Parking has become a common occurrence with almost any
development these days. It is expected that a new development will want
to build their own parking lot. Having parking extremely close to the
building makes it convenient for customers to get in, get out, and go to
their next destination very quickly. But the larger the parking lot,
the more cost for construction, the less square footage of the lot could
be used for buildings, and the more cost to deal with stormwater
runoff.
From a city planning perspective, parking lots play an
integral part, but they can also cause problems. With new federal and
state standards and requirements, water runoff is a big issue.
Additionally, the cost of construction for parking lots has increased as
oil has increased. The question becomes, should the city look at
utilizing or implementing shared parking standards? This would allow
other businesses to utilize the parking spaces of another businesses if
it’s during a time they won’t be using the parking lot.
Churches
are an excellent example of this. If the peak parking lot usage for a
church parking lot is Sunday morning and Wednesday evening, why not let
another business use the parking lot Monday through Friday 8:00-5:00?
This
brings about another question, should large parking lots be limited?
Over the past 5-10 years, many cities around the country have begun
implementing parking maximums rather than parking minimums. These
maximums limit the number of parking spaces a parking lot can have. It
is an attempt to decrease developer costs and mitigate high impacts on
stormwater runoff and heat zones for cities. Smaller parking lots also
can make a community more attractive by not having a large black lake
along the highway as cars drive by. Parking maximums allow a
developer to construct a parking lot with a maximum number of spaces per
square foot of the building, thus limiting the maximum size the lot.
Parking
maximum have seen some recent kick-back from retail businesses and
developers who argue that by setting a maximum limit, it does not allow
for a store to maximize the number of customers they could have. Rather
customers may choose to go elsewhere because they are unable to find a
parking space.
This brings us to our last question, would it be
more beneficial for the city to decrease its minimum sparking space
requirement? Lowing the parking requirement would decrease costs for
developers while also mitigating impacts of stormwater, heat islands,
and aesthetics. It also allows the flexibility for retail stores to
construct more parking if they feel it is necessary.
I believe a
combination of lower minimum parking requirements and shared parking
arrangements garner something as close as we can get to maximizing the
positives while mitigating the negative aspects of parking lots. But
this is where you come in, how do you think parking lots should be
managed in the city? Let’s talk about it!
Tuesday, January 12, 2016
Monday, January 4, 2016
Why Even Have Zoning?
Although I thoroughly enjoy my job, sometime it can be very
difficult. Part of my job as the Planning and Economic Development
Director is to interpret and make determinations in the city’s zoning
code. Often, by the time a citizen or property owner gets to me, I am
the one who has to tell them “no” to their intended project. Some
typical responses are, “but [whatever the project is] won’t be that big
or impact my neighbors” or “you’re telling me that I can’t [whatever
the project is] on my property”.
Believe me, there are times that I personally don’t see a problem with a project or think this really won’t impact the neighbors or neighborhood at all. Unfortunately, I do not have the authority to override the city zoning code. But, why even have zoning regulations? Why can’t we just let people do what they want with their property? Well, believe it or not, zoning plays a very important role in the development of a community.
Zoning regulations are in place to help create a city that is attractive, desirable, and has stable property values. We know from the business world that the more retail businesses are concentrated the better they all do. So rather than have them spread randomly throughout the city, concentrating them in specific areas benefits them, city sales taxes, and allows other areas to be developed for other uses. Additionally, some citizens may not want to live right next to Walmart, Star Building, or other busy establishments. Zoning helps protect those residents from having a Walmart or a loud factory pop-up in a field next to them.
Zoning regulations are created with an idea of putting a puzzle together. Your house or property is a puzzle piece. Your piece must match and fit with your neighbors piece and, collectively, your neighborhood forms a section of the puzzle. Each neighborhood, commercial center, or industrial park is a section of the puzzle and must be compatible and fit together with other sections of the puzzle in order for it to be complete!
Zoning regulations are created with sections of the puzzle in mind so that the puzzle can be completed. So while some may get upset with zoning regulations, it’s important to remember that zoning is looking at your whole neighborhood when making regulations, not your individual piece of the puzzle. And if your individual piece is changed, it cannot fit into your section of the puzzle.
These regulations can be difficult at times and some may even need to be changed, but keep in mind that they are in place for a reason and have a purpose even if you don’t understand how it fits with your small piece of the puzzle. Let’s talk about it!
Believe me, there are times that I personally don’t see a problem with a project or think this really won’t impact the neighbors or neighborhood at all. Unfortunately, I do not have the authority to override the city zoning code. But, why even have zoning regulations? Why can’t we just let people do what they want with their property? Well, believe it or not, zoning plays a very important role in the development of a community.
