Follow the PCJ across the U.S.

2010-09-08T09:43:00-04:00

All of my Route 50 trip reports from May-July 2007 can be found listed in the left column. The reports are also grouped by category (scroll down the right column).

I want to encourage you to visit our PlannersWeb site. It contains complete information about the Planning Commissioners Journal and our related publications. You can also read excerpts from more than 400 articles we've published since 1991. Most of these articles can be ordered & immediately downloaded online.

Wayne Senville, Publisher & Editor, the Planning Commissioners Journal

National Local

2007-08-22T15:17:00-04:00

We live in a national economy. And we're surrounded by evidence of this. It was reinforced at virtually every corner I turned during my cross-country trip.

Wal-Mart; Walgreens; McDonald's; Starbucks; Appleby's; Federal Express; ... of course the list goes on and on.

But these national firms are just the tip of the iceberg. There's very little we use that's manufactured locally. There are few consumer products we order that aren't manufactured far from where we live, and reach us only by way of national or regional distribution hubs. And there's little we eat that's grown locally (more on this later).

[photo above left: the intersection of Route 50 and Broadway Ave in the center of Salem, Illinois, population 7,909, birthplace of William Jennings Bryan; photo below, two or three times every hour a mile-long freight train blasts across Emporia, Kansas' main street, a vital pipeline in the national economy crossing a vital corridor of a local economy]

There's nothing new about this -- and, of course, we've benefitted from our national economy in our daily lives. But when you travel along Route 50, say, in southeastern Illinois, and see a Wal-Mart truck pass you about every other minute ... or when you're driving through the Kansas City suburbs and see what seems like a procession of giant distribution warehouses ... it really strikes you how much we're dependent on what happens outside our own community, region, or even state.

[photos: right, trucks heading towards Wal-Mart distribution center in Olney, Illinois, on U.S. 50; below: new distribution centers -- first, Pacific Sunwear, in Olathe, Kansas; and below that, Coldwater Creek, in Parkersburg, West Virginia]

While in Grand Junction, Colorado, planner Jim Komatinksy related to me his amazement at the panic buying (and shelf-emptying behavior) that occurred in Grand Junction and other parts of Colorado last Winter when Interstate 80 was closed by snow for several days, and supplies from Denver and beyond couldn't get through. How could a fairly large city like Grand Junction be so vulnerable?

But though we're hooked into this national (and international) web, it still seems to me there's something in the air running counter to this -- an increasing focus on the local. Two concerns appear to be at least part of what's behind this:

-- One is a gut recognition that at some point -- whether because of an economic or ecological crisis, or some other disaster -- we're going to need to be much more self-reliant as communities. The most cogent argument on the vital need to strengthen local economies has been made by respected author Bill McKibben in his recent book, Deep Economy: The Wealth of Communities and the Durable Future.

-- The other reason for an increasing focus on the local lies in a deep-seated need to be part of the community we live in, and to be part of a place that has its own sense of identity and place. That's something most of us involved in planning are aware of -- and hear about from citizens and local elected officials.

Part of what worries McKibben -- along with many of us -- is our dependence on fossil fuels. In a short article McKibben wrote for the Planning Commissioners Journal in 2005, he noted: "If one was imagining the greatest gift you could give any community to prepare it for this century, it would almost certainly be figuring out ways to let it live with less energy. That’s because the trend lines become clearer each day: the great and overriding question of the next hundred years will be figuring out how to ratchet down sharply our use of fossil fuel." (We ran McKibben's brief article along with a longer article by planner Karen Popek Hart, "Energy Conservation & Community Planning" -- they are available in a single download that can be ordered through the PlannersWeb)

[Bill McKibben (left above) is a writer who is also a citizen activist. He led a five day, 49 mile walk to raise awareness about global warming last Labor Day weekend. Hundreds of Vermonters joined him on this trek. I took this photo as the walk near its end point in Burlington's Battery Park. Read McKibben's account of the walk on Grist.org, or a report in the Burlington Free Press. ]

Along similar lines, transportation planner Hannah Twaddell reported last year in This Little Piggy Went to Market: the Journey from Farm to Table, how huge energy savings (and pollution reduction benefits) could result from reducing the miles we typically transport the food we consume.

In traveling through towns and cities across the heart of America the revelation to me was not the extent to which we're all so tied in to a national economy -- I expected that -- but the recognition of the importance of building stronger communities, and fostering greater local self-sufficiency.

In terms of self-sufficiency, perhaps the clearest indicator was the remarkable number of farmers markets I passed. They seemed to be everywhere -- in parking lots; under freeways; in permanent, weather-protected structures; on downtown main streets. [photo: vendor at the Athens, Ohio, Farmers Market, open twice a week in the parking lot of a commercial strip development].

They certainly haven't replaced our supermarkets, but their presence is growing. Besides promoting local agriculture, they help build a sense of community. I've previously mentioned my interview with Richard McCarthy of the National Farmers Market Coalition on this -- and I hope you have a few minutes to listen to excerpts from my conversation.

(See also, Roberta Gratz's article on Farmers Markets, and an article we published last year, Community Food Needs & Opportunities, that highlights ways of encouraging local food systems; the latter article, along with several others, was part of the Planning Commissioners Journal's Farm -> Community issue).

Just a bit more on food. Having a sustainable local agricultural base has interesting roots in American city planning. Here's what planning historian Larry Gerckens wrote in an article we published several years ago:

"Governor James Oglethorpe's 1733 plan for Savannah -- America's first regional plan -- set a framework for growth by providing for development by planned neighborhood units, focused on public squares, and edged by through streets. A key feature of the plan was the provision of public land reserves for future neighborhood additions. The plan also provided for Savannah's urban center to be bounded by small allotment gardens for growing food for family consumption. These gardens were, in turn, rimmed by a network of larger farm plots. Each grouping of ten farms shared a wood lot, providing fuel and game. Oglethorpe's recognition of the connection between agricultural production and urban vitality remains instructive for planners today." See R is for Regional Planning, part of Gerckens' Planning ABCs booklet.

