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Shovel ReadyRichmond, California
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Participate and follow

Ask a question, give feedback or answer a survey

Find an opportunity that is open for input, send your question, feedback or survey answers, and read published answers.

Open Participate

Find an opportunity

Open Participate to see every opportunity currently open. Each tile shows the method, such as a question, feedback, survey or meeting, and when it closes. Opportunities also appear on the homepage under Open for input, and on the property or project they relate to. In the explorer, the Public input open filter shows only records with open input.

Send a question or feedback

  1. Open the opportunity and go to its form.
  2. Write a Short summary and Your question or Your feedback. Leave out personal details such as your phone number or home address.
  3. If you're not signed in and the opportunity accepts guests, enter an Email for a reply, or leave it blank.
  4. Confirm you have read the notice, then choose Send question or Send feedback.

Your writing is kept if the connection fails, and if you choose to create an account partway through, the draft is restored afterwards.

Answer a survey

Survey opportunities show their questions under Survey questions. Answer at least one, then choose Submit answers. Questions marked optional can be skipped.

Guest or account

Each opportunity is set by the City to accept guests, or to need an account so staff can reply. If an account is needed, the page says Sign in to take part before you start writing.

As a guest you get a private tracking link. With an account, the submission and any reply appear under My submissions in My Richmond.

After you send

You'll see Received with a reference number. Staff review every submission; nothing is published automatically. A guest also sees Your private tracking link once. Copy it before leaving the page. See Track a guest submission.

  1. You sendReference number; a guest gets a private tracking link.
  2. Staff reviewAssigned, with internal notes only staff see.
  3. Private replyShown in My Richmond or on the tracking page. Email if configured.
How a submission moves. Nothing is published without a staff decision.

Sending input here is a way to ask and comment. It is not an official hearing, a statutory comment period or a planning application.

Read published questions and answers

Some opportunities have a public Q&A. It shows only questions City staff chose to publish, often lightly edited to remove personal details, with the City response. Use Search published questions to find a topic. Signed in, choose Follow on a question to be told when its answer changes.