Community Development in Middle Market Neighborhoods March 27, 2015.
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Transcript of Community Development in Middle Market Neighborhoods March 27, 2015.
Agenda
• Introductions
• Context
• Community Planning
• Best Practice Example: Baltimore’s Healthy Neighborhoods
• Evaluation
• Small Group Discussion
Building a St. Louis Regional Community Development System
Presentation to the Community Builders Network of Metro St. Louis and Metropolitan St. Louis CRA Association
Background
• CBN and MSLCRA agreed to a task force at the end of 2013
• Members from each association plus foundation and CDFI representatives met throughout 2014
• Recommendations proposed in a report completed in December of 2014
Recommendations
• Public policy, community investment, and community development initiatives should be guided by a commitment to two broad strategies
1. a comprehensive community development approach tailored to more distressed communities;
2. targeted community improvement grants and activity, marketing, and below-market rate lending approach to middle neighborhoods
“With public sentiment, nothing can fail. Without it, nothing can succeed.” -Abraham Lincoln
• Community Based Planning
• Neighborhood Planning Team
• Community Outreach Strategies
• Best Practices in Neighborhood Planning
• Timeline of Public Engagement Campaign Example
Community Based Planning
• Provide Strategies and Projects for Investment and Improvement (market research)
• Guides actions of lead agency
• Basis for Community Consensus
• Gives community negotiating upper hand
• Led by a task force/steering committee with 5 major meetings and community outreach
Community Based Planning
• Vision statement
• Statement of existing conditions
• History of the area
• Description of existing conditions
• Statement of issues
• Policies
• Goals & Objectives
• Implementation of actions
• Identification of resources
• Charts and maps showing existing and proposed conditions
• Methods to monitor, evaluate and update the plan
Neighborhood Planning Team
• Group of individuals representative of the neighborhood that include:Homeowners, Business owners, Renters, Property owners who live outside of the neighborhood and representatives from neighborhood institutions and associations, lmi population, elderly
• Ideally ten to twelve is best number
• Responsibilities include:participates in plan development and implementationdevelop outreach strategyadvocate for planning processconfirm plan goals, objectives, and action itemslisten to all points of view before making decisions
Neighborhood Planning Team Questionnaire
• 1.What are the five most significant issues that affect the neighborhood?
• 2. What are the three best things about your neighborhood?
• 3. What types of additions to your neighborhood would make it a better place?
• 4. What single physical improvement to the neighborhood, such as tree planting, benches for a park or playground equipment would make the neighborhood a better place?
• 5. What five goals should be included in the neighborhood plan?
Neighborhood Planning Team Best Practices
• Clear understanding and basic procedures for the team so they understand how meetings should be conducted
• Be aware of individuals who want to leverage their agenda over the agenda of the overall community
• Interpret the issues and data, not personalities and personal agendas
• Assess strengths and weaknesses of stakeholders prior to selection of neighborhood planning team
• Team building among the members is very important to creating effective working relationships
Outreach Strategies for Public Engagement
• Open houses – yard signs, flyers, ads, and posters
• Pop up meetings at community events (piggyback)
• Press releases
• Social Media (nextdoor, neighborhood association group)
• Newsletter
• Direct Mail
• One on one meetings are more effective than mailings
Public Engagement at the Open House
• Boards in library or other public place where people can put ideas
• Have people vote on what they think are the major areas of concern
• Keep people moving from station to station; prevents grandstanding
• Children’s area
• Food/refreshements close to survey/comment cards
Best Practices for Public Engagement
• Build enthusiasm for the project and target people where they are
• Make it fun!
• Childcare
• Engage the kids in a fun activity related to the plan
• Keep meetings concise and focused with assigned roles (faciltator, scribes, and time tracker)
• Include all segments of the community including those who don’t live in the neighborhood but may be affected by its plan (adjacent communities, business owners, clergy, income, homeowner, renter)
• Realistic timeline – let people know this process can take up to a year ideally
Public Engagement Timeline Example (1 year)
Open House 1
• Explain Comprehensive Plan
• Stations for Public Input
• Questionnaire
Open House 2
• Review data from open house 1
• Identify major areas of concern
Open House 3
• Identify goals and objectives to specific issues for areas of concern
Open House 4
• Present summary findings to public and elicit final feedback
• Pop up meetings – community center, library, farmers’ market
• One on one meetings – Senior Center, clergy, social groups
• Website, Postcard, Social Media
Sources
LISC’s Planning Handbookwww.newcommunities.org/cmadocs/NCPPlanningHandbook.pdf
Super Neighborhood Plan Workbooks, City of Abilene, TXwww.abilenetx.com/ONS/doc/PlanWorkbook.pdf
Westside Grows Togetherwww.westsidegrows.org
Healthy Neighborhoods Indicators of Success
• Number of building permits
• Median listing price
• Median days on the market
• Number of units sold
• Percentage of vacant and abandoned buildings
Other Indicators
• Resident commitment to the neighborhood
• Questions: How committed are you to your neighborhood? Would you recommend your neighborhood to another person? Are you engaged with your neighbors, community groups, or act in the community benefit?
• Positive news regarding the neighborhood
• Population
• Crime and Safety
• Impact of community improvement projects (indicators will vary)
Data Websites
• www.policymap.com
• https://www.stlouis-mo.gov/data/
• http://www.zillow.com/home-values/
• http://factfinder.census.gov/faces/nav/jsf/pages/index.xhtml
• http://www.datagateway.org/