During my trip, I had the fortune to visit with Judy Corbett at Village Homes in Davis, California. Judy, along with her ex-husband Michael, developed this ecologically-oriented project in 1975. They recognized the value of local food production by providing its 800 or so residents with land for community gardens and orchards. One fringe benefit is how these gardens also strengthen the connection between residents -- something that those of you familiar with community gardens recognize. (Incidentally, Gerckens notes the significance of Village Homes in his article, E is for Ecology).

During my trip, I also heard a number of planners talking about green buildings, and the value of using building materials from regional, if not local, sources. I had the opportunity to visit the Chesapeake Bay Foundation's remarkable headquarters building outside of Annapolis -- where, for example, the wood used for the sun louvers was salvaged from local pickle barrels.

Communities are also looking into shifting energy production to a more local base. For years, hydro and solar power have been part of our energy portfolio. But now you're seeing initiatives like wood chip plants (converting local and regional lumber into electricity-generating wood pellets) and, of course, wind turbines. While the energy produced typically goes into large, interconnected electric distribution networks, they represent at least a recognition that we need to develop new energy sources closer-to-home.

[You never know what you'll run into along Route 50 ... right next to the Amtrak depot in Lamar, Colorado, is a blade from a GE wind turbine. This new icon for the 21st century reflects the big investment in wind power in this part of Colorado. For more photos, see my brief post, In the Wind. ]

But I also encountered first-hand some of the challenges the national can impose on the local. In Worcester County, Maryland, I heard about the county's first encounters with large-scale national production homebuilders. Not only are there concerns about the quality of the housing being built, but also about what impact the arrival of national homebuilders will have on local homebuilders and developers who may not be able to match their pricing and cost-cutting strategies. This important segment of the local economy may be endangered. See my post, Where's Berlin (heading)?

And what of local community identity? Does it matter to anyone anymore? In traveling along U.S. 50, and meeting with dozens of planners and planning commissioners, the sense I got is that citizens and local elected officials are looking for ways of strengthening community. Sometimes it's expressed -- as in O'Fallon, Illinois -- as a desire to keep the city's "small town feel" where people feel a connection to where they live.

Certainly, a sense of connection hinges in large measure on people developing their own local networks, and getting involved in community and civic organizations. But community identity can also be fostered in more physical, tangible ways. Interestingly, one thing that several planners I met spoke of as a way of fostering community identity was the development of community-wide recreational trail systems. While building community identity wasn't a primary purpose of building the trail network, it seemed to be a valuable byproduct. For more on this, see my post C-o-n-n-e-c-tions.

[Above left: kids biking in Miami Township, Ohio -- this recreational trail connects a housing development to a regional park; see my post on Miami Township for other issues they're focusing on. Above right: along a 19 mile long recreational path connecting Nelsonville and Athens, Ohio]

What does a network of non-motorized trails have to do with community identity? I'm not totally sure, but perhaps it's through enabling people (from youngsters to oldsters) to get out -- on bike, horseback, or by foot -- and get familiar with other parts of their city. Or perhaps it's the fact that getting these systems funded and built is often dependent on the hard work of active citizen-based organizations.

It may well be that having a challenging project to focus on is one of the best ways of strengthening local community. That seemed to be the case in both North Vernon, Indiana, and Emporia, Kansas, where the difficult challenge of restoring historic (but vacant) downtown movie theaters has served as a focal point for community action. Another impressive example I came across was in the small city of Ely, Nevada, where business leaders and residents came together to open their own community-owned downtown retail store, after unsuccessfully trying to find a national retailer.

As planners -- especially if we work in larger cities or suburbs -- we also sometimes forget the power of neighborhood organizations. They can help draw the community together to get things done.

While traveling through Washington, D.C., I had the opportunity to attend a meeting of the Hillcrest Civic Association. People listened to each other, debated, enjoyed food and coffee, and showed support of a project to convert a run-down neighborhood commercial strip into an attractive, mixed-use development. (Those of you interested in how neighborhood associations can strengthen local planning, see an article we published, Bowling Together: The Role of Neighborhood Assocations).

And planners can also creatively lay out whole communities that promote neighborhood connections and identity. That's one of the aims of many new urbanist developments. But during my Route 50 travels, I saw one of America's oldest, and most successful, planned towns: Mariemont, Ohio. Take a look at my report from there, and you'll get at least a flavor of the role planning & urban design can play.

What was clear to me by the time I reached the West Coast was that as Americans we benefit not just from the national, but from making sure we live in strong, cared for, local communities.

Spreading Out; Filling In

2007-08-16T11:06:00-04:00

Post-Trip Wrap Up, Part 3

There's a tension that's clear in traveling across the U.S. between our preferences for spreading out and filling in. By "spreading out" I mean the pattern of low-density residential housing, accompanied by linear commercial strip development. And by "filling in" I'm referring to our desire for strong main streets and compact development.

Not surprisingly, there's plenty of spreading out. In looking back at the reports I posted, I see that it's not something I covered that much. In large part that's because it's a pattern we're all so familiar with, and one that has so dominated our field of vision since World War II. In virtually every community I passed through on Route 50, there was plenty of evidence of spreading out. Just two examples:

[first photo: heading out of Chillicothe, Ohio; immediately above: Jefferson City, Missouri -- perhaps you can spot the stately capitol dome in the background. Click on images to see them at larger size]

For better or worse, the heart of our towns, cities, and metro areas is generally surrounded -- in larger places for mile after mile -- with this low density spread. I often felt a sense of relief when I finally cut through these outer layers and arrived at the center.

What surprised me was that in most places there still was a center. In fact, in many of the smaller cities and towns along Route 50 the downtown or main street was remarkably intact, at least in terms of streetfronts lined with well-built commercial buildings.

[contrast the photos below, also respectively of Chillicothe, Ohio and Jefferson City, Missouri -- in most of the cities I visited, you'd see this geography of bland commercial strip development -- often along gateways into the community -- not far from handsome downtown main streets]

[left below: Route 50 in the central Indiana city of Seymour (pop. 18,000) -- typical of the "look" of Route 50 as it cuts through the Midwest. But Seymour, like most Route 50 communities, still has its main street just off the arterial].

