The Growth Management Study Commission wascreated by Governor Bush on July 3rd to assess theeffectiveness of Florida’s growth management systemand to deter-mine whatrevisions areneeded top r e p a r eFlorida forthe chal-lenges it willface in the21st century.The 23 mem-ber commis-sion ischaired byM e lM a r t i n e z ,the highlyr e s p e c t e dChair of theO r a n g eC o u n t yCommission. Southeast Florida is fortunate to haveBroward County School Board Member JudyBudnick; Delray Beach Architect Thaddeus Cohen;former West Palm Beach Mayor Nancy Graham; andUniversity of Miami Vice President for Real Estate,Sergio Rodriguez as its representatives on theCommission.

The Governor’s Executive Order 2000-196 directs theCommission to hold at least six of its meetings in dif-ferent regions of the state, accept public input, anddiscuss many diverse issues. The Executive Orderalso requires that the Commission finalize its work

and submit a written report containing specific rec-ommendations for addressing growth, including leg-islative recommendations, to the President of the

S e n a t e ,Speaker ofthe House,and theGovernor byFebruary 15,2001.

South Floridaresidents willhave theiropportunityto make theirvoices heardat twou p c o m i n gm e e t i n g s .While them e e t i n gdetails havenot been

finalized, the Commission is tentatively scheduled tomeet in Miami on October 25 and 26. TheCommission will return to South Florida for a meet-ing in West Palm Beach on November 30 andDecember 1. Don’t forget to participate in thisprocess and make the Governor and Commission,and State Legislators aware of your viewpoint. Foradditional information about the work of theCommission, meeting dates and locations, sum-maries of past meetings and other pertinent infor-mation, please visit the Commission’s websitewww.floridagrowth.org or call the toll-free hotlineat (877) 429-1296.

Eastward Ho!Revitalizing Southeast Florida's Urban Core

The Eastward Ho! Newsletter October 2000

Governor’s Growth Management Study Commission

to Hold South Florida Hearings

Courtesy of the South Florida Water Management District

In September 1999, the Florida Department ofTransportation executed a long-term lease for thejoint use development of a park-and-ride site in FortLauderdale. The site is located at I-95 and CypressCreek Road. The developer, Cypress Creek Park andRide Association (Swerdlow Real Estate InvestmentTrust), plans to build over 700,000 square feet of com-mercial and hotel space on the 11 acre site. The devel-opment will have direct pedestrian connection to Tri-Rail. In addition, other amenities such as air-condi-tioned waiting areas, bus lanes and direct pedestrianconnections between the buildings will be incorpo-rated into the design. The project is currently in theDRI stage, with construction planned within the year.

The Department is also finalizing a Request forProposals (RFP) for another park-and-ride site alongI-95. This 17 acre site is located at the interchange ofSheridan Street and I-95 in Hollywood. Like the siteat Cypress Creek, the Department will encouragetransit friendly design and development. The site hasa Tri-Rail station as well as signalized access fromSheridan Street. The RFP is planned to be released bythe end of the year. For more information aboutthese innovative public / private partnership proj-ects, please contact Eric Thorne, Florida Departmentof Transportation, at 954-777-4232.

Two hundred civic, public, pri-vate sector and non-profit lead-ers representing over 40statewide organizations asdiverse as the Florida Chamberof Commerce, the Florida Bar,the Florida Home BuildersAssociation, the League ofWomen Voters, Sierra Club, theFlorida Department ofTransportation, 1000 Friends of

Florida, and the Florida Chapter of the American

Planning Association recently attended the “Futureof Florida” American Assembly in Tampa to tacklecomplex issues related to Florida’s future and devel-op consensus policies and recommendations for con-sideration of the Governor, Legislature, and GrowthManagement Study Commission. The final report,posted online at www.futureofflorida.org, will go toGovernor Bush and his appointed GrowthManagement Study Commission which is taking ahard look at Florida’s growth management lawsbefore the Legislature meets in the spring.

