APPENDIX B - SONOMA QUESTIONNAIRE

GENERAL ISSUES, PROCESSES AND SYSTEMS

1. What is your role in the District?
2. Discuss your background, particularly in terms of what you do.
3. How do you spend your time (in percentage terms)?
4. What barriers do you face in performing your job effectively and efficiently?
5. What would help you do you job better?
6. What additional training would you like to receive in order to make you a greater asset to the District?
7. What detracts from your doing your job efficiently and effectively?
8. What would help you do your job more efficiently and effectively?
9. What information do you receive from other offices? What information do you forward to other offices?
10. Do you receive the information do you need to do your job or can you obtain such information easily? How current, detailed, and useful is this information?
11. Describe the processes by which the major activities with which you are involved are performed? Which processes are inefficient in your view and why?

SUCCESS IN ACHIEVING DISTRICT'S MANDATE

1. How would you characterize the District's overall mandate? Please rank the key objectives (e.g, creation of "green belts," creating recreation sites, maximizing conservation easements, educating stakeholders, etc.) in order of importance.
2. Discuss the District's overall strategy for achieving its chief objective; that being to acquire land or otherwise remove it form potential development.
3. Has this changed with time and changing circumtances? Should it change to meet new challenges? If so, discuss.
4. What are the most important things the District should accomplish?
   • Has this changed with time and changing circumstances?
   • Should it change to meet new challenges? If so, discuss.
5. Are the District's employees in accord with respect to what is considered the Distfict's mandate and what are the most important things to accomplish? If not, how has this hindered the District's efforts.
6. Are the various policy/advisory bodies in accord with respect to what is considered the District's mandate and what are the most important things to accomplish? If not, how has this hindered the District's efforts.
7. How would you rate the District's success thus far in achieving its mandate?
8. What is the District not doing that it should be doing (more)?
9. On what is the District spending too much resources that does not add real value to District operations or efforts to achieve its overall mandate?
10. What barriers does the District face in achieving its mandate?
    • Is overall funding sufficient?
    • Are there political conditions which hinder the District's efforts?
11. What is being done, or can be done, to mitigate these barriers?
12. What changes would help the District achieve its mandate better?

ORGANIZATION AND STAFFING

1. Discuss the current mix of skills within the District relative to its operations, goals and objectives? Are the skills needs changing with changing circumstances as the program matures?
2. What skills are in inadequate or short supply (e.g., legal, real estate, biology)? What skills are in ample supply?
3. What skill/individuals are underutilized?
4. What additional training do you believe are needed? What additional skills need to be hired?
5. When cases require skills from outside the District, from what sources might they be obtained (e.g., other County agencies, contractors, etc.)?
6. What training has been provided in the past to employees?

Workload

7. What determines the manpower requirements the most (E.g., size of acquisitions being pursued, number of acres under stewardship, etc.)?
8. Over the past two years:
   • How many acquisitions have been initiated?
   • How many have been completed?
   • How many are currently pending?
9. Discuss trends in workload requirements over the past couple of years and anticipated in the near future. For example, are the number of acquisitions being pursued declining or increasing, etc.?

LONG TERM PLANNING AND GOALS SETTING

1. Is there an approved long range development plan for the District?
   • For what period?
   • Is there an approved Master Plan for the County and are the District's efforts incorporated into this?
2. Describe the plan (e.g., does it contain Annual goals?; performance goals?; budget, etc.?)
3. Describe the process by which the District's long range development plans are developed.
   • What input from District employees, the various advisory agencies, external sources are incorporated into the planning effort?
   • How often are long term plans and objectives developed, evaluated and revised?
   • What external stakeholders are included in the process for developing long range plans?
4. Are there shorter term (e.g., Annual, Quarterly, Monthly, etc.) goals and objectives developed? Describe these plans/efforts.
5. Describe the process by which the District's shorter-term plans are developed.
   • What input is received in developing these plans.
   • How often are short term objectives developed, evaluated and revised?
6. Who is ultimately in charge of setting the long term and shorter term goals and objectives? Who ultimately approves these plans and goals? Discuss the approval process.
7. What research and outside data is obtained in developing all of these plans?
   • Economic/Demographic data from the County or various other jurisdictions.
   • Information on what similar groups are doing, such as other environmental or
     conservation groups.
8. How would you improve the process for developing, evaluating and revising plans, goals and objectives.

