"The city government cannot create community," said Robert LaSala, city manager. "But we can certainly contribute to it."

The idea is to build community through the city's service delivery mechanisms without compromising them, he said.

What city officials plan to do is use different techniques—enhancing some already in use by Sunnyvale and borrowing some from other cities—to build a stronger relationship with community residents.

After an initial meeting in early June, city officials pored over policy and service information from numerous cities across the country and narrowed their list to eight cities—Cupertino; Fremont; Scottsdale, Ariz.; Tempe, Ariz.; Glendale, Ariz.; Henderson, Nev.; Portland, Ore.; and Seattle, Wash.—then visited each one.

"We wanted to look at cities that are established," said Coryn Campbell, manager of neighborhood services. "Some of them are similar to Sunnyvale in some way and some are not."

"Considering the diversity that we have in Sunnyvale—not just with ethnicity, but with age, income and social levels—we should embrace what we have," said Amy Chan, assistant city manager. "If our methods are effective, then, hopefully, we will see communities come together, which will improve the quality of life in the city."

Chan added that the city does currently have a strong sense of community but that new methods would only enhance and build on that strength.

With that objective in mind, city officials organized a workshop on July 31 at the Advanced Micro Devices campus to brief city council members on their findings and get input as to what the next step should be. Suggestions and input from council members and residents enabled city officials to take stock of current policies, decide on what needs to be changed and determine how to go about making that change.

"Now is the best time to do this—when the satisfaction rate is high," said Derek Okubo, director of National Civic League headquarters and the meeting's facilitator, referring to a 90 percent approval rating in a recent citizen satisfaction survey.

With Okubo's assistance, officials considered four broad areas to work on—marketing and communications, structure and services, internal and external resources, and capacity building.

"Neighborhood registry was a common feature among all the cities we visited," Campbell said. "Communities within these cities received regular communiqués from city hall."

The group at the workshop generally agreed that communication between the city and residents would be the first step in building a stronger relationship with the community. Resident Margaret Lawson recommended that Sunnyvale create an "all-city" email list so that residents can receive bulletins on a quick and timely basis, especially during an emergency.

LaSala responded that the city is currently working on the technology that will enable the city to do just that.

However, community groups should be targeted according to their interests, council members said, not always according to geography.

"Communication and information should be useful and relevant to residents, " Mayor Fred Fowler said.

Leadership training in the community and identifying self-professed leaders in different communities would close gaps and build bridges, said council members. Members of the public—including Barbara Waldman, mayor of Sunnyvale from 1994 to 1995, and Thom Mayer, resident of Lakewood Village—argued, however, that the city should not be involved in providing leadership training but that such training should be funded and supported by an independent organization in the community.

As a potential next step, LaSala suggested creating a community asset list, saying that such an endeavor would uncover a wealth of resources in the community, which the city could then build on.

"You cannot build community in one day or in one event," Waldman said. "It's built on continuity."