Of course, remarkably intact does not always equate to being in full use. Yet overall I found much reason for optimism. There are embers glowing along our main streets, and many individuals -- planners and citizens -- working to spread the warmth that comes from an active main street. We've begun to fill in the spaces.

One of the more striking ways in which this is being done is through restoring main street theaters. In the small Indiana city of North Vernon, one amazing lady -- Hulda Reichenbach -- led an effort that eventually (and with help from a community foundation and other groups) resulted in the reopening of the community's historic theater. This has, in turn, triggered other activity along main street. [photo to left, Hulda with Steve Mobley, the Executive Director of the Jennings County Community Foundation; for more details, see my post on Hulda's Theatre].

Much the same is in the works in Emporia, Kansas, where citizens are volunteering time and contributing money to restore the remarkable Granada Theatre -- right in the heart of Commercial Street (Emporia's main street). Even though the work is not yet complete, the project has already produced benefits in bringing the community together to appreciate what they already have downtown -- and to start envisioning how much more active Commercial Street will become once the theatre is open. My report from Emporia has more about the theatre.

[above left: exterior of Granada; above right: Dr. Duane Henderson who has helped lead the effort to restore the Granada; contractor Bones Ownbey; and Emporia zoning administrator Kevin Hanlin / we covered the benefits of historic theaters in a special issue of the Planning Commissioners Journal that provided an introduction to historic preservation planning]

Having other arts and cultural institutions in our downtowns and on our main streets is also taking off. I visited a downtown arts center in Dodge City, Kansas (below left). In Carson City, Nevada, just a block off Carson Street -- the city's main street -- you'll find a combination gallery/store for local artists and community theater space (below right).

In city after city, the planners I met also pointed me to the beginnings of a return of residential housing downtown. Yes, this was happening in big cities like St. Louis and Kansas City. But it was also taking place in smaller cities like Vincennes, Indiana; West Sacramento, California; Pueblo, Colorado; and even in remote Ely, Nevada (population 5,000).

[left: the Oliphant Building in downtown Vincennes is one of several slated for housing. The City, through its Urban Enterprise Association, provides matching grants of up to $10,000 to promote loft conversions. The program is modeled after one in Evansville, Indiana]

In large part, this filling in reflects changing demographics and preferences. Empty nesters and young professionals account for much of the new infill housing I was shown. We still haven't figured out ways of attracting families with kids to our downtowns (though for a look at what one city has done to promote family housing downtown, see our brief report on Vancouver).

[above, new infill housing one block off Aultman Street, Ely's downtown main street. Note one of Ely's murals on the left; the building on the right is the community-owned Garnet Mercantile store. See my report on Ely for more on both the city's murals and downtown store ]

[above, view of Metro Place, a 54 unit infill housing project in West Sacramento; below left, new lofts housing in downtown St. Louis; below right, similar housing in downtown Kansas City]

I'm convinced that many people want to come downtown -- if there's a reason to do so. That's part of why Pueblo, Colorado's, hard work in developing its downtown riverwalk is starting to pay off. See my report on Pueblo's riverwalk. Yes, people want parking, but much more importantly they want a comfortable place to walk, get something to eat, and have something to do and see. Our main streets and downtowns often start with a big plus -- they're lined with attractive and varied buildings and streetfronts. To pick on Pueblo again, just take a look at some of the commercial buildings that line Union Street downtown.

But I found much the same along main streets in just about every place I visited.

People need to see other people downtown. It's as simple (and hard) as that. That's where basic things like providing for outdoor dining and building pedestrian-friendly sidewalks come in.

Take outdoor dining. When I was in St. Louis, Steve Patterson pointed out to me the importance of on-street parking in promoting outdoor dining. People aren't comfortable sitting down right next to traffic whizzing by. But put a row of parked cars in and you have a buffer that makes sitting outdoors much more pleasant. And when people starting dining outside, before you know it, more pedestrians and window shoppers start to appear. It has a snowballing effect.

Sometimes it takes a reduction in traffic to accomplish this. In Carson City, for example, main street suffers from having too much traffic, especially trucks, to allow for a comfortable pedestrian environment (see photo on right). Carson City planners envision reducing the main street to two travel lanes -- but a bypass freeway first needs to be completed so cars and trucks don't have to travel down main street.

In filling in our main streets and downtowns, it's also important to keep our key public buildings -- post offices, libraries, and court houses -- there. I know there have been mixed results with this. Too many of these public uses are still being removed from our downtowns. This hurts since post offices, libraries, and government centers are critically important in bringing people downtown. Fortunately, in many communities, these stately (and sometimes magnificent) buildings are being restored and upgraded so they can continue in use -- downtown.

[The grand Chase County Courthouse, now being rehabbed, anchors one end of Main Street in the small county seat town of Cottonwood Falls in east-central Kansas; many similar courthouses grace our nation's cities and towns. For more on the vital role that courthouses and other public buildings play in our downtowns, see Phil Langdon's Public Buildings Keep Town Centers Alive and Ed McMahon's Public Buildings Should Set the Standard -- both available to order and download]

There are things we as planners and planning commissioners can do to support and strengthen our main streets and downtowns. Kennedy Smith and Roberta Gratz have offered excellent ideas in articles we've published over the years -- many included in a collection of articles on Downtowns and Town Centers that we've published. And we'll certainly continue to cover downtown topics in the Planning Commissioners Journal.

[illustration by Paul Hoffman for the Planning Commissioners Journal. copyright PCJ; for a look at another illustration of Paul's I posted during my Route 50 trip]

Sometimes it's modest, common-sense ideas that can make a big difference.

In Emporia, Kansas, for example, zoning adminstrator Kevin Hamlin told me about the city's "code team" that, at the request of someone considering opening a business, will walk through the building. The team includes the city engineer, the building codes supervisor, someone from the fire department, and one of three local architects who have volunteered their time.

[photo above left: the Kress Building, with its distinctive brickwork and terra cotta trim was built in 1929. It is one of many well-designed structures along Commercial Street in downtown Emporia; see photos below]

As Kevin put it, this completely voluntary advance review "helps the potential business owner identify work that needs to be done, and avoid making mistakes and wasting money." It also ensures that "everyone from the city is on the same page" so that property owners don't hear different things from different arms of the local government. Many of their reviews have been of businesses interested in locating downtown.