Zoning regulations are in place to help create a city that is attractive, desirable, and has stable property values. We know from the business world that the more retail businesses are concentrated the better they all do. So rather than have them spread randomly throughout the city, concentrating them in specific areas benefits them, city sales taxes, and allows other areas to be developed for other uses. Additionally, some citizens may not want to live right next to Walmart, Star Building, or other busy establishments. Zoning helps protect those residents from having a Walmart or a loud factory pop-up in a field next to them.
Zoning regulations are created with an idea of putting a puzzle together. Your house or property is a puzzle piece. Your piece must match and fit with your neighbors piece and, collectively, your neighborhood forms a section of the puzzle. Each neighborhood, commercial center, or industrial park is a section of the puzzle and must be compatible and fit together with other sections of the puzzle in order for it to be complete!
Zoning regulations are created with sections of the puzzle in mind so that the puzzle can be completed. So while some may get upset with zoning regulations, it’s important to remember that zoning is looking at your whole neighborhood when making regulations, not your individual piece of the puzzle. And if your individual piece is changed, it cannot fit into your section of the puzzle.
These regulations can be difficult at times and some may even need to be changed, but keep in mind that they are in place for a reason and have a purpose even if you don’t understand how it fits with your small piece of the puzzle. Let’s talk about it!
Monday, December 28, 2015
City of Elizabethton 2015 in Review
Wow! It’s hard to believe another year has passed by already. And
it has been a busy one for the city! Today I’d like to do a rundown of
some of the top things the city has accomplished this past year.
To start off, the City Council voted to decrease property taxes by 2 cents this past year. After the budgets were completed for the 2015/2016 budget year, City Council decided that some of the additional revenues not budged for operations should be returned to the property owners in the form of a tax cut. The rationale was that this would also help out homeowners pay for an increase in water rates which also happened during the same budget cycle.
This past year has also been a good year for the city’s finances as well. As our community continues to slowly move out of the recession, financial revenue projections are surpassed. Other financial moves were made this year to help improve the city’s financial state. Some Electric Ratepayer Debt was refinanced this year in order to take advantage of low bond rates. This refinancing saved Elizabethton Electric ratepayers over $799,000 in interest payments over the life of the bonds.
Also, the city applied for multiple different grants this year and were awarded three! These grants totaled over $417,000. While many of these require the city match money, many of the projects the grants will be used for are projects that the city would need to complete at some point in the future. Rather than city taxpayers paying for the entire amount the state will be paying for a portion of these projects.
This year the city also updated and adopted new building code regulations, property maintenance regulations, and disability accessibility code regulations. These regulations ensure that buildings are constructed as they were designed to be and that they were constructed safely for the resident or occupant of the building. These regulations also help the city enforce a minimum standard of external appearance of buildings within the city. The disability accessibility regulations ensure that facilities constructed in Elizabethton will be accessible to all citizens regardless of disability.
This past year also brought the completion of two major projects. The first was the completion of the Eastside Waterloss project. This project was targeting the dramatic water loss that we saw in many of Eastside’s old water lines. This was a large project which utilized various funding mechanisms including grants. I’m sure many of our citizens in Eastside were glad to see this project completed! The completion of the Tweetsie Trail was also another major win for the City and our citizens. You can now ride from Snap-On to Old Navy in Johnson City along a variety of paths and trails.
Some other projects this year included the completion of the new Citizen’s Bank Stadium, the beginning of the EHS Band Room, the implementation of new library software, and a variety of other projects. As we look to the new year, what progress would you like to see your city make? Let’s talk about it!
To start off, the City Council voted to decrease property taxes by 2 cents this past year. After the budgets were completed for the 2015/2016 budget year, City Council decided that some of the additional revenues not budged for operations should be returned to the property owners in the form of a tax cut. The rationale was that this would also help out homeowners pay for an increase in water rates which also happened during the same budget cycle.
This past year has also been a good year for the city’s finances as well. As our community continues to slowly move out of the recession, financial revenue projections are surpassed. Other financial moves were made this year to help improve the city’s financial state. Some Electric Ratepayer Debt was refinanced this year in order to take advantage of low bond rates. This refinancing saved Elizabethton Electric ratepayers over $799,000 in interest payments over the life of the bonds.