MANAGEMENT SYSTEMS

Communication and Reporting Relationships

1. Describe the reporting relationships within the District. What are the most important mechanisms used for keeping District employees informed about what is going on at a particular point in time?
2. Describe the key periodic oral and written reports provided to upper management.
   • What information is contained in the reports? Is there additional information that you think should be provided in these reports?
   • What meetings are regularly scheduled? Are the meetings useful? What is typically on the agenda?

Work and Performance Tracking

3. How is the progress of current projects tracked?
4. How is the performance of particular employees or on specific projects evaluated? By whom?

Cost and Resource Control

5. Has there been an effort to track and analyze the costs of pursuing and completing successful acquisitions? Unsuccessful acquisitions?
   • Are specific project costs tracked?
   • Are specific activity costs tracked? What are they?
   • Are personnel costs tracked by activity? Do employees fill out time sheets?
6. Describe the accounting systems in place. Do you have a Chart of Accounts?
7. In analyzing recent costs, what have you found in terms of 1) major trends and 2) the cost-benefits of certain activities?
8. Are cost-benefit analyses conducted to determine whether certain functions should be outsourced?
9. What percentage of manpower is spent in the following:
   • Researching and identifying potential acquisitions
   • Actively negotiating acquisitions
   • Managing land already acquired
   • Working with stakeholders
   • Administrative
   • Other

Budgeting

10. Describe the process by which an annual budget is developed? Is a longer-term financial/budget forecast developed?
11. Have cost centers been defined for the purposes of budgeting?
12. Describe the process for tracking actual versus budgeted costs.

Funding

13. How is the District's long-term funding needs determined? Describe the process of developing financial forecasts.

Organizational Self Evaluation

14. What evaluations are done on (un)successful acquisition pursuits? Are they formal? What has been learned? Are these evaluations reported to the Authority or Advisory Board?
15. Are any surveys conducted with stakeholders? For what targeted groups? What was asked? What were the findings?

IDENTIFYING POTENTIAL LAND ACQUISITIONS

Overall Process

1. How are acquisition candidates identified and by whom?

Criteria for Identifying Potential Acquisition candidates

2. What are the criteria and priorities of the acquisition process?
   • Are they clearly defined and understood?
   • Are they consistently used as a basis for decisions?
   • What are the relative rankings of these criteria according to your understanding?
3. Describe the process by which criteria and priorities are established?
   • Who is involved?
   • What input is obtained from external stakeholder groups?
   • How is this input obtained?
4. Is there wide agreement regarding the criteria and priorities set among the District employees? Among the various policy/advisory agencies?
5. Are the criteria and priorities appropriate given the District's overall mandate? How would you improve the process by which these criteria and priorities are established?
6. Would you change the criteria currently used or their relative importance? Why?
   • What criteria do you believe have too much emphasis?
   • What criteria is not given enough emphasis?
   • What are the negative impacts of the current criteria and priorities?
7. Have criteria and priorities changed over the years?

Identifying and Pursuing Specific Acquisition Candidates

8. Describe the process by which spec'dic acquisitions (desirable parcels of land) are identified? What are the most important ways acquisition candidates come to the District's attention? What are the most important ways the District advertises its desire to acquire land for conservation purposes?
9. What has been the most effective ways for identifying acquisition candidates thus far? What is the trend?
10. Is there anything done to constantly track when possible candidates become "available (e.g., an ownership transfer or attempted sale?"
11. How would you rate the District's effectiveness in identifying potential sellers?
12. What are the chief barriers facing the District in successfully identifying potential acquisitions? What can be improved about the way potential candidates are identified?
13. Describe the research (e.g., legal, ownership/personality, etc.) that goes into studying potential accusation candidates? Has this research been thorough enough in your opinion to identify the best opportunities and acquisition candidates?

