The process proposed to update the Ballard/Crown Hill neighborhood plan, and 37 others across the city, won't be as in-depth as when the blueprints were originally conceived in the late 1990s, but city leaders vow there will still be plenty of neighborhood input.

Director of Seattle's Department of Planning and Development, Diane Sugimura, said since the current plans will be used as a framework, the time spent on revising or reviewing each plan can be scaled back substantially.

"We see this definitely as an update," Sugimura said.

Some community activists are concerned the city's plan for revision won't include the grassroots style process that Seattle became famous for nationally and internationally. But Sugimura and said the intent is to continue a partnership with the neighborhoods all the way through to development and writing of the plans.

Stella Chao, director of the Department of Neighborhoods, said she's not interested in a "cookie cutter process" that doesn't honor the "community sweat" that went into the original planning process. Input for each neighborhood will be "tailor-made" to the specific community, she said.

"The whole intent is to assume the neighborhood plans are the foundation," said Chao.

Chao's department has been collecting input from the community for the past six months on the best way to proceed with revising the plans. She said it became clear the city had to focus more on reaching populations that don't always have a seat at the table.

"Everyone's opinion is really important in this if we're going to come to something that's going to work and really be sustainable," Chao said.

Seattle City Council member Tim Burgess, vice-chair of the committee reviewing the proposal, said he would watch carefully to ensure there's "broad public involvement, beyond the folks we hear from all the time..."

Chao plans to use various forms of communication like radio, email and going door-to-door to reach underrepresented groups, such as minorities, youth, seniors and low-income housing residents. Sustainability will be large focus this time around, too, with an emphasis placed on green space.

The city's 2008 budget includes about $1.5 million and 10 staff to begin examining the neighborhood plans by dividing the city into six sectors. The proposed structure puts most of the control into the hands of the Department of Planning and Development and Department of Neighborhoods.

The city would be divided into six sectors and neighborhood plans within those sectors would work independently. Each sector would be completed in one year with five to six plans in each.

The process is expected to take five to six years total.

Areas of the city that never created a plan but have experienced growth could be included in nearby existing plans, said Tom Hauger, a manager with the Department of Planning and Development.

The sector to go first has not been determined but will likely be where the most growth and change has occurred, said Sugimura.

A progress almanac will be created for each plan that outlines what has been done and what still needs to be accomplished. Most work will occur within the neighborhoods with assistance from city staffers, who will provide analysis.

Based on an independent city audit released last fall, Ballard and Crown Hill have done better than most communities at implementation and keeping track of its neighborhood plan.

Nearly 900 residents were surveyed for the review, ordered by Seattle City Council member Sally Clark to review the mid-life progress of the 20-year plans. It showed the need for more city support and funding, but gave the city an overall score of about 9 out of 10, 10 being the best.

The plans have suffered from the loss of six city staffers and a division director whose job was to help neighborhoods implement the plans. Those positions were cut from the Department of Neighborhoods in 2003. The city adopted the plans in 1999 to help implement the city's comprehensive plan.

A forum will be held with Seattle City Council member Sally Clark, former Mayor Norm Rice and the Daniel J. Evans School of Public Affairs at the University of Washington campus on March 1 from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. to discuss the future of neighborhood plans.

Rebekah Schilperoort may be reached at 783.1244 or rebekahs@robinsonnews.com