Kennedy Smith noted in her article Downtown Hurdles (part of the Downtowns and Town Centers collection I mentioned), "An obstacle to downtown revitalization is simply an incentive for development to take place somewhere else. Your community's comprehensive plan should make downtown the easiest and most advantageous place for new development to occur."

It's programs like those in Vincennes and Emporia, and the downtown focused plans I saw being implemented in many of the cities I visited, that make me more confident that we'll be seeing more "filling in" of our downtowns. Now if we could figure out a way to stop spreading out ...

"Quality of Life"

2007-08-13T15:06:00-04:00

Post-Trip Wrap Up, Part 2

No doubt, all of us have been involved in discussions about the "quality of life" in our community. It's a phrase I repeatedly heard mentioned during my cross-country trip. In fact, it seems to have become the umbrella term just about everyone uses -- from local elected officials and planners to citizens attending public meetings -- to describe what they want for their community.

Just go online and do a quick Google search, and you'll find a wealth of pages to browse through. You'll also find organizations devoted to quality of life (and its close cousin, "livable communities") issues.

I tried to listen to how the term was used by the planners and planning commissioners I met with. One thing that struck me was the link between quality of life and the health of the local economy. This, in turn, often related to positioning the community to be able to attract good paying jobs and highly educated individuals.

Here's one example I repeatedly came across: the importance of having a high-quality regional medical center.

And in place after place I visited, I was shown the regional hospital (and the related medical offices that go with medical centers) -- or the site for a new and expanded regional hospital.

I knew medical centers were of growing importance, but I was truly surprised by how often during my travels planners and planning commissioners stressed just how important they were.

[photos of just some of the regional medical centers I saw: top left, Newman Regional Health in Emporia, Kansas; next row left: Montrose, Colorado; right: Placerville, California; bottom row left: existing medical center in Moab, Utah; right: new site for Moab medical center]

Indeed, I think I heard more about medical centers than about K-12 schools (though, of course, K-12 schools still retain their importance in any discussion of quality of life).

It probably shouldn't surprise us that with changing demographics, and our aging population, the role of health care facilities has assumed even more importance in our lives.

In addition, regional medical facilities are frequently one of the top employers in a region, and bring with them a large number of highly educated, well-paid staff ... which brings me to my next point.

There's also a constellation of quality of life issues that relate to a community's ability to attract folks like the doctors who are needed by regional medical centers. These include providing high quality recreational facilities, cultural attractions such as performing arts centers, and, interestingly enough, an attractive, lively downtown.

On the last point, this is from my notes of my lunch meeting in Parkersburg, West Viriginia. As Keith Burdette, the President and CEO of the Wood County Development Authority, put it, for Parkersburg to thrive it needs to become a "24/7 city ... because businesses recruit nationally and internationally. Young execs look at the downtown's vitality as an indicator."

As an aside, you might recall from my post on Parkersburg, the folks I met with there saw no contradiction between having a strong downtown and having big-box retailing located outside of the central core. In fact, they felt that traditional retailing wasn't an essential part of their vision of vibrant downtown -- but having plenty of restaurants, theaters, a good hotel, and some downtown housing was.

[photo above right: the Smoot Theatre, one of two active theatres in Parkersburg's small downtown. Below, the Blennerhassett Hotel was beautifully restored two years ago. The 89 room hotel has been a key factor in recruiting businesses to Parkersburg, while providing important downtown meeting space for local groups and organizations].

The growing interest of suburbs in developing their own downtowns or town centers also seems to relate, at least in part, to having a vibrant place where people can get together not just during the day, but late into the evening. I touched on this in my last post.

Another plus in the quality of life arena is having a college in the community. In many of the places I visited -- Emporia, Kansas; Vincennes, Indiana; Gunnison, Colorado; and even the small city of Ely, Nevada -- those I met with emphasized how valuable it was to have a college. In part, this is because colleges, like hospitals, are a major employer. But also important is the fact that colleges help provide the vitality and cultural amenities that attract professionals to a city.

[photos: top above, Western State College of Colorado is located just east of the center of Gunnison, Colorado; immediately above, Vincennes, Indiana, Mayor Terry Mooney, on the stage of the Red Skelton Theater, recently opened on the campus of Vincennes University].

And to close off this post, one other factor that was often highlighted to me was the community's recreational facilities -- especially parks and trail systems. Again, the strength of a city's recreational offerings seems to be another key indicator of "quality of life."

[above: the out-of-commission Old Fruita Bridge over the Colorado River is now owned by the city of Fruita, Colorado. The city's planners are looking into ways of covering the approximately $250,000 cost of stabilizing the bridge, and using it as part of the city's recreational trail system, linking Fruita's neighborhoods to the Rimrock recreational area on the south side of the river].

I'm still mulling over all that I heard about quality of life. I'd be interested in hearing your take on this ... what's key in your community to "Q.O.L."? And what role can planners play in this?

C-o-n-n-e-c-tions

2007-08-08T19:01:00-04:00

Post-Trip Wrap Up, Part 1:

Since my return to Burlington, Vermont, I've spent time working on our city's new transportation plan -- I'm a member of the advisory committee providing input on the plan. One of the points we've been discussing is how to build more "connectivity" into Burlington. In part, that means enabling residents to more easily walk or bicycle between neighborhoods.

That's an idea I heard mentioned by many planners and planning commissioners in communities I visited during June and July. At its most basic, as in Montrose, Colorado, it means retrofitting already developed residential enclaves so that there are sidewalk and road connections. One problem that Kerwin Jensen, Montrose's planning director, described to me is the difficulty people have in getting around by bike or on foot without being forced to use heavily traveled county roads.

But also in Colorado -- and elsewhere -- I found planners proactively ensuring that connectivity is in place as developments are being built. In Fruita, Colorado, planners Dahna Raugh & Chris Brubaker showed me how new residential subdivisions are being linked in to the city's growing trail system (immediately below, views of paths connecting two different subdivisions in Fruita to the city's recreational trail system).