Also, the city applied for multiple different grants this year and were awarded three! These grants totaled over $417,000. While many of these require the city match money, many of the projects the grants will be used for are projects that the city would need to complete at some point in the future. Rather than city taxpayers paying for the entire amount the state will be paying for a portion of these projects.
This year the city also updated and adopted new building code regulations, property maintenance regulations, and disability accessibility code regulations. These regulations ensure that buildings are constructed as they were designed to be and that they were constructed safely for the resident or occupant of the building. These regulations also help the city enforce a minimum standard of external appearance of buildings within the city. The disability accessibility regulations ensure that facilities constructed in Elizabethton will be accessible to all citizens regardless of disability.
This past year also brought the completion of two major projects. The first was the completion of the Eastside Waterloss project. This project was targeting the dramatic water loss that we saw in many of Eastside’s old water lines. This was a large project which utilized various funding mechanisms including grants. I’m sure many of our citizens in Eastside were glad to see this project completed! The completion of the Tweetsie Trail was also another major win for the City and our citizens. You can now ride from Snap-On to Old Navy in Johnson City along a variety of paths and trails.
Some other projects this year included the completion of the new Citizen’s Bank Stadium, the beginning of the EHS Band Room, the implementation of new library software, and a variety of other projects. As we look to the new year, what progress would you like to see your city make? Let’s talk about it!
Monday, December 21, 2015
Public Participation is Required in a Democracy
In the short time I have been working full-time in Elizabethton
there has been one outstanding thing I have noticed -- public
participation. There seems to be a lack of participation from citizens
and property owners when it comes to government officials asking for an
hour or less of their time a year.
This nation was founded on a principle that the people and the citizens who live in this county govern themselves. This theme is echoed from the Federal level of government all the way down to the Local city/county level of government. The people of Elizabethton and the people of Carter County govern themselves.
Within the past 5 years, the Elizabethton Planning Department has been involved in numerous public input session. The first was the involvement of our Elizabethton’s Vision project. During this project we visited each of the elementary schools, the senior center, the Elizabethton High School, and the recreation center during the evening and mornings asking citizens to give us feedback on what they wanted to see Elizabethton look like in 20 years. Additionally, public input opportunities were also available on the city’s website. There was great participation among city boards and representatives, but little participation from citizens despite extensive public advertising.
More recently, the Elizabethton Regional Planning Commission asked citizens to participate in drafting new sign regulations. Input was sought via a public comment session one evening and an online questionnaire and comment section. Again, there was little public input from citizens about what types of signs they wanted in their community and little input from local businesses letting us know what their needs were.
During the 2012 presidential election, an election that typically draws the most number of people to the voting booths, somewhere between 3,600 and 4,700 city citizens voted for a city councilperson in this election. To give you an idea of how many people that is, 11,235 people in Elizabethton are eligible voters and 7,879 are registered voters. At best, less than 42 percent of the eligible voters (people over 18 years old) and 60 percent of people who are registered in Elizabethton couldn’t give an hour to participate in their local government -- the form of government which has the most impact on your daily lives.
A woman once asked Benjamin Franklin shortly after the 1787 Constitutional Convention closed whether the convention had chosen a Republic or a Monarchy for this newly birthed country. His reply was, “A Republic, if you can keep it.” We are all frustrated by the “big money influences” corrupting government, but if we are not willing to participate in our local government by giving feedback and voting, then we have signed over the right to govern ourselves to others who are willing and wanting to do so.
As we go into a new year, think about ways you can participate in your local government even if it’s just for an hour or two a year. Tell the City Council or County Commission your thoughts on issues before them, participate in a public input session, or simply show up to vote for the best candidate. Let’s govern ourselves and try to keep our little Republic here in Carter County. Let’s talk about it!
This nation was founded on a principle that the people and the citizens who live in this county govern themselves. This theme is echoed from the Federal level of government all the way down to the Local city/county level of government. The people of Elizabethton and the people of Carter County govern themselves.
Within the past 5 years, the Elizabethton Planning Department has been involved in numerous public input session. The first was the involvement of our Elizabethton’s Vision project. During this project we visited each of the elementary schools, the senior center, the Elizabethton High School, and the recreation center during the evening and mornings asking citizens to give us feedback on what they wanted to see Elizabethton look like in 20 years. Additionally, public input opportunities were also available on the city’s website. There was great participation among city boards and representatives, but little participation from citizens despite extensive public advertising.
More recently, the Elizabethton Regional Planning Commission asked citizens to participate in drafting new sign regulations. Input was sought via a public comment session one evening and an online questionnaire and comment section. Again, there was little public input from citizens about what types of signs they wanted in their community and little input from local businesses letting us know what their needs were.
