When time is short: how Doqubit helped residents prepare submissions to their municipality

This article is based on a real situation in which residents of a neighbourhood had to respond quickly to proposed changes to local development plans and submit their views to the municipality. They were willing to get involved, but several practical obstacles made the process difficult - a tight deadline, the need to understand the rules for that particular public consultation, prepare individual documents and arrange for them to be signed.

It all started when one resident took a closer look at documents published by the municipality. They proposed changes that would allow apartment buildings to be developed in an area of private houses. Such a proposal could significantly change the character of the neighbourhood and increase the density of development in an area previously dominated by private houses.

As they continued to look through publicly available information, residents realised that the proposed changes might be more than a theoretical plan for the future. They could have a significant impact on the whole neighbourhood, increasing traffic and pressure on infrastructure, as well as affecting residents' privacy and familiar living environment. At the same time, there was very little time left to act, as the deadline for submitting proposals stated in the public consultation notice was approaching.

In this article, we look at how residents came together to make their views known to the municipality, the bureaucratic and technical obstacles they faced, and how Doqubit helped simplify the preparation of individual submissions.

When a shared goal calls for quick, considered action

In situations like this, it is not enough for residents simply to disagree with the proposed changes. They need to put their position into words and submit it as part of the relevant public consultation before the deadline. The neighbourhood's residents therefore had to work out quickly what document to prepare, who to address it to and how best to communicate their position to the municipality. They also needed to inform their neighbours, some of whom had not yet heard about the proposed changes.

This is precisely where many residents' initiatives lose momentum. People may share a goal and want to get involved, yet lack a clear process for turning a conversation with neighbours into a document that is ready and submitted. When the deadline is tight, every additional organisational step reduces the chance that everyone who wants to express their views will have time to do so.

Why a single joint submission was not the most suitable solution

Initially, residents considered preparing one joint submission and collecting signatures from everyone supporting the initiative. It seemed a logical way to express the neighbourhood's position together and show the municipality that the planned changes concerned many residents.

However, after looking into the requirements for a collective submission and discussing the process with the municipality, it became clear that this would be difficult to achieve in the time remaining. They would need to reach a specified number of signatories, collect each submitter's details and coordinate the signing of the document. Some residents were living elsewhere or were away, and not everyone used an electronic signature.

Collecting signatures on paper was not practical either. Documents would have to be printed, delivered to residents, collected and checked. The organisers would have to gather people's personal and contact details, keep track of the signatures received and ensure that the whole process was completed before the public consultation deadline.

A different approach was therefore chosen - each resident would express their position individually. This allowed people to act independently, without waiting for all the signatures to be collected. But this approach brought another practical obstacle: not everyone had access to document-editing software, a printer or the necessary digital skills. People wanted to get involved, but they needed a simple way to turn their views into a properly formatted individual document.

How Doqubit made preparing submissions simpler

To reduce the technical and organisational obstacles, the text prepared by the initiative's organisers was added to the Doqubit document preparation platform. Residents received a single link that they could easily open on a phone or computer. Each user entered the necessary information themselves and prepared an individual submission in their own name. Once the document was ready, each resident signed it and submitted it to the municipality in accordance with the procedure set out in the public consultation notice.

There was no need to find the right version of a file, adjust the document's layout or work out where to enter personal details - the main text was already prepared, and each resident only needed to fill in the required fields. The link could easily be shared in a neighbourhood group chat or sent by email, allowing each resident to prepare the document at a convenient time.

Using Doqubit also reduced the organisers' workload. They did not have to send a document to each person individually, help with formatting or check that the correct file version was being used. Complex coordination was replaced by a single, straightforward document preparation process that everyone could follow.

Less bureaucracy encouraged residents to get involved

By the deadline, a substantial number of individual submissions had been prepared on Doqubit and submitted to the municipality by residents. But the exact number of documents is not the most important part of this story. The key takeaway is that people were willing to get involved once preparing the document became simple and easy to understand.

Multiple individual submissions do not, in themselves, guarantee a particular municipal decision. They can, however, help show that an issue matters to a wider group of residents and give people a way to express their position.

Bureaucracy does not always come from complex laws or lengthy forms. It is often a series of seemingly simple tasks - finding the right document, understanding how to complete it, entering the necessary information, saving it, signing it and sending it to the right recipient. Each step may seem small on its own, but together they can make the process difficult enough for someone to put off preparing a document or abandon the idea altogether.

In this case, Doqubit did not replace the residents' initiative itself. The platform did not formulate their position or decide which arguments to include in the submission. It helped reduce the technical burden so that people could focus on what mattered most - expressing their views to the municipality.

This experience clearly showed that making a document easy to prepare is not enough on its own - it is just as important to let users sign it electronically straight away. If signing requires another system, uploading a file and then sending it on, the extra steps can make participation harder, especially for people who use digital tools less often.

That is why electronic signing has been introduced on the Doqubit platform. Users can now prepare a document in Doqubit, sign it in the eParaksts environment and return to Doqubit to download the signed document. This makes the whole process faster and easier to follow, and reduces the chance that a prepared document remains unsigned or unsent because of additional technical steps.

Where to start with a residents' initiative

In similar situations, the first step is to understand which form of public participation or submission applies to the issue. A proposal submitted during a public consultation, an individual submission and a collective submission are not the same thing, and the procedures for submitting and considering them may differ.

Can you share your views if your declared residence is elsewhere? Everyone has the right to take part in a public consultation on a spatial plan and submit proposals within the specified deadline. These rights are not limited to people whose residence is declared in the municipality or who own property there, so someone renting a home there can also share their views. This is provided for in Section 4 of the Territorial Development Planning Law.

Collective submissions, however, have different requirements. They may be signed by Latvian citizens who are at least 16 on the date of submission and either have their declared residence in the municipality or own real estate there registered in accordance with the law. A rental agreement alone does not replace these requirements. This is set out in Section 56 of the Local Government Law.

Spatial development planning matters are subject to a specific public consultation procedure, so it is important to read the municipality's published notice carefully before preparing a document. It usually states the deadline, recipient, accepted submission methods and other essential information about the particular process. Additional requirements may follow from the applicable legislation and the municipality's decision to launch the public consultation. Spatial development planning documents, information about public consultations and options for submitting proposals can also be found on the national geoportal.

If the requirements are unclear, it is advisable to ask the relevant municipality for clarification in good time or consult an appropriate specialist. Doqubit helps create and fill in a document, but does not determine which type of submission is most suitable in a particular situation or what its legal basis should be.

Residents' involvement does not necessarily end when the document is sent. After submitting it, it is advisable to follow the information published by the municipality, its assessment of the proposals received and subsequent decisions. This helps residents check whether their arguments have been taken into account and how the municipality has explained its decision.

You can contact Doqubit in similar situations

If neighbourhood residents, an association or a group of activists want to draw their municipality's attention to an issue of public importance, but preparing documents becomes an obstacle, we invite them to contact Doqubit at [email protected].

After assessing the particular situation, Doqubit may provide a free technical solution for adding a document prepared by the initiative's organisers to the platform. Residents receive a shared link, while each person fills in and prepares the document individually in their own name.

The platform cannot make decisions on people's behalf or guarantee a particular response from the municipality. It can, however, help ensure that technical difficulties do not prevent residents' views from reaching their municipality at all.

Note: Doqubit provided only the technical solution for preparing documents in this initiative. The platform does not represent submitters, develop the arguments in a submission or provide legal advice. The authors and submitters are responsible for the document's content, the accuracy of the information provided and its suitability for the particular situation. If a legal assessment is needed, it is advisable to consult an appropriate specialist.