CONTACTING LANDOWNERS, EVALUATING AND APPRAISING ACQUISITIONS, AND NEGOTIATING DEALS

1. How does the District contact owners of desirable parcels? How are acquisitions pursued to maximize those that result in actual favorable acquisitions?
2. What are the chief barriers to this process? How can the District's efforts in this area be supported?
3. What are the primary reasons for failed acquisition pursuits?
4. Over the past two years, how many acquisitions have been initiated? How many were closed with a purchase or conservation title? How many were closed without an acquisition of some type?

EVALUATION OF LAND ACQUISITIONS TO DATE

1. How would you rate acquisitions thus far? Have they been consistent with established selection criteria?
2. Is there a formal process for evaluating land acquisitions?
   • Are analyses conducted on the economic impact of acquisitions?
   • What techniques are used to quantify the economic impacts of acquired lands?
3. What District objectives have been most successfidly met thus far? Least successfully met?
4. How would you rate District progress in acquiring conservation easements? In creating "green belts?"

EXTERNAL RELATIONS ISSUES

Working With Like-Minded Groups

1. Are there other organizations working to achieve the same or very similar objectives as the District? Please list the most important.
2. Describe the efforts (process) of researching, identifying and contacting these organization?
3. Are other organizations working directly or indirectly with the District? Describe these relationships.
   • Which have been particularly successful? Which have been disappointing?
   • How did the relationships get started? Who initiated contact?
   • How do the organizations work with the District?
4. Are there opportunities for the District to leverage off of the efforts of these organizations (to borrow, or "piggy-back" off of their resources/efforts)? If so, how has the District succeeded or failed in doing this?
5. What could be done to improve these relationships? What are barriers to working some of these groups?
6. Are there groups the District should be working with much more closely? If so, why hasn't this happened?

Educating Stakeholders and Building Support

1. Who are generally considered to be the District's chief stakeholders (as opposed to the general public) -- in relative order of importance? In each case, please tell me how they are important.
2. In YOUR opinion, are there others that should be given greater consideration as important stakeholders?
3. How does the District identify its chief stakeholders?
4. Is there a formal plan strategy for keeping the various stakeholder groups informed and supportive (i.e., to support the Open Space Program)? Describe the District's chief efforts to solicit support and keep stakeholders informed. (Discuss what mediums are used to give stakeholders a good understanding and appreciation of the District's efforts -- such as press releases, speeches, etc. Please provide as great a detail as possible regarding the intensity of the effort, including the number of times a particular strategy has been used.)

4. With which stakeholders has the District been effective in establishing good relationships and educating them about the District's efforts? With which stakeholders have the District not?
5. How aware do you believe the general public is of the District's purpose and efforts? What do you base your opinion on?
6. How would you characterized general opinion for the Open Space Program? What is influencing public opinion? Where do you think the general public is getting its information informing opinions?
7. s the District conducted a survey of its chief stakeholder or the general public regarding their awareness, perception,
8. Is there a budget for external relations and program promotion?

Opposition Groups

1. What are the most important organized groups opposed to the District's efforts?
2. What is the District's overall strategy for dealing with these opposition groups? Is there a formal plan?

Overall "Political" Environment

1. Discuss the overall "political" environment related to the District's efforts. Where is there support for the Open Space Program? Where is there opposition?
2. What are the most contentious issues (e.g., residential development, commercial development, available farmland, property rights issues, municipal jurisdictions, etc.)?

