2/25/2015 Starkville’s Curb Appeal: The Sidewalk Challenge ­ Starkville Free Press

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Starkville’s Curb Appeal: The SidewalkChallenge

Cars park on the side of the road along NorthWashington Street.

By: Audra Gines

Just off “Old Highway 182,” a petite youngwoman, dressed just warm enough to keep the

deep Mississippi chill from cutting through her, struggled to push her strollerthrough the dense thicket of weeds on the steep slope not meant for the solesof a mother’s feet. Each step she took was an attempt to regain ground from thegravity that continued to pull her down. At the top of the slope, a steady streamof cars awaited should she attempt to brave the tightrope of gravel that clungto the side of the narrow street.

 City of Starkville Sidewalk Ordinance (.pdf)

 

Click to enlarge

 

2/25/2015 Starkville’s Curb Appeal: The Sidewalk Challenge ­ Starkville Free Press

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Dan Camp’s Letter to the Board (.pdf)

 

The SFP Interview: Ward 4 AldermanJason Walker discussed how hisbackground in landscape architecturetranslates to his job as alderman. | Photoby Zach Boozer

 

How Do We Pay for Sidewalks (and Other Infrastructure)? – MarkFenton (.pdf)

 

For Smaller Towns, Paying for Sidewalks Isn’t Always Easy – TheAtlantic Cities

On this morning a year and a half ago, Starkville’s Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.Drive was packed with parents hustling to get their children to the publicschool on “Old Highway 182,” which stretches the length of Starkville and oninto the Mississippi Delta. Cars looked like sardines lined in a can as theirdrivers sat impatiently waiting for the light to turn green.

Drivers trudged on as the young lady wrestled to make it a few blocks to the

2/25/2015 Starkville’s Curb Appeal: The Sidewalk Challenge ­ Starkville Free Press

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only convenience store within a mile of her crowded neighborhood north ofHighway 182. As she grasped the handle of her baby’s stroller, the motherstrained to protect her child from the danger that loomed just 10 steps to herleft—with no sidewalk in sight.

 

‘We Are Pushing Ahead …’

Starkville streets, and the lack of pedestrian- and bike-friendly pathways, leavelittle room for error. With just a few inches to give in many areas of town,pedestrians are left to fend for themselves.

Ward 4 Alderman Jason Walker, a landscape architect, told the Starkville FreePress that increasing the number of sidewalks would not only allow forincreased safety, but more walkability throughout the city.

“Starkville, and places our size, are growing significantly, and we plan to growsignificantly, and that means you have to have a plan,” Walker said.

The problem in Starkville, and many other cities, is what exactly that planshould be and who pays to carry it out. Starkville’s ordinance currently calls forall new development to incorporate sidewalks in and around the area, as wellas all re-development—meaning that developers are supposed to foot the billfor the sidewalks, unless they can prove that it would pose an “undue hardship”on them. The definition of that “hardship”—not to mention the question ofwhether sidewalk and other infrastructure costs might scare off neededdevelopment—is at the heart of the city’s current heated sidewalks controversy.

It is not uncommon for municipalities to require developers to build or maintainsidewalks, as a part of new projects—New York City, for instance, requiresprivate construction and maintenance of sidewalks. But cities around thecountry employ a variety of ways to fund sidewalks, from putting the burdencompletely on developers to taxing all area businesses or incorporating grantmoney, establishing “improvement districts” for sharing the costs and otheralternatives.

2/25/2015 Starkville’s Curb Appeal: The Sidewalk Challenge ­ Starkville Free Press

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At the Oct. 15, 2013, Board of Aldermen meeting, reported by the ColumbusDispatch, Ward 2 Alderman Lisa Wynn moved for the board to review thecurrent sidewalk ordinance by the end of 2013 because, Wynn and Ward 3Alderman David Little said it places “unfair, business-hindering burdens ondevelopers.” Wynn wanted community developer William Snowden to reviewthe ordinance and make suggestions for updates by the end of 2013.

Shortly after the board approved Snowden to review and report back on thecurrent ordinance, he became ill and took medical leave—with the charge toreport back to the board by February 2014.

On Nov. 5, 2013, Walker proposed a seven-member committee that he calledthe “Ordinance Review Committee.” He said that a variety of appointees wouldbring a less-partisan approach to the sidewalk ordinance issues. However, theboard voted it down 5-2.

A road with no sidewalks can be seen runningbetween two houses. Cars are parked in the grassnext to the houses. | Photo by Andrew Yerger

The following month, Snowden resigned his position as community developer,and Starkville Mayor Parker Wiseman took over the responsibilities until theboard appointed a replacement. Taylor Adams, the chief administrator and cityclerk, has been supporting Wiseman as necessary.

2/25/2015 Starkville’s Curb Appeal: The Sidewalk Challenge ­ Starkville Free Press

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“The mayor officially was given those tasks,” Adams said. “Now certainly I’vebeen assisting him in the day-to-day administration of those tasks, but officiallythe mayor is the acting community development director until (the position) isfilled.”

Adams said the city advertised and recently closed the search for the position.Board members will discuss the candidates tonight, at the April 15 Board ofAldermen meeting.