During the 2012 presidential election, an election that typically draws the most number of people to the voting booths, somewhere between 3,600 and 4,700 city citizens voted for a city councilperson in this election. To give you an idea of how many people that is, 11,235 people in Elizabethton are eligible voters and 7,879 are registered voters. At best, less than 42 percent of the eligible voters (people over 18 years old) and 60 percent of people who are registered in Elizabethton couldn’t give an hour to participate in their local government -- the form of government which has the most impact on your daily lives.
A woman once asked Benjamin Franklin shortly after the 1787 Constitutional Convention closed whether the convention had chosen a Republic or a Monarchy for this newly birthed country. His reply was, “A Republic, if you can keep it.” We are all frustrated by the “big money influences” corrupting government, but if we are not willing to participate in our local government by giving feedback and voting, then we have signed over the right to govern ourselves to others who are willing and wanting to do so.
As we go into a new year, think about ways you can participate in your local government even if it’s just for an hour or two a year. Tell the City Council or County Commission your thoughts on issues before them, participate in a public input session, or simply show up to vote for the best candidate. Let’s govern ourselves and try to keep our little Republic here in Carter County. Let’s talk about it!
Monday, December 14, 2015
Educating Our Workforce is a Must by 2020
Sticking with the theme of goals from the Elizabethton’s Vision
project, another goal was to have an educated and skilled workforce. In
my new role as economic development director for the city, I could not
agree more!
Having a well educated and skilled workforce make Elizabethton and Carter County much more attractive to a potential industry or businesses interested in locating here. Part of my job, especially when I’m working on activities for the Carter County Joint Economic and Community Development Board (Carter County Tomorrow), is somewhat similar to selling a used car. My job is to sell Elizabethton and Carter County to potential industries and businesses. If you’re trying to sell your car, you will tell a potential buyer about every little thing you’ve improved in the car. It may be a few new belts, a freshly installed fuel injector, or even simply a new air filter, but you’ll be sure to mention it!
Having an educated and skilled workforce allows me to tell prospective industries that we have the workforce they’re looking for. That we have the talent here locally that can help their business succeed and, in turn, help them succeed. An educated and skilled workforce can be almost as important as having a suitable site for a business to build on.
Looking to a future workforce, a Georgetown University study projects that by the year 2020, 3 out of every 5 jobs will require some type of post-high school education. This could be in the form of a Vocational Certificate from an institution like Tennessee Colleges of Applied Technology or an Associate's Degree from a college like Northeast State Community College. To make it better 1½ of those 3 jobs (or 1½ out of every 5 jobs) will require a Bachelor’s Degree or higher from a college like Milligan College or East Tennessee State University.
The Carter County workforce has a little work to do. Currently, 2 of every 5 people have some type of post-high school education while 3 of every 5 people have a high school diploma or less. Another concern is that the highest paying and fastest growing jobs require an Associate’s Degree or higher.
The State of Tennessee has realized this and has last year implemented the Tennessee Promise program to encourage students to seek higher education levels with limited financial investment. The state has also implemented a program called Tennessee Reconnect which is targeted to get adults who have some college education back into the classroom to finish their degrees and to help adults gain new skills from our local TCAT facility. For more information on Tennessee Reconnect, visit www.TennesseeReconnect.gov or visit TCAT here in Elizabethton. What else can we be doing to prepare our workforce to meet future demands? Let’s talk about it!
Having a well educated and skilled workforce make Elizabethton and Carter County much more attractive to a potential industry or businesses interested in locating here. Part of my job, especially when I’m working on activities for the Carter County Joint Economic and Community Development Board (Carter County Tomorrow), is somewhat similar to selling a used car. My job is to sell Elizabethton and Carter County to potential industries and businesses. If you’re trying to sell your car, you will tell a potential buyer about every little thing you’ve improved in the car. It may be a few new belts, a freshly installed fuel injector, or even simply a new air filter, but you’ll be sure to mention it!
Having an educated and skilled workforce allows me to tell prospective industries that we have the workforce they’re looking for. That we have the talent here locally that can help their business succeed and, in turn, help them succeed. An educated and skilled workforce can be almost as important as having a suitable site for a business to build on.
Looking to a future workforce, a Georgetown University study projects that by the year 2020, 3 out of every 5 jobs will require some type of post-high school education. This could be in the form of a Vocational Certificate from an institution like Tennessee Colleges of Applied Technology or an Associate's Degree from a college like Northeast State Community College. To make it better 1½ of those 3 jobs (or 1½ out of every 5 jobs) will require a Bachelor’s Degree or higher from a college like Milligan College or East Tennessee State University.