State Road 7 / US 441 Corridor Community Planning Effort

Public / Private Partnership will bring Innovative Transportation Solutions

“Future of Florida” American Assembly

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The South Florida Regional Planning Council(SFRPC) has begun work with the FloridaDepartment of Transportation District 4 (FDOT), localgovernments and business and property ownersalong the southern portion of the State Road 7 corri-dor to plan for upcoming roadway improvements.The FDOT will be widening the road and developingsix lanes from Orange Drive to the Broward andMiami-Dade county line. The purpose of this strate-gic planning effort is to help the FDOT understandthe needs and desires of corridor businesses and gov-ernments while making it clear to those entities whatthe FDOT’s abilities and limitations are with regardto the widening project. Because of the long timeperiods between roadway planning and actual con-struction, the FDOT feels that there is an opportunityfor businesses and local governments to partner withthe Department and play an important role in help-

ing to decide what the corridor will look like after theroad is improved and redevelopment is underway.The affected local governments include unincorpo-rated Broward County and the cities of Miramar,Hollywood and Davie. The Seminole Tribe will alsobe affected on both sides of portions of the roadway.The SFRPC plans to organize work groups consistingof business and government representatives alongseveral segments of the corridor and assist them inworking through issues with FDOT that are specificto their respective segments. Two workshops will beheld to bring all parties together so that the informa-tion gathered through the work of the segment workgroups can be consolidated into a single strategy. Formore information about this strategic planningeffort, please contact David Dahlstrom, EastwardHo! Project Facilitator, at 954-985-4416.

The City of West Palm Beach – Where walking is not a life threatening experience!

The City of West Palm Beach is experiencing atremendous resurgence in its downtown and neigh-

borhoods. While the City has many programs thatare contributing to this success, the traffic calmingprogram is one of the most visible. Traffic calming inWest Palm Beach is not only achieving the typicalobjectives such as reducing motor vehicle speeds andcut-through problems, it is also altering driver behav-ior, generating private investment, increasing qualityof life, and increasing property values.

Since 1996, the City’s traffic calming program hasimplemented more than half a dozen areawide neigh-borhood traffic calming projects. There are manymore traffic calming projects in the various stages ofplanning and design, but like most municipalities,West Palm Beach is struggling to keep up with thedemand. Prior to 1996, traffic calming contributedgreatly to the rebirth of Clematis and NarcissusStreets in the downtown, and is now playing a keyrole on Rosemary Avenue connecting Clematis Street

with the large mixed-use redevelopment projectcalled CityPlace.

The program is also influencing the future of U.S. 1throughout the City. As part of the TransportationEfficiency Act for the 21st Century (TEA-21), WestPalm Beach received an $11.25 million grant for traf-fic calming on U.S. 1. In the downtown, the fundswill be used for raised intersections, wider sidewalks,protected on-street parking, and lane reductions.Outside of the downtown, the funds will provideintersection narrowings on cross streets, raised inter-

sections at schools, and a mid-street sculpture plazaarea next to the Norton Art Gallery. All of theseefforts will positively contribute to the economicvitality of the business community and the quality oflife of the City’s residents. For more information onthe City of West Palm Beach Traffic CalmingProgram, contact the Transportation PlanningDivision at (561) 659-8031.

How do you turn $ 175,000 into over $ 1,300,000?

Eastward Ho! Community Investment Grants Show the Way!

This year’s Eastward Ho! Community InvestmentGrant Program has been tremendously successful andshould serve as a statewide model for demonstratinghow a little bit of money, combined with imagination,flexibility and a dash of technical assistance is theright formula for developing innovative community-based responses to issues of local, regional, andstatewide concern.

The Department of Community Affairs provided $175,000 in project seed money to be used to supportcommunity-based revitalization efforts in the urbancorridor. Grants could be no larger than $20,000 and

communities were required to match the state’sinvestment 3:1.

Over 50 grant proposals were received and reflectedprojects as diverse as the Eastward Ho! communitiesthemselves. Twelve projects were ultimately selectedand state resources were leveraged by an amazing10:1 ratio. Project recipients included Homestead,Goulds CDC, Beach CDC, Ojus (Miami-DadeCounty), North Miami, North Miami Beach, HaitianAmerican Foundation, Dania Beach, Pearl City (BocaRaton), Delray Beach CDC, San Castle Neighborhood(Palm Beach County), and Martin/St. Lucie Counties.

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Courtesy of the City of West Palm Beach

One of the most important aspects of the program isits ability to be flexible and meet local needs. Allprojects were considered and selected on their levelof community involvement, local governmentcommitment, project partners, intergovernmentalcoordination, and applicability to regional goals ofinfill development and redevelopment. Projectsranged from community design charrettes, historic

surveys, economic development studies, transporta-tion and land use studies, to streetscape designs.These projects will positively impact the quality of lifefor residents of these urban communities for years tocome. For more information about the CommunityInvestment Grant Program or any of these projects,please contact David Dahlstrom, Eastward Ho!Project Facilitator, at (954) 985-4416.