A couple of days later, in Moab, Utah, community development director David Olsen stressed his small city's commitment to connecting all of the city's neighborhoods by a trail system. He showed me parts of the Mill Creek Parkway trail, noting that it already connects three of the city's four K-12 schools. [photo on the left: biking along Mill Creek Parkway]

We've reported on this "trend" in the Planning Commissioners Journal's Bright Ideas issue where we highlighted efforts in Scottsdale, Arizona, to develop an extensive trails system. (You can download a complimentary copy of this mini-artice; all 25 of the Bright Ideas we featured can be ordered & downloaded at: http://www.plannersweb.com/brightideas.html ).

While planners and planning commissioners still confront residents who feel that building trails and connecting subdivisions only serves to make it easier for criminals to get access to their neighborhood, this is an argument without evidence. In fact, a growing body of research shows that having a nearby trail or recreational path is an amenity that, if anything, increases property values.

Indeed, recreational trails are one key element in something else I also regularly heard about during my travels: "quality of life." See my other post on this.

But let me to get back to connections, because what I want to mention goes beyond just the physical connections that trail networks represent. What struck me during my Route 50 trip was the interest in strengthening connections between people. This came up, for example, in the importance (expressed to me in several communities) of retaining a "small town" character.

I wrote about this in one of my posts from O'Fallon, Illinois. Interestingly, O'Fallon is a booming suburb. Yet planning Director Ted Shekell, Mayor Gary Graham, and others I met with all told me they wanted O'Fallon to hold onto its small town feel. For planning commission Chair Gene McCoskey, that means a place where "kids have a neighborhood," and where you can count on your schools and churches for providing a supportive network, and, as Gene put it, "a sense of accountability." And as Mayor Graham interestingly added, it also means having elected and appointed officials who are readily accessible, "who listen and who are responsive."

But what can planners do to support the kind of connections between people I just described? One idea is promoting mixed-use places where there are simply more opportunities for people to run into each other and connect. This, I believe, is at least part of what's behind the interest many suburban areas have in developing new downtowns and town centers.

In Creve Coeur, Missouri, a St. Louis suburb, planners are focusing on developing a downtown for their suburban city. Why do this? I asked planning commissioner Gene Rovak. One reason, Gene replied, "is to give us a sense of identity." As Gene's fellow planning commissioner Carl Moskowitz added, "our new downtown will also be a walking district ... with [higher density] housing as part of it, empty nesters will have the chance to sell their homes but stay in Creve Coeur."

[photos: two suburbs; two downtowns in the works. Immediately below is desired site for Creve Coeur, Missouri's new downtown -- now partly occupied by relatively low intensity uses and surface parking. Below that is part of the site of Lenexa, Kansas' new downtown, now under construction. Lenexa is a large Kansas City suburb].

Another way of supporting connections is through "third places" -- that is, neighborhood groceries, coffee shops, restaurants, and other gathering spots.

Farmers markets also seem a part of this. One of the attractions -- besides the fresh food -- is the opportunity to see friends and neighbors and catch up on what's going on. In fact, Richard McCarthy, President of the Farmers Market Coalition mentioned this to me when I interviewed him. (A link to the interview is at the end of my post on the Grand Junction, Colorado, Farmers Market).

During my travels I was certainly struck by the proliferation of coffee houses.

Perhaps we should thank Starbucks for helping generate this -- or maybe they've just been smart in identifying something people have been thirsting for. But even in small cities and towns, the local coffee house or java cafe was a place where I almost invariably found large numbers of people (especially young people) sitting down & chatting away. Many were Starbucks, but even more were lively, locally owned places.

[above right: Starbucks in Kansas City's Country Club Plaza; below left: The Bean in Gunnison, Colorado]

For planners, the question is not so much what we're doing to encourage this trend, but are we doing things that impede it.

Do our zoning codes prevent these kind of third places in our neighborhoods? That's a difficult issue in many places where residents are concerned about opening the door -- even just a crack -- to commerical activity in the midst of residential neighborhoods. Do we have burdensome parking requirements that make these small-scale uses difficult downtown (especially given how much parking is often already available)?

One last thought. There was one other type of connection that impressed me during my travels. That was how well connected planners and planning commissioners seemed to be in terms of knowing their communities. In fact, that's an essential part of being an effective planner or planning board member.

It's something that Elaine Cogan in her columns for our publication has often stressed: to be effective, you need to have the pulse of the community -- whether it's what's going on in neighborhoods, what's on the mind of your Mayor or City Council, or what's the viewpoint of the business community or local developers. Yes, planners love to (and need to) work with census data, maps, and all sorts of data, but it's staying connected with people that's the real key to effective local planning.

[photo above right: O'Fallon, Illinois, Planning Director Ted Shekell knows what's on the mind of Mayor Gary Graham -- they often cross paths over coffee at the St. Louis Bread Company -- O'Fallon's "third place." And that was just after bumping into a member of the city council.

p.s., some resources from the Planning Commissioners Journal related to this posting:

Hannah Twaddell's, Making the Connection (on street connectivity)
Philip Langdon's, Creating the Missing Hub: How Today's Suburbs Build Town Centers
Ray Oldenburg's article, Our Vanishing "Third Places"
Roberta Gratz's, To Market, To Market (on farmers markets)
many of Elaine Cogan's tips are included in her latest publication, Now that You're on Board

The End of the Road, or the Beginning

2007-07-10T21:06:00-04:00

I've reached the end of the road -- Route 50, that is. Or if you're traveling east in West Sacramento, the beginning of the road.

I want to thank the many, many planners, planning commissioners, and other individuals who were generous in sharing their time with me -- and hosting me overnight in a number of places. Here are just some of them

Click on any photo below to bring up the related Route 50 story.

So, while ending in West Sacramento, I think back to my first stops on Memorial Day: in Ocean City, Maryland -- visiting with planner Jesse Houston; and then in Berlin with Worcester County planners and county commissioners.

And, of course, I couldn't have taken this time on the road without Betsey & Peggy keeping our office running smoothly in my absence (Betsey's on the left; Peggy's on the right; Lila's in between them).

