First Coast Vision: Duval County Town Hall this Monday, March 7th

[riverside planner]

You may have seen this article in the FT-U this morning: http://jacksonville.com/business/2011-03-04/story/building-blocks-help-first-coast-planners-develop-reality-check-report

Building blocks help First Coast planners develop a Reality Check report for growth:
Now residents can take a look at growth options for the area.Posted: March 4, 2011 - 12:16am


What began two years ago with about 300 representatives from Northeast Florida's seven counties using toy Lego building blocks to show where they think growth should go has evolved into a more definitive play for the region's growth for the next 50 years.

The resulting Reality Check First Coast report is intended to help shepherd local governments and businesses to develop the Northeast Florida of the future toward what the participants concluded they want to see happen.

Monday night, Duval County residents have an opportunity to see a presentation on growth options for the region's future and to offer feedback. The meeting is at 6:30 p.m. at the Northeast Florida Regional Council building, 6850 Belfort Oaks Place in Jacksonville.

The Reality Check First Coast project took input from the public and facilitated discussion sessions between participants to distill that consensus.

Thanks to the Lego exercise, participants modeled four scenarios that are an alternative to sprawling growth, which could exacerbate problems in issues as transportation and jobs if it continues as it has in recent years, the report said.

The scenarios:
- The "dispersed" pattern, which continues the trend of low residential densities, but spreads jobs around better.

- The "multiple growth centers" pattern, which puts jobs and people closer together and promotes shorter commute times and better public transportation.

- The "urban compact" pattern, which revisits leapfrogged areas of current urban areas, promotes redevelopment and lowers the need for new infrastructure.

- The "corridor" pattern, which concentrates job and residential growth along the transportation corridors that connect the region's counties.

Also resulting from Reality Check First Coast exercises were the following "guiding principles:"
- To protect and conserve open spaces, agricultural land and natural resources.

- To promote compact and sustainable mixed-use development.

- To provide mobility choices.

- To promote infill development.

- To promote economic vitality and competitiveness.

The Reality Check project was presented by Region First 2060, which is working on a First Coast Vision project with The Regional Community Institute of Northeast Florida and the Northeast Florida Regional Council.

kevin.turner@jacksonville.com, (904) 359-4609

We have been working diligently on developing a vision for our 7-county Region and are winding down a series of Town Hall meetings in each of our 7 counties.  The final Town Hall Meeting will be held in Duval County this Monday, March 7th, at the Northeast Florida Regional Council, located at 6850 Belfort Oaks Place.  The meeting starts at 6:30pm.  If you would like additional information, please go to www.FirstCoastVision.com, or call us at (904) 279-0880.  Thanks!

[cline]

Unless these "representatives" from around the region convince the political leadership of the region to grow a pair and actually start implementing policies and regulations to control and direct land uses in a way that fits these scenarios, this plan is useless.  It will just be another in a long line of plans which pay lip service to smart growth policies yet fail when it comes to implementation.  What we need is true political leadership to embrace these principles and make it happen.

[thelakelander]

+1

[riverside planner]

Unless these "representatives" from around the region convince the political leadership of the region to grow a pair and actually start implementing policies and regulations to control and direct land uses in a way that fits these scenarios, this plan is useless.  It will just be another in a long line of plans which pay lip service to smart growth policies yet fail when it comes to implementation.  What we need is true political leadership to embrace these principles and make it happen.

No argument from me on that one.  Nonetheless, the more public buy-in we have, the more likely that the decision makers will pay more than lip service.

[urbanlibertarian]

Seems to me that the easiest and cheapest way to promote "compact and sustainable mixed-use development" and "infill development" and "economic vitality and competitiveness" is to stop prohibiting them outright or greatly reducing the red tape and multi-layered approval processes that stand in their way.  In other words let property owners decide for themselves the best and most productive ways to develop their property.