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

Task Force Report

Best Practices from Similar Regions

Practitioner Experience

Local Assets

Proposed Community Development System

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

Community Based Planning and Neighborhood Outreach Strategies

“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: A Best Practice Model for Middle Neighborhoods

Evaluating Middle Neighborhood Improvement Strategies

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/

Small Group Discussion