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County attorney advises broad notice, workshop if COSAC mails gateway letters to landowners
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Summary
COSAC discussed a planned mail outreach to landowners in valley gateway areas; county attorney recommended targeting all landowners within identified boundaries rather than specific parcels and pairing mailings with an open house or workshop to address equity concerns and reduce ad hoc staff inquiries.
Angie Zedterhoist, interim director of development services, updated COSAC March 3 on a staff plan to notify property owners in identified gateway areas about open-space and trails opportunities and possible grant funding.
Zedterhoist said the county attorney reviewed a proposed targeted letter and advised there was no legal prohibition on sending letters but recommended the mailing be broad and equitable. "He said ... it should target all of the possible landowners in those kind of gateway areas, not just specific properties," she said, and recommended pairing a mailing with a publicly advertised open house or workshop so questions are handled in a single forum rather than routing many inquiries individually to staff.
Committee members discussed scope and cost. Staff said an initial, narrowly scoped mailing (for example, to Sardine Canyon) could be as small as two dozen recipients; widening the polygon to include more small lots could expand the list to a few hundred addresses and increase mailing costs. Committee members suggested lower-cost formats (postcards with a QR code linking to more information), radio public service announcements, or folding a presentation into an upcoming COSAC meeting to reduce the need for a separate event.
Concerns were voiced about the optics of spending county funds to inform landowners about funding opportunities; one committee member warned some County Council members might resist paying to notify landowners even though projects generally require some landowner contribution. Staff noted many projects include a landowner donation component and said the administrative cost of mailers would likely be modest (postage, printing, stationery).
The committee asked staff to return with a proposal and budget for a pilot mailing and to consider a workshop or integrating outreach into the next COSAC meeting. Staff said they could bring a draft to a future County Council agenda item seeking general direction or funding.