Community Leadership & Capacity Building Demonstration Projects

Treasure Coast Communities Embrace Smart Growth

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The John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundationawarded a grant to the South Florida RegionalPlanning Council (SFRPC) to develop and conduct aseries of demonstration community leadership andcapacity building training workshops for communi-ties that lie within the Eastward Ho! Corridor. Thescope of the training program was to develop anagenda addressing issues such as citizen participa-tion, consensus building, building trust, policymak-ing, and program facilitation and implementation.The goal of these workshops was to develop andenhance the skills community leaders need to bemore effective leaders within their communities andin the local political process.

The first series of five community leadership andcapacity building training workshops were conduct-ed at Saint Thomas University in Miami during themonths of June, July, and August. The training work-shops targeted current community leaders in the Cityof Opa-locka and unincorporated North Miami-DadeCounty. The workshops were a success and wellattended by representatives from the Opa-locka Front

Porch Initiative, Community Councils 2, 3, and 4, anda number of other community action groups. Ms.Sheryl Dickey of Dickey Consulting Services, Inc.who also conducted the workshops will provide thecommunity trainee group with pro-bono services forthe next six months in an effort to guide them in theirfuture endeavors.

In addition, the SFRPC hosted a two-day ProjectImplementation through Community LeadershipBuilding workshop session targeted at CommunityInvestment Grant and Charrette recipients. The goalof the workshops was to enhance both the recipientsand community’s leadership capacity to accomplishthose tasks needed for project implementation withintheir communities. The workshops took place at theFred Lippman Multi-Purpose Center in downtownHollywood and the South Florida Regional PlanningCouncil office on September 21 and 22, 2000. Formore information about community leadership andcapacity building training for your community, con-tact Carlos Gonzalez of Council staff,carlosg@sfrpc.com, at 954-985-4416.

The Treasure Coast Regional Planning Council andFlorida Sustainable Communities Network recentlysponsored the successful confer-ence “Smart Growth II – NewUrbanism: The Universal OperatingSystem for Smart Growth.” Over100 participants from around thestate came to meet and hearnational and local experts discussthe hidden costs of growth, and tolearn how to plan, build, and mar-ket smart growth and new urbancommunities.

It’s not surprising that the conference was so wellattended. From Palm Beach to St. Lucie County, com-munities up and down the Eastward Ho! corridor are

embracing smart growth concepts and making revi-talized urban communities a reality. It’s impossible to

capture all of the exciting thingsthat are happening in one article,but here are some highlights.Martin County recently adoptedits Port Salerno CommunityRedevelopment Plan that willhelp revitalize this historic fishingvillage and surrounding neigh-borhoods. The County is alsoleveraging ongoing revitalizationefforts and taking advantage ofopportunities to direct public

investment into the community. The City of FortPierce continues to lead by example in the redevelop-ment of the Fort Pierce Waterfront. The City of Port

City of Fort Pierce

City of Fort Lauderdale Community Area Planning Initiative

The City of Fort Lauderdale has recently launched theCommunity Area Planning Initiative (CAP), whichgives the public an opportunity to work with Citystaff to develop goals andt help improve their com-munity’s quality of life. This exciting new proactiveplanning endeavor also helpsthe City Commission and CityAdministration manage anddirect a Community’s futurethrough resource allocation.

To address the unique issuesand growing diversity facingparts of Fort Lauderdale, theCity was divided into fiveindividual planning areas thatwill be analyzed sequentiallyover a five-year period, oneplanning area per year. Foreach study area, local stake-holders work with City departments to formulate andprioritize goals and implementation strategies.Hence, the CAP will forge consensus buildingbetween policy-makers and the public, providing thecommunity with an opportunity to participate, con-tribute, and influence policy decisions that directlyaffect their community.

In June, more than 160 citizens attended the CAPworkshops to discuss issues affecting the Central

Area and generate goals for the future of their com-munity. Among the recurring themes that were iden-tified: Improving Public Safety / Police Presence,Enhancing Code Enforcement, Encouraging TrafficCalming Techniques, Encouraging Development /

Redevelopment, ImprovingInformation Dissemination,and Promoting PedestrianFriendly Communities. InAugust, more than 350 peopleturned out to examine all of thegoals and objectives and to voteon those they felt were the mostimportant for the City toaddress at this time.