RELATIONSHIP WITH ADVISORY/POLICY AGENCIES

The Authority

1. What is the role of the Authority with respect to the District's activities (legally and in practice)? Describe the relationship it has with the District.
   • What oversight responsibility does it have over the District? How does it execute its oversight responsibility?
   • What authority do they have over the District's activities?
   • How is it expected to support the District?
2. Who comprises the Authority? What qualifications do they generally possess? How are they appointed and what criteria are used in selection? What barriers, if any, exists for easily obtaining the best people from serving on the Authority? How wold you improve the process of appointing Authority members?
3. What information/reports are provided to it by the District on a regular or periodic basis? In your opinion, does the Authority receive sufficient information from the District? Does it require too much information? Please elaborate.
4. In what areas of operations of the District does the Authority most involve itself?. In what areas or ways should the Authority become more involved in the District's activities? In what areas should it become less involved?
5. One important role of the Authority is providing funding for the District. Describe the process by which the Authority and the District develop and "agree" on a budget?
6. How often is funding sought? Describe the efforts, if any, made to seek grants and alternative sources of funding?
7. How would you rate the Authority's performance in terms of 1) supporting the District and 2) providing sufficient oversight? In what does the Authority most support the District. In what ways does it hinder the District's efforts?
8. How would you rate the relationship between the District and the Authority? How would you improve the relationship? How would you rate the level of communication between the District and the Authority?

The Advisory Board

1. What is the role ofthe Board with respect to the District's aaivities (legally and in practice)? Describe the relationship it has with the District.
   • What oversight responsibility does it have over the District? How does it execute its oversight responsibility?
   • What authority do they have over the District's activities?
   • How is it expected to support the District?
2. Who comprises the Board (in general terms)? What qualifications do they generally possess? How would you change the "make-up" of the Board? How are they appointed and what criteria are used in selection? What baniera, if any, exists for easily obtaining the best people from serving on the Board? How would you improve the process of appointing Board members?
3. What information/reports are provided to it by the District on a regular or periodic basis? In your opinion, does the Board receive sufficient information fixan the District? Does it require too much information? Please elaborate.
4. In what areas of operations of the District does the Board most involve itself? In what areas or ways should the Board become more involved in the Distsict's activities? In what areas should it become less involved?
5. How would you rate the relationship between the District and the Board? How would you improve the relationship? How would you rate the level of communication between the District and the Board?
6. How would you rate the Board's performance in terms of 1) supporting the and 2) providing sufficient oversight? In what ways does the Board most support the District's efforts?

Overall

1. Describe communication between the Advisory Board and the Authority?
2. Are the roles of the various advisory/policy agencies dearly defined and understood by the various entities?
3. In your opinion, do the roles of the Authority and the Board overlap too much? Do they conflict at times?

LAND MANAGEMENT AND STEWARDSHIP

Land Use

1. How are you set up to perform the following:
   • Help citizen groups form and operate local land trusts?
   • Help citizen groups form and operate historic village preservation programs?
   • Offer land trusts your technical assistance?
   • Provide grants for land protection as well as purchases and easements?
   • Provide grants for the conduct of environmental educational programs for school children?
   • Provide a Speakers Bureau?
2. Do you create areas for the following:
   • Non-agriculture use - wildlife habitat/food plot development
   • Natural resources conservation (e.g., water, minerals, oil/gas)
   • Watershed protection (i.e., buffers around lakes and streams)
   • Scenic backdrop areas (such as vistas and overlooks)
   • Disaster prevention (e.g., land sculpting to reduce fire, mudslide, avalanche, or
     other natural dangers)
   • Disabled accessible recreation opportunities
   • Hiking, biking, horseback riding, etc.
   • Picnicking, camping, wilderness backpacking, etc.
   • Mountain biking, motor-bike, hang-gliding, etc.
   • Visitor center or nature exhibit
3. Describe the process for deciding what uses a newly acquired (or acquisition candidate) will have (e.g., recreation, etc.)?
   • What stakeholders are brought into the process and how?
   • Are their criteria established for determining land uses?
   • Are their priorities? How are these priorities established and who is included in the process?
4. Is there agreement among the Advisory Board and Authority members regarding land use priorities? Where is there particular disagreement among the various stakeholder groups with regard to land uses? Which stakeholders groups are most actively involved?
5. How has the process been particularly effective? What about the process has been ineffective? What improvements would you make to the process?
6. Are the lands being adopted into the program heterogeneous (i.e., is there a mix of land types, such as mountain areas, seashore and sea-near area, arid lands, wooded lands, and farm lands)? What is the County's and the Open Space Program's objective in this regard?
7. Which of the County's ecosystems are represented in the mix of lands being protected? Are their priorities established in this regard?
   • How are these priorities established and who is included in the process?
   • In your opinion, has all ecosystems been adequately represented? Has some been overly represented? Why is this so?
   • To your best knowledge, what are the opinions of the Advisory Board, the Authority, the County, and other stakeholder groups regarding representation of ecosystems?
8. Are there specific threatened or endangered species that you are attempting to protect as part of the Open Spaces program? How have these priorities been established? What stakeholder groups are involved in the process?
9. With what agencies are you working for the protection of habitat for listed species? Describe these relationships and how you work together to leverage your respective efforts?

