what would become the basis of the scope of work for Phase II.

Phase II consisted of planning and developing projects and putting the plan through the validation process. The final plans, subject to environmental review to ensure compliance with the State Environmental Policy Act (SEPA), were submitted to the City Council for review, approval, and adoption. Once approved, projects were prioritized for funding.

Karma Ruder, former director of the Neighborhood Planning Office, holds bachelor's degrees in human relations and philosophy and a master's degree in public administration from the University of Kansas. Ms. Ruder was named a Distinguished Citizen by former Mayor Paul Schell in 1999. She now works as the Director of Community Collaboration at the Center for Ethical Leadership.

Source: http://www.ethicalleadership.org