“The CAP process provides cit-izens with a unique opportuni-ty to take an active role indeveloping goals and initiatives

to enhance their community,” said Floyd T. Johnson,Fort Lauderdale City Manager. “We invite andencourage everyone to help shape the future directionof our City by participating in the upcoming CAPevents.” For additional information about the CAPInitiative, contact the City of Fort Lauderdale Officeof Community and Comprehensive Planning at(954) 762-8964 or visit City’s web site at:http://ci.ftlaud.fl.us/cap/.

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St. Lucie is currently in the process of creating aCommunity Redevelopment Agency and Tax Increment Financing District for properties locatedalong US1 and is exploring opportunities to developan 84 acre mixed-use, urban infill project. The City ofDelray Beach has multiple mixed-use, residential,commercial, and retail projects in the works. The

much awaited CityPlace in downtown West PalmBeach is nearing completion and will be openingsoon. And there is so much more! For more infor-mation about Eastward Ho! activities and opportu-nities in Palm Beach, Martin, and St. LucieCounties, contact Joan Barlow, Eastward Ho! ProjectFacilitator, at 561-221-4060.

Courtesy of the City of Fort Lauderdale

Background photo courtesy of the Miam

i Herald, Bob Eighmie photographer.

Over the last year the Eastward Ho! BrownfieldsPartnership (The Partnership) activities have focusedon combining federal and state programs with localefforts to address the redevelopment and reuse ofactual or perceived environmentally contaminatedurban infill sites. Significant accomplishmentsinclude:

• Miami-Dade County and the Cities of Opa-Locka, Miami, Miramar, Pompano Beach,Miami Beach and Lauderdale Lakes havedesignated 18 sites and areas, totaling66,100 acres, under the Florida BrownfieldsProgram. This accounts for 71% of theacreage designated in Florida as brown-fields.

• Vice President Gore announced on May 18,2000, that the City of Opa-Locka had beendesignated as a National BrownfieldsAssessment Demonstration Pilot andawarded a grant in the amount of $250,000. A symposium titled, Lenders Symposium OnBrownfields & Other EnvironmentallyImpaired Properties, Creative Financing: Pathways ToA Stronger Deal, was held May 3, 2000 in FortLauderdale and May 4, 2000 in Miami. The targetaudience for the symposium was the banking andfinancial community.

• During the week of June 26, 2000, a modifiedPhase I assessment and environmental inventorywas conducted for a portion of the ModelCity (Liberty City) area of Miami-DadeCounty. The area consisted of 263 parcels ofland comprising approximately 110 acres.The assessment was completed by a team ofinterested residents and business peoplefrom the area working with representativesof EPA (South Florida Office), FloridaDepartment of Environmental Protection,Miami-Dade County Department ofEnvironmental Resources Management,Miami-Dade County Community ActionAgency, Florida Memorial College, the Cityof Opa-Locka Brownfields Task Force, stu-dents from Florida International University,Miami/Miami-Dade County Weed andSeed Program, and staff from other localand regional agencies.

• Work continued on compiling a list of the possiblesites for assessments (Phase I and II) in the region.The focus is to complete environmental assess-ments of marketable brownfields sites. Work is

also continuing in developing a framework forregional decision-making that covers all potentialbrownfields sites to identify and secure fundingsources to undertake activities for site assess-ments, and develop a schedule for site assess-ments.

• Work continued on the Eastward Ho! BrownfieldsPartnership’s GIS Workgroup “Conceptual Plan,”to build a regional GIS system. The Web pagescan be found at www.sfrpc.com/brnwflds.htm.Broward County has also developed a brown-fields web page, which can be found atwww.co.broward.fl.us/edi01100.htm.

For additional information regarding the work ofthe Partnership, please contact Terry Manning,Partnership Coordinator, or Mark Mimick, FederalPrograms Manager, at (954) 985-4416, or by e-mail atterryman@sfrpc.com and mmimick@sfrpc.com.

Eastward Ho! Brownfields Partnership Update

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The South Florida Regional Planning Council (SFRPC)will be hosting a one-day Summit on Housing for the SouthFlorida region. This summit, tentatively scheduled forWinter 2001, will serve as akick-off for the creation of aRegional Housing Strategyto be developed by Councilstaff in coordination andpartnership with leadersfrom the public, private, andnon-profit sectors. While“affordable housing” is highon the priority list for dis-cussion at the Summit,Council staff is developing aprogram that will approach

the issue from a broader perspective, i.e., the issue of theaffordability of living in South Florida, and include an in-depth discussion of the geographic distribution of afford-

ably priced housing, region-al transportation, jobs andwages, and the economy.For more informationabout the upcomingSummit on Housing,please contact GloriaPutiak of Council staff,gloriap@sfrpc.com, at954-985-4416.

