Not In My Backyard!!

When I first started my career in planning, I was naive (and in many areas I still am) about the reality of the development process. I am also a strong believer in making sure the public is aware of what is going on in local government and gathering their input as part of the process. While this is unique and powerful process, it also opens up the door to restricting what may be in the best interest of the community.

An article published on in the April 2012 edition of Boston Magazine discusses the impact such a process can have on a city. In Boston, before any development is approved it must first go before a citizen advisory committee. This presents an opportunity for many of the anti-development citizens to come out in protest of the development stretching the approval process out for months and costing the business that much more to receive approval.

The article points out that a few citizens have the power to completely shutdown a development because there is some aspect of it that they do not like – whether location, aesthetics, or the development type. “This has to change. If it doesn't, Boston could lose its competitive edge." the author notes.

One of the reasons cited most often for opposing any development is fear of the unknown. What will this development look like in the end? Will the developers follow through on their promises? What will this development do to the surrounding businesses or neighborhood? We must work together with the developers to help calm the fears of those who are anti-development.

A question I often ask to gage if a project is good for our community is “If this development was near another business or if this development was next to another neighborhood would you be excited about it?” Often times stepping back from the issue and questioning if the development is in the best interest of our community is a much better approach than simply not doing to project. After all, we don’t want to turn down a positive development for our city and loose our “competitive edge” as the author was concerned for Boston.

Just as we as humans go through growing pains during our teenage years, so too do cities. We must realize that the pain will only be temporary and that, while not ideal for our individual situation, a development will help our community grow and become stronger. What else should we be doing to help calm concerns of new development? Let’s talk about it!

What’s Elizabethton’s Community Brand?

Take a moment and think about what you’ve heard people say when you mention you’re from Elizabethton. What is the picture visitors describe to you when you say Elizabethton? Branding is not often a term you hear in local government, but is a very powerful tool for private sector businesses. Branding is not only about how a product or company is perceived, but also about how that product or company delivers on that perception. Local governments and community organizations are noticing the power of branding and over the last eight years, we are starting to see communities become brands.

To give you a better idea of what I’m talking about, what cities come to mind when I say Country Music Capital or Wine Capital of America? You think of very specific Nashville and Napa Valley and probably without even naming the state. Locally, Bristol has built its brand around NASCAR and for good reason it’s the home of the Bristol Motor Speedway!

Community branding answers questions like what sets us apart from other communities in the region, what do we have to offer that people can’t get or do closer to where they live, what strengths do we offer others in the region? These answers become the basis for our community brand.

Community brands provide many benefits to a community. A brand serves to help unite various organizations and helps everyone move in the same direction. These organizations can be formal such as the Chamber of Commerce, City Council, or the County Commission or more informal such as the Rotary Club, Kiwanis Club, or the Downtown Business Association. Imagine if you had four horses pulling a carriage and all four wanted to go in different directions – we would be getting nowhere fast! A community brand helps unite these organizations encouraging everyone to pull in the same direction.

Community branding also answers questions like why should anyone move here and why should people visit us. The answer to these questions are the reason businesses will want to move here, tourists will want to visit here, and people will want to move here.

Whether positive or negative, whether it’s advertised or not, every community has a community brand. So, what is our community brand? What comes to people’s minds when you say Elizabethton? If it is positive, how can we let the world know what it is? If it is negative, what do we need to do to change it? Let’s talk about it!

Making Elizabethton Business Friendly

Many times in my position I am asked about creating a “business friendly” community, but I often question what this means. Franklin, Tennessee, for example, has very strict sign, aesthetic, and development regulations, yet businesses flock to this smaller city. Greeneville, Tennessee, on the other hand, has very liberal development regulations allowing for a wide variety of land uses and lot locations, yet this community has many vacant buildings.

The Beacon Center (a nonprofit, nonpartisan, and independent organization dedicated empirical research and timely free market solutions to public policy issues in Tennessee) annually ranks the top 50 most populous Tennessee cities by business friendliness. In their 2013 analysis, they measure community allure, business tax burden, and economic vitality in order to determine which community is more friendly to business. In this ranking, Elizabethton has ranked 35th most business friendly city in the state just under Kingsport at 34th and above Bristol at 37th. Not too bad considering we rank 39th largest city in Tennessee by population.

The National League of Cities (a national organization working with city leaders to build better communities) has also made suggestions on what makes a community business friendly. This organization suggests creating space for innovation, having regulations that make sense, and proactively engaging the business community creates a business friendly community. Unlike the Beacon Center ranking, these suggestions are more actions rather than measures.

In my opinion, a business friendly community is more about cultivating a pro-active, positive business environment rather than measuring specific outcomes and implementing specific programs. Yes, these programs are sure to help the business environment and, yes, the measures use in the Beacon Center’s analysis are certainly helpful in determining the return on investment into business programs, but we must look at the larger picture to determine our business friendliness.

It would be ideal if our local governments could implement a few programs, cut some taxes, and BAM! our community would be “business friendly.” Unfortunately, this is not the case. Our local governments must work together to create business friendly tax, development, and regulatory policies and programs. Our citizens must work to educate and train themselves so that we have a workforce capable of meeting the technical and knowledge driven demands of today’s business environment. Our customers must support local businesses and our local economy to encourage others to start and move businesses here. Our businesses must work to invest in their business, buildings, and local community. And all of us must work to create a positive image of Elizabethton that will make others want to come here.

It takes everyone to create a business friendly community. No one element can do it alone. So how can we all take the first step together? Let’s talk about it!