Onto Decatur Strategic Plan goals 10 & 11.  Most of Goal 10 is a “continuation” of things the city is already doing.  However, there’s a task in here that calls for the evaluation of the homestead exemption and another under Goal 11 that calls for integrating more art into public spaces, which sounds interesting.

Goal 10: Continue to provide quality services within fiscal limits acceptable to the community

Task 10A Pursue energy saving options and long-term sustainability policies to reduce the cost of providing services.

Task 10B Continue to access grant funding opportunities to pay for capital projects, support strategic goals, and improve quality of life.

Task 10C Use the budget process to assure the most cost effective use of city resources.

Task 10D Evaluate homestead exemptions, including their effect on residential tax burden and city’s ability to provide services.

Goal 11: Assure the efficient use and coordination of all community facilities by strengthening public-private