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Overview:
Casper, WY residents were concerned about what would become of a large refinery site (located near the downtown) that was about to be vacated by Amoco. A group of people living and working adjacent to the site filed a lawsuit claiming property damage from refinery pollution. A citizen group realized that a judge's initial ruling, finding Amoco responsible for cleaning the site, created an opportunity to negotiate a desirable solution. In just three weeks, the judge was scheduled to hear testimony and rule on the complaint brought by the neighbors. The citizen group realized that Amoco might prefer to negotiate a settlement with Casper residents directly, rather than wait for the judge's second ruling. They had to act quickly. They knew that they alone could not speak for the community about what should be done with the site.
How the "Store" got involved:
The citizen group hired Carl Moore to assist with the design and facilitation of the process.
Process Used:
Twenty-one citizens, representing the diversity of Casper and called the Homework Group, were educated about a variety of topics and developed a Strategic Vision for the site.
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They used
Storyboarding to identify what they "treasure" about Casper. |
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They used Nominal Group Technique to answer the questions, What should Casper be doing differently? What would they like to say Casper had accomplished? What changes need to be made in Casper?" |
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They used Single Text Negotiations to agree on the elements that the group believed should be part of a preferred solution. |
They told a "design team" what they thought would be desirable uses for the site. The design team developed three visual options for the site. The Homework Group gave them substantial feedback on what they liked about each of the options, and the next morning, just before noon, the Homework Group reviewed and agreed to their proposed composite design. Developing the vision, designing the options and coming to agreement about the preferred elements took three and a half days.
Product:
A small negotiating team representing the citizens group (unofficially) and the city and county (officially) made the composite design the starting point for a negotiation with Amoco. The negotiation resulted in an agreement valued at $60 million for a resuse plan for the site. Negotiations also occurred with the Wyoming Department of Environmental Quality and with the EPA regarding a streamlined regulatory review that would speed up the remediation efforts, greatly accelerating the completion of the reuse plan.
Case Study: Chattanooga, TN
Case Study: Coconino National Forest
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