Stewardship and Land Management

Discuss how the District manages its acquisitions (e.g., on-site management and inspection, fee collection, etc.) by type of land use. To what extent is management outsourced? Specifically discuss the following:

1. Are all open spaces which currently allow public access open at "no-charge" to the public? If not, how is fee collection controlled?
2. Are all open spaces which currently allow public access open available 365 days per year? How is availability controlled?
3. At all open spaces which currently allow public access, are rest rooms and parking areas provided? How are these controlled and maintained?
4. At all open spaces which currently allow public access, are District-approved concessionaires permitted (e.g., snack bar, recreational equipment rentals, bait, etc.)?
5. At all open spaces which currently allow public access, who has routine patrol resporisibilities? Who handles emergencies?
6. Is the District responsible for any maintenance of areas to which Conservation Easements have been grated?
7. What maintenance of easement lands is the responsibility of the current land owner?
8. What steps must occur prior to any changes a land owner wants to make to lands under a Conservation Easement?
9. For lands which are not open for public access, who has inspection responsibilities? How often are these inspections performed? Is the Inspector knowledgeable about each specific District/Owner agreement?
10. Are District employees or volunteers used as "Park Rangers" (e.g., inspectors) at parks?
11. Is there a "docent" program for some parks?
12. What percent of the District's annual budget is spent on administration, acquisition, development, and maintenance?
13. What percent oftotai maintenance and development costs annually are paid for by volunteer groups/donations (i.e., total cost - County's share)?
14. Explain the types of work carried out by each of the planners, as well as any recreation and/or natural resources specialists that may be hired by the District.
15. Are Environmental Impact Statements prepared before each acquisition? Before each Easement contract? Before development?
    • Who prepares and who approves the EISs? Describe the process of developing EISs.
16. What contact, if any, is there before (a.) pursuit of a acquisition, Co.) Completion of an acquisition, (c.) Development of an easement contract, (d.) Determine of land use and development of land?
    • Are there public hearings held? How many have been held?
    • Are stakeholder meetings held? How often?
    • Is there a public announcement or press release?
17. Concerning public hearings and/or stakeholder meetings that have been held:
    • How are these advertised and how has attendance been?
    • What have been some of the major issues raised at the public hearings? At other stakeholder meetings?
    • What was done to resolve the issues and find consensus among the stakeholders (i.e., including neighbors, owners, Sonoma County Government, other Government agencies, environmental or recreation groups, and individual citizens)?
18. Do you feel that the District has been successful, overall, in its pursuit to balance the needs of the stakeholders?
19. What could be done differently to enhance the results of your individual efforts? Your unit's efforts? The District's efforts?
20. Do you ever calculate the economic impact of open spaces in your program and of the land uses ultimately put into place?

An example might be surveying local shop owners in order to calculating the increase in sales of biking or hiking related Items near where a new trail has just been opened by the District on a recently acquired piece of open space. Another example would be measuring increases in sales of picnic supplies near a new park.