The national Charrette institute sought by Lakewood neighbors released its
report findings.
APP reports Back in February professional mediators came to Lakewood and interviewed residents, community and political leaders to hear from them what is creating discord among township residents. Out of 160 people invited only 90 came to be interviewed (see list below). The interviewee list was hand picked and most Lakewood residents were not given an opportunity to talk to the mediators.
The
assessment was paid for by local orthodox Jewish businessman for $35,000.
The report highlights areas of strength in the Lakewood region such as quality of life,low crime rate, charity giving, strong economic profile with jobs available and importunity for cross cultural diversity interactions.
Interviewees noted the Challenges faced by them, such as Misinformation, misunderstanding and misconceptions that create a lack of trust among residents. Bias attitudes antisemitism against the
orthodox, media coverage of Lakewood as a whole and APP in particular pushing negative stories exacerbates community tensions. Cultural differences coexistence and impacts of change as Orthodox Jews move into new neighborhoods. Managing Land use response to growth: Traffic were mentioned by almost all interviewees some said Traffic is not unique to Lakewood
The
report suggests the following recommendations moving forward
-Expanding a convening structure for collaborative Governance
-Expanding relationship and trust building
-developing a shared community coexisting plan
-conducting collaborative Visioning and growth management planning