The Carter County workforce has a little work to do. Currently, 2 of every 5 people have some type of post-high school education while 3 of every 5 people have a high school diploma or less. Another concern is that the highest paying and fastest growing jobs require an Associate’s Degree or higher.
The State of Tennessee has realized this and has last year implemented the Tennessee Promise program to encourage students to seek higher education levels with limited financial investment. The state has also implemented a program called Tennessee Reconnect which is targeted to get adults who have some college education back into the classroom to finish their degrees and to help adults gain new skills from our local TCAT facility. For more information on Tennessee Reconnect, visit www.TennesseeReconnect.gov or visit TCAT here in Elizabethton. What else can we be doing to prepare our workforce to meet future demands? Let’s talk about it!
Monday, December 7, 2015
Improving Buildings and Appearance in Elizabethton
About 3 years ago, city planning staff began conducting a visioning
plan for Elizabethton. What this would ultimately do, is identify where
the community would like to be in, say, 20 years and develop goals and
objectives to get the community to that future vision.
Some interesting, although maybe not surprising, goals came out of that project. One of those goals was to improve the building frontage and appearance throughout the city. If I remember correctly, this goal actually originated out of a session I did with a group of students at Elizabethton High School. It was voted by many adults as well and made it into one the top 10 goals.
So what are we doing to improve the appearance of buildings and properties throughout the city? Well, there are four main perspectives we are utilizing to help improve the aesthetics of our community. The first is our sign regulations. We are currently in the process of adopting new regulations which will require landscaped areas around new signs. They also require that a standard pole sign must be enclosed so that the exposed pole cannot be seen (and therefore will help prevent rusting).
As I’ve written about before, we are continuing to step up our property maintenance regulations. This past summer we adopted updates to our current regulations and hired a new property maintenance enforcement officer. From April to October, we also conduct property maintenance sweeps in which we canvas an entire neighborhood looking for property maintenance violations and alert those property owners about repairs that need to be made. Those alerts are followed up with additional notices and citations if the repairs are not made.
About 3 years ago we rewrote the regulations for junk and abandoned cars. Effective January 1, 2016, the last of these regulations go into effect requiring that businesses who take more than 7 days to fix or repair a damaged or junked vehicle, must store those vehicles in a building or behind a visual barrier so that the cars cannot be seen from the road.
Lastly, we are planning to rewrite the landscaping requirements for both parking lots and frontage areas along streets for businesses. While this is early, we will be looking to incentivize larger trees to be planted in both areas which will provide more greenery along the city’s busiest streets.
Having a attractive city help create civic pride and attracts others to our community. What other steps can we as a local government and private businesses do to improve the appearance throughout the city? Let’s talk about it!
Some interesting, although maybe not surprising, goals came out of that project. One of those goals was to improve the building frontage and appearance throughout the city. If I remember correctly, this goal actually originated out of a session I did with a group of students at Elizabethton High School. It was voted by many adults as well and made it into one the top 10 goals.
So what are we doing to improve the appearance of buildings and properties throughout the city? Well, there are four main perspectives we are utilizing to help improve the aesthetics of our community. The first is our sign regulations. We are currently in the process of adopting new regulations which will require landscaped areas around new signs. They also require that a standard pole sign must be enclosed so that the exposed pole cannot be seen (and therefore will help prevent rusting).
As I’ve written about before, we are continuing to step up our property maintenance regulations. This past summer we adopted updates to our current regulations and hired a new property maintenance enforcement officer. From April to October, we also conduct property maintenance sweeps in which we canvas an entire neighborhood looking for property maintenance violations and alert those property owners about repairs that need to be made. Those alerts are followed up with additional notices and citations if the repairs are not made.
About 3 years ago we rewrote the regulations for junk and abandoned cars. Effective January 1, 2016, the last of these regulations go into effect requiring that businesses who take more than 7 days to fix or repair a damaged or junked vehicle, must store those vehicles in a building or behind a visual barrier so that the cars cannot be seen from the road.
Lastly, we are planning to rewrite the landscaping requirements for both parking lots and frontage areas along streets for businesses. While this is early, we will be looking to incentivize larger trees to be planted in both areas which will provide more greenery along the city’s busiest streets.
Having a attractive city help create civic pride and attracts others to our community. What other steps can we as a local government and private businesses do to improve the appearance throughout the city? Let’s talk about it!
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