The sidewalk ordinance remains stagnant for now, leaving the unresolveddebate wide open for speculation between the residents of Starkville, boardmembers and developers.

For those in favor of the current ordinance, no movement is good because itmeans the ordinance would not change, including the requirement thatdevelopers foot the bill. Wynn and developers who believe the ordinance is tooharsh clearly want a more lenient ordinance.

 

What Is an ‘Undue Hardship’?

The Board of Aldermen has continually debated this issue since the 2009ordinance was established. Since then, the board has revised the ordinance,most notably adding a variance allowing developers to bypass the requirementto build sidewalks if they could prove it created an “undue hardship” on them.

2/25/2015 Starkville’s Curb Appeal: The Sidewalk Challenge ­ Starkville Free Press

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A kid’s ball rolls on to North Washington Street.The intersection of North Washington and Dr.Martin Luther King Drive can be seen in thedistance. | Photo by Andrew Yerger

The current Starkville sidewalk ordinance states that sidewalks are mandatoryon all new single-family residents, subdivision developments and commercialdevelopments. It also requires developers to provide a site plan with provisionsfor all sidewalk construction.

A developer must request a variance to bypass the current ordinance. Theapplication for variance must state the “specific variances sought and thereasons for the variance(s).” Currently, “The sole criteria to be evaluated ingranting variance shall be that the cost of constructing the sidewalk constitutesan undue hardship as defined in subsection 90-60(3).”

That section states that undue hardship is based on whether or not the cost perlinear foot to install sidewalks exceeds “more than two times the average rateas documented by the transportation committee.”

In other words, it is an “undue burden” only if building a particular sidewalk isconsiderably more expensive than the average sidewalk. The nature of thedevelopment or the capacity of the developer to make the capital improvementis not a consideration.

2/25/2015 Starkville’s Curb Appeal: The Sidewalk Challenge ­ Starkville Free Press

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Cotton District developer Dan Camp, the former mayor of Starkville and alongtime advocate for a more walkable city, is opposed to changing the currentsidewalk ordinance, saying that it would make it easier for developers toabdicate their sidewalk responsibility.

“If you want to be known as the board that took us back into the dark ages of‘anything goes,’” Camp said in an Oct. 17, 2013, letter to the Board of Aldermen,“then continue this trend,” Camp said.

Wynn emphasizes that she does want good infrastructure; it’s just a question ofhow to pay for it. “Let me say this about sidewalks: I’m a big proponent ofsidewalks, I enjoy walking in the summertime, I look forward to being able towalk (on sidewalks) all over town,” Wynn explained. “But,” she added, “inaddition to (sidewalks), I want the developers to have some type of incentive,and right now, we are definitely working on that.”

Two kids walk down a one-way Starkville street after school. Cars parkedon on both sides of the street block parts of the road. | Photo by AndrewYerger

2/25/2015 Starkville’s Curb Appeal: The Sidewalk Challenge ­ Starkville Free Press

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Walker, the Ward 4 alderman, disagrees with Wynn’s suggestion that tighterordinances are pushing potential developers away.

“In an extremely down economy, it didn’t stop the development that’s occurredhere,” Walker said. “It didn’t stop the Camps from doing what they’re doing on513 University, it hasn’t stopped the chain restaurants from coming here, itdidn’t stop Beef O’ Brady’s, it hasn’t precluded Bojangles, it hasn’t precludedChick-Fil-A or Buffalo Wild Wings.”

 

‘It’s Not Coming, It’s Here’

Despite the complexity of the issue, progress is evident in Starkville’s newlypaved roads and sidewalks found sporadically throughout town. The mostrecent example is the “new highway 182.” The same stretch of road that, a yearand a half earlier, a young lady struggled to push her baby safely on now has anew sheen of freshly paved asphalt, beautiful curbs and gutters, and pristinesidewalks. Now parents are able to walk their children to and from school safelywhile enjoying the beauty of their surroundings without having to worrywhether or not they or their children will be safe.

Walker believes good things are happening; they just take time, patience andproper funding.

“We are pushing ahead as rapidly as possible; because, look, if you want toattract people, you have to have a place that people want to be,” Walker said. “Ithink we can do that; we need to do that—and find a way to make that happen.”

Former Mayor Camp, though, blames the four-year term limits that Starkvillealdermen/women face for making it extremely difficult to implement a properlong-term plan for infrastructure.

“Every board has the right to put aside what the previous board did inMississippi,” Camp said, when asked why the city hasn’t been able to implementa long-term plan for the city’s infrastructure.

2/25/2015 Starkville’s Curb Appeal: The Sidewalk Challenge ­ Starkville Free Press

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Walker said he understands the complications that come when new boardmembers are elected, thus increasing the difficulty of putting a long-terminfrastructure plan in motion.

In the meantime, Starkville continues to have sidewalks that lead to nowhereand dangerous sections of road that would benefit from pedestrian-friendlyimprovements.

With time, Wynn said, the board will address Starkville’s sidewalk concerns. “Icould never, ever see us being without sidewalks,” she said.

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