I'll be back in Burlington, Vermont, next week after taking a few days off in San Francisco with Lila.

When I get back, I'll be adding a few "wrap up" posts highlighting some of what I learned during my six plus weeks of travel.

This will also be the focus -- in a more in-depth way -- of the Fall issue of the Planning Commissioners Journal. If you're not yet a subscriber, I hope you'll take this opportunity to become one (and we'll start you out with our just published Summer issue featuring articles on urban & rural roadways).

Best wishes to all.

Wayne Senville, Editor, Planning Commissioners Journal

Coming of Age

2007-07-09T21:39:00-04:00

The City of West Sacramento is almost 21 -- having been incorporated in 1987. I learned about some of its growing pains, and how it's now coming of age as a dynamic, growing little brother to Sacramento on its east.

Stephen Patek, the City's Director of Public Works & Community Development went over some history. West Sacramento used to be called East Yolo. For years it was an industrial area, considered by many the "dumping grounds" of Yolo County.

[photos above left & below right of a new development, the Ironworks, going up in an industrial section called "the Triangle" -- also home to the new Raley Field ballpark -- more on these projects in a minute]

After incorporating, one of the new city's priorities was to get a second bridge connecting the primarily residential Southport area with the rest of the city (the connection is over a shipping channel).

Once that bridge was finally opened a few years ago, growth in Southport took off. West Sacramento's population, which grew slowly from 28,000 in 1980 to 32,000 in 2000, is now -- just seven years later -- around 45,000.

Two other recent projects gave West Sacramento a shot in the arm -- and started changing its image as a grimy, industrial district.

One is the Ziggurat Tower -- originally built in 2000 as headquarters of the Money Company, but now home to the state Department of General Services.

The other is Raley Field, the new 14,000 seat home of the triple-A baseball Sacramento River Cats. [I have more to say about Raley Field in a separate post].

Chris Ledesma, Chair of the West Sacramento Planning Commission told me that he worked in the Ziggurat Building and watched Raley Field going up. It made him finally realize that "West Sacramento is really going places." In fact, Chris enjoys seeing the city grow. "It's a fresh, vibrant place," he told me. But Chris added, "we can't get complacent ... as we grow, so should our expectation of quality in what gets built here."

[a view of the Tower Bridge and Sacramento from inside Raley Field]

One example can be seen in two neighboring retail big box stores. The city succeeded in attracting IKEA to build in West Sacramento. It was a plum to get, especially since California cities are highly dependent on sales tax revenues. But the design is a typical, flat, big box style.

However, the next big box project got closer design scrutiny. Interestingly, it was a Walmart. City planners did a great job in pushing Walmart into a more creative exterior design. As Chris noted, "I never thought I'd say I'd be proud of a Walmart."

Les Bowman, Manager of the city's Redevelopment Agency agreed with Chris' assessment. Les said that getting the first major projects -- the Ziggurat Tower, the IKEA -- to locate in West Sacramento was key to changing perceptions of the city. "As we've been successful, we've been able to raise the bar for development," Les added.

[from left to right: Stephen Patek; Les Bowman; Jim Bermudez (Associate Planner); Steve Rikala (City Planner); and Chris Ledesma]

Steve Rikala took us for a tour of parts of the city. Next on the agenda for West Sacramento is focusing more on the riverfront. As Les noted, "over the years the community had turned its back on the river." In part, this was because the system of flood protection levees put the river out of sight.

The city is working on an extension of a riverfront walk -- 3 1/2 miles will be built atop the levee. This will also link to the new headquarters of the California State Teachers Pension Fund (see photo on the left).

West Sacramento is also working with it's cross-river neighbor (that is, Sacramento) under the umbrella of a single riverfront master plan. The plan calls for a pedestrian bridge over the river, and a new vehicular bridge -- as there are currently only three crossings over the Sacramento River linking the two cities. The cities are also looking into the feasibility of a streetcar line that would span the river and connect downtown Sacramento with Raley Field.

West Sacramento is also trying to encourage higher density housing. The city's planners are confident that there's a demographic trend toward higher density, infill housing. One successful project that Steve Rikala showed us, Metro Place, has 54 new units. It's not far from the river -- and across the street from Sal's, a local Mexican restaurant with a one-of-a-kind interior (as you can see from the photos below) and great food.

One other project important to the city is redevelopment of a large industrialized area called "the Triangle" that also borders the Sacramento River. Raley Field is located here, but other development has been slow to follow (though you can see one housing project, Ironworks, under construction -- see photos at the start of this post). Two big obstacles are the railyard and the presence of a number of petroleum storage tanks.

While the city is working on relocation ideas, for the near future, new development in the Triangle will be stymied.

Quite a lot going on a city that's not yet 21 years old.

Art in the (Ball) Park

2007-07-09T20:44:00-04:00

It's certainly not common to associate going to a ballpark with art appreciation. Yet a visit to West Sacramento's Raley Field, home of the Sacramento River Cats, was an eye-opening experience.

Yes, Raley Field is a fine new ballpark -- spacious, comfortable, and with great views of Sacramento. But in touring the ballpark with Tony Asaro, the River Cats' Community Relations Director, what struck me was the art on view. Not museum pieces hung on the wall. But art integrated in the ballpark itself -- on blank walls (first photo below), on ceilings (second photo), and even above food stands (third photo).

Much of the work is by Stephanie Taylor, a local Sacramento artist. But there are also pillars covered by tiles decorated by school kids. Tony mentioned that their submissions are included in a calendar that's widely distributed (see below right; this month's calendar page is by Alex Kravchenko, an 11th grader at River City High School). Free tickets to young school-artists are also given out.

Some of the art also has a practical side. Tony pointed out the food murals that Stephanie did. They make it easy for people to quickly know what kind of food is served at each concession area.

The art also livens up what would otherwise be a number of large, drab surfaces.

Here's to the River Cats for setting an artistic example other ball clubs would do well to take notice of.

Notes from a Reporter

2007-07-08T22:18:00-04:00

Matt Weiser is a reporter for the Sacramento Bee, a well-respected daily newspaper. I first met Matt a few years ago at a journalism conference in Pittsburgh. As a result of our conversations, Matt -- who was doing freelance writing at the time -- agreed to prepare an article on the changing nature of manufactured housing that we published in the Planning Commissioners Journal.

