Dublin’s City Council passed an ordinance on Tuesday night to encourage residents to seek mediation when there is a dispute regarding a Dublin city project or commission decision. Please click here to read Sophia Kazmi’s article.

The genesis for this ordinance dates back to the October 17, 2006 Dublin City Council meeting where outgoing Councilmember George Zika reprimanded the parties involved in a request to rescind a 20-minute parking zone in front of Retreat for Children located at 8339 Cypress Court. This limited parking zone had previously been approved by the City Council at the request of the owners to facilitate pick-up and drop-off activities of developmentally disabled children using the facility. However, the disputing parties were able to come to an agreement and went back to Council to ask them to reverse their previous decision.

As a suggestion to save time, outgoing Councilmember Claudia McCormick proposed that Dublin City Staff conduct research and draft an ordinance that would encourage Dublin residents to first seek mediation before bringing their neighborhood disputes to the City Council. Current Councilmember Hildenbrand formally made the motion and Councilmember Zika seconded the motion to direct Staff to research this ordinance.

What does this mean to the residents of Dublin? First of all – mediation is voluntary. The Council is primarily interested in ensuring that parties at least consider mediation as an option before going before the City Council. Additionally, this ordinance will be in effect for 1 year. After the year, the new City Council will evaluate whether or not to extend the ordinance.