Who Should Be Involved in Decisions About Land Use in Portage County?
Property rights favor individual needs, but there needs to be a balance that takes into account community rights that include other stakeholders with different interests.
What is a stakeholder? It is defined as the people and organizations who are involved in or affected by action or policy and can be directly or indirectly included in the decision making process. Sometimes, bringing together individuals with different perspectives, interests, and positions has the potential to create conflict. On the other hand, by considering a range of perspectives, it can lead to a larger set of options and quality decisions that are better for all. It is important to include underrepresented groups because they may be most likely to be impacted by an action.
There will be five land use scenarios, asking what level of stakeholder involvement should be required before permits are issued.
You will be asked to use the following scale:
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None: The landowner/leasee has no obligations to stakeholder.
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Informed: The landowner/leasee must make reasonable efforts to inform stakeholder.
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Consulted: The landowner/leasee must make make contact with stakeholder and listen to and consider any concerns, but still makes the final decision.
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Consented: The landowner/leasee must work with the stakeholder to meet any reasonable concerns until there is an agreement.
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