While in Sacramento yesterday, I had the chance to turn the tables on Matt (so to speak) and interview him -- perhaps a novel experience for most reporters. While Matt primarily covers environmental issues for the Sacramento Bee, over the years -- and at several different California papers -- he's had the chance to report on plenty of local government and planning commission meetings. I wanted to get his perspective on how planning commissioners can most effectively deal with the media, and what approaches to take when they feel a story wasn't fairly or accurately reported.

[The Sacramento Bee has focused on many environmental stories, from water issues to the recent Tahoe area fires. This was the paper's lead story this past Saturday, July 7th.]

I started our discussion by telling Matt that one of the frustrations I had while serving on the Burlington, Vermont, Planning Commission was when the Commission felt it was dealing with an important issue -- but it received little or no press coverage.

Matt said that planning commissioners, in dealing with reporters, "should behave more like city councilors do." That is, as Matt explained, they need to go out and personally call the reporter who regularly covers local government meetings with a "heads up" about -- for example -- what they feel will be an important agenda item. Basically, "pitch" the story idea to the reporter in a short phone call. And then offer to send or email any back up materials about the item.

While that won't necessarily guarantee coverage -- as that will depend on what else might be on the reporter's plate -- it will help build a relationship with the reporter.

Another failing is not contacting the reporter early enough. Matt told me that a local newspaper reporter will usually have several things in the hopper that they're working on at any one time. Providing a week or so of lead time can help a reporter fit in what you've pitched into their schedule. Matt also said that providing photos or graphics, when available, is often helpful.

Interestingly, Matt also told me that setting up an informal meeting with your local reporter -- without any particular "story" in mind -- can be of value. This can help the reporter view you as a good source of information.

I also asked Matt what commissioners should do when they feel a story was inaccurately or unfairly reported. If you, as a commissioner, have a problem with story, Matt replied, you should contact the reporter directly about it -- and not go first to the editor with your complaint. A call to the reporter will often resolve things. If it doesn't, then go to the editor. As Matt noted, "I'd rather know about a problem than not." And while contacting the reporter about your concerns may not lead to any change in the story (unless there was a significant error or inaccuracy), it will help to establish trust and a good working relationship.

One difficulty planning commissioners in smaller communities can face, Matt acknowledged, is the frequent turnover in reporters. Given salary scales, there's incentive for reporters to move up to bigger papers or media markets. That puts the burden on commissioners and staff to have to regularly "educate" new reporters about the planning commission's role in project review. Unfortunately, there's little way around this.

The last question I posed to Matt was whether it made sense to have the chairman serve as the "spokesman" for the planning commission in dealing with the media. Matt disagreed with the idea. "Every planning commissioner should see it as part of their job to be prepared to speak to the media," he replied.

[for those of you interested in another perspective on how planning commissioners can best deal with the press, see an article we published by journalist & planning commissioner David Essex, Think Like a Reporter]

p.s., after our discussion, Matt took me (and Lila) on a quick tour of Sacramento. We then headed to his home where his wife, Alexa Mergen (who works for the animal rescue organization, United Animal Nations), treated us to an excellent dinner -- using ingredients from the morning's Sacramento Farmers Market. I also had the chance to meet their dogs, Molly and Sascha; but just got Sascha to tolerate being phtographed.

Judy Corbett & Village Homes

2007-07-08T16:39:00-04:00

Sitting in Judy Corbett's patio in the Village Homes development, it's hard to understand why there aren't projects like this in every community. Judy's the Executive Director of California's Local Government Commission -- a nonprofit that provides training for local officials and planning commissioners on a range of land use issues, including growth & development.

She and her ex-husband Mike Corbett were responsible for building the 60 acre Village Homes development in Davis, California, back in 1975.

Their two key goals were, as Judy put it, "being sensitive to the environment and meeting peoples' social needs." As Judy explained, "we wanted to provide a community where people would feel safe, and want to spend their leisure time." About 800 people live in Village Homes.

Key to Village Homes is a tightly interconnected system of walking and bike paths.

Contrary to today's "new urbanist" principles, streets end in cul-de-sacs. People have plenty of spaces for their cars, but with the short, narrow streets (without sidewalks), extensive green spaces, fruit orchards, community gardens, and delightful landscaping, automobiles don't dominate.

Judy stressed to me that "our focus was to make it easy to walk and bike."

I asked Judy if she and Mike had developed any other housing developments after Village Homes. "No," she replied, "putting together Village Homes involved one headache after another in getting local approvals." In part, that was because of some of the ecologically-oriented practices integral to the development were outside the norm.

In fact, Judy told me that one of the problems still facing ecologically-oriented developments today is that they run afoul of local zoning codes. "General plans may have a vision for the community that's not attainable because zoning codes still contain major barriers." For that reason, the Local Government Commission has been promoting more innovative zoning, such as the use of "form-based" codes.

Judy gave me a simple message to pass along to planning commissioners: "think outside the box." To Judy, part of what that means is promoting alternatives to the typical subdivision. As she put it, "the public hasn't been offered anything else."

p.s., for more information on Village Homes, take a look at their web site. Judy also co-authored a book on Village Homes called, Designing Sustainable Communities -- available through online booksellers.

You can also view a 360 degree panoramic photo I took while at Village Homes. Click this link; you'll then need to run the program to start the viewer.

"They Like What We Have"

2007-07-07T21:19:00-04:00

That's why so many visit Placerville's Main Street, Mayor Mark Acuna told me as we drove around the small California city on a hot Saturday afternoon. The Mayor explained that many Californians are surprised when they first stop in Placerville and see an alternative to the typical strip development and big box stores.

Placerville's located between the heavily populated Sacramento and San Francisco Bay areas to the west and the Lake Tahoe resort area to the east -- right along U.S. Highway 50.

With a population of 10,400, the city has so far managed to retain its small town character and historic Main Street district. Among other things, Main Street features the oldest continually operated hardware store west of the Mississippi River.