South Florida Regional Planning Council to host Regional Housing Summit

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Broward County Explores Expanding Mass Transit

to Address Increasing Traffic Congestion

During the months between May and August thisyear, Council staff participated in a Task Force onRedesigning the Transportation ConcurrencyManagement System sponsored by the BrowardCounty Department of Planning and EnvironmentalProtection (DPEP). An important consideration of theTask Force is to improve the existing somewhat piece-meal regulatory approach to transportation concur-rency management through the creation of strongerlinkages to subarea and countywide planning.Approved by the Broward County Commission at itsAugust 29, 2000 meeting, Task Force recommenda-tions include the implementation of both short andlong-term approaches to redesigning the County’sTransportation Concurrency Management System.

The short-term approach, to be implemented withinone year, will allow for an interim system in whichroad widening is only one option on a menu of wayscongestion can be alleviated. In addition to road workand mass transit, developers would also be able tohelp build transit facilities, park-and-ride lots, bikefacilities and pedestrian walkways. A detailed reportto the Commission in early 2001 will outline optionsfor replacing the current focus on roadway wideningto an increased emphasis on mass transit in the yearsto come. For additional information, please contactPing Chang pchang@sfrpc.com of Council staff at954-985-4416.

City of Fort Lauderdale

Eastward Ho!Revitalizing Southeast Florida's Urban Core

Eastward Ho! Contact List

Isabel Cosio Carballo Tel: (954) 985-4416Eastward Ho! Regional Coordinator Fax: (954) 985-44173440 Hollywood Boulevard, Suite 140Hollywood, Florida 33021email: isabelc@sfrpc.com

Eastward Ho! Project Facilitators

David Dahlstrom(Miami-Dade & Broward counties) Tel: (954) 985-4416South Florida Regional Planning Council Fax: (954) 985-44173440 Hollywood Boulevard, Suite 140Hollywood, Florida 33021email: davidd@sfrpc.com

Joan Barlow (Palm Beach, Martin & St. Lucie counties) Tel: (561) 221-4060Treasure Coast Regional Planning Council Fax: (561) 221-4067301 East Ocean Boulevard, Suite 300Stuart, Florida 34994email: admin@tcrpc.org

Eastward Ho! Brownfields Partnership Coordinator

Terry Manning (Miami-Dade, Broward, & Palm Beach counties) Tel: (954) 985-4416South Florida Regional Planning Council Fax: (954) 985-44173440 Hollywood Boulevard, Suite 140Hollywood, Florida 33021email: terryman@sfrpc.com

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Looking for Community Indicators in all the wrong places? Try these sites!

http://sustainable.state.fl.us/fdi/fscc/resource/index.htmlwww.livablecommunities.gov

Model Ordinances: Minnesota Planning recently published a package of model ordinances thatoffer tools to communities to help make choices for their future. The guide includes model ordi-nances addressing: citizen participation, growth management, managing community resources,neighborhood design, infrastructure, resource-efficient buildings, and economic development.Visit www.mnplan.state.mn.us/SDI/ordinances.html for more information.

Eastward Ho!Revitalizing Southeast Florida's Urban Core

This poster was produced by

the South Florida Regional Planning Council

in conjunction with

Treasure Coast Regional Planning Council and the

Department of Community Affairs

For more information call (954) 985-4416 or (561) 221-4060 or visit our website at www.sfrpc.com

The East is COOL!The East is COOL!

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Southeast Florida's population will continue to expand dramatically through at least the year 2025. The region is forecast to grow by

more than 2.5 million residents; a number greater than the population of

Miami-Dade County. Current growth policies have accommodated population

increases by developing lands next to the Florida Everglades; lands which are needed

for Everglades restoration and future regional water supply. Supporters of Eastward Ho! seek to improve regional quality of life and

support Everglades restoration through the revitalization of the region's existing urban communities. Strategies include involving

community residents more fully in decisions impacting their communities, the creation

of pedestrian friendly communities, and increased employment, housing, and

transportation opportunities.

Based on the map "Health, Sports, and Recreation" by Edwin Raisz, Atlas of Florida (1964, University of Florida). Reprinted with permission of the University Press of Florida

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