Citizens must be kept informed and given meaningful opportunities to participate in and help shape land use decisions. Local governments must periodically evaluate their efforts to involve citizens and, if necessary, update their programs. There are a variety of typical techniques in use for citizen involvement in the statewide planning program. For many land use decisions by local governments, public notice is printed in the newspaper, and notices are mailed to surrounding property owners. Land use decisions are made in meetings that are open to the public.
Interested persons can comment on proposed actions in a relatively informal setting.
Some local governments use neighborhood or area advisory committees to review major land use issues and make recommendations to the planning commission or elected officials. There are also opportunities for citizens to participate in land use decisions by state and federal agencies. This is a useful how-to book about coastal management in Oregon. It tells you who makes what decisions, the legal requirements for decisions, and how you can participate. Here you can read about the statewide Citizen Involvement Advisory Committee, as well as printed and on-line citizen's guides showing you how to work with the planning program.