It's also the hometown of Thomas Kinkade, perhaps the most commercially successful artist in America, whose Kinkade gallery stores flourish nationwide.

Having visitors shop in Placerville is just fine with Mayor Acuna and with longtime Community Development Director Steve Calfee. Placerville, like other California communities, is heavily dependent on sales tax revenues to support its municipal budget, so commercial development is vital.

[photo of Steve Calfee (left) and Mayor Mark Acuna (right) in front of the location of the locally famous hangman's tree; Placerville used to be known as Hangtown -- and is still sometimes called that by locals]

Mayor Acuna, who earlier served for nine years on the Placerville Planning Commission, explained that Placerville needs to preserve what it has, while feeding off the economic reality of suburban development from western El Dorado County and the expanding Sacramento metro area.

"One of our biggest challenges is mixing in tourists, while keeping Placerville a working town," he noted. Another challenge is to provide moderate income housing. In Placerville, this means housing in the $400,000 to $450,000 price range.

Placerville has paid attention to the small details that make for a successful main street. As one example, Steve described a new Starbucks on Main Street. The original proposal for the vacant lot called for putting parking in front of the coffee house. The city's planners wanted the parking located in the back, with a patio in front.

To help make this work, the city waived its parking requirement for outdoor dining, reducing the required number of parking spaces. The result is that the Starbucks helps maintain the character of Main Street, instead of being inconsistent with it.

While Placerville planners are trying to encourage more evening activities downtown, Steve told me they want to avoid having a "punks and drunks downtown."

Route 50 itself is a mixed blessing for the city. The four lane highway (with additional turning lanes) bisects the city. On the plus side, Route 50 provides easy access for visitors traveling east-west -- and Main Street is only one block south of the highway.

On the other hand, the roadway is a barrier of sorts, with only a limited number of crossings linking the north and south sides of Placerville.

Planners might also find of interest the new Home Depot in a commercial district on the western side of Placerville (there's more to commercial development in the city than Main Street).

Steve believes it's the most costly Home Depot ever built in the U.S.

Walking around the store you can understand why. As Steve noted, "it's a very difficult site." Among other things, a major stream was relocated by the store (back to its original course, Steve added).

Also of note is a kind of tradition in Placerville. Most city councilors in recent history previously served as planning commissioners. Mayor Acuna counted four of the five current councilors as former planning commission members. That means the governing body is very familiar with planning goals and objectives, and knowledgeable about land development issues.

If you're a planning commissioner reading this post, with thoughts of "graduating" to your governing body, you might want to read an article Otis White wrote for us, Should You Run?

On Hold in Carson City

2007-07-06T23:30:00-04:00

Carson City, Nevada, planners have great ideas for strengthening their downtown core. But their ability to implement their plans is largely on hold. The reason: the lengthy amount of time it's taking the Nevada Dept. of Transportation (N-DOT) to complete the long-planned bypass freeway.

Right now, Carson Street/Nevada 395 -- the main road through downtown -- is a virtually non-stop corridor for cars and trucks traveling north-south through the city.

But it's along Carson Street that the city is pinning its hopes for increasing pedestrian activity, promoting higher density housing & development, and creating more retail opportunities.

The Carson Street strategy appears to make sense. There are already a number of restaurants located on the main street -- though pedestrian safety railings border the roadway, protecting people walking along the fairly narrow sidewalks.

Also bordering Carson Street is the stately historic state capitol building; the more modern legislative chambers; the state museum; markers commemorating the site of the Pony Express stop; and some hotels and casinos.

[State Capitol below left; Pony Express site marker below right, next to restaurant. Both are on Carson Street.]

The area just west of Carson Street includes a large historic district, containing a mix of residences and offices (below left, the Orion Clemens house, where Mark Twain's brother lived; below right, the Bliss House bed & breakfast). Right now, however, there's relatively little retail in the downtown core.

Just east of Carson Street are many of the state agency offices. (Not surprisingly, government is by far and away the major employer in downtown Carson City -- 2004 employment data that city planner Lee Plemel showed me reported that 6,553 of the 9,593 downtown workers were government employees; the large majority of them work for the State). Photo shows one of the newer state office buildings, just a block east of Carson Street.

There seems to be a good base for developing an active pedestrian street, at least in terms of the number of people who work within just a block or two of Carson Street.

[The downtown map shown below indicates just how extensive the government section of downtown is; all the area in purple is in government use, mainly by the State of Nevada -- Carson Street runs north-south /top-to-bottom in this map between the dark red / commercial zones. The Carson Street narrowing will run from William Street, near the northern edge of the map, to 5th Street.]

Lee told me that the city has developed conceptual plans, and completed traffic studies, that support its idea of narrowing portions of Carson Street from four to two travel lanes. This will allow for on-street parking and landscaping that will allow for a more pedestrian oriented environment. With the freeway built, truck traffic will no longer rumble along the street.

So what's the hold up? I was told that completing the bypass freeway has been the city's number one priority for years. But only about one-third of the freeway has been completed, and that only occurred in January 2006.

[photo where the freeway now ends; view is looking south from U.S. 50]

You can now get on the freeway from U.S. 50 heading north towards Reno. But the more important section that will get through traffic out of downtown remains unbuilt. Current N-DOT plans offer a target date of about 2011-2012. But Lee and two Carson City planning commissioners I met over lunch (John Peery, who's the commission chairman, and Steve Reynolds) are concerned whether even that target will be met given the lengthy delays already encountered.

[photo, from left to right: Steve, John, and Lee]

While there's little current opposition to the freeway, the main hold up is money. There's a feeling that Las Vegas area roadway projects are given greater priority by the state, perhaps not surprising considering that the majority of the state's population (and political clout) is in that area.

Both Steve and John expressed some concerns about whether downtown -- even after the freeway is built -- will be able to attract pedestrians and higher density housing. As Steve succinctly put it, "people like to drive here." They also expressed uncertainty about whether mixed use developments would fly in Carson City. But participants in the city's master plan process (as well as planning commissioners and staff) supported the idea of stengthening downtown and getting more people to live, shop, and work there -- believing it important to the city's future.

But until the freeway is built, implementing the plan's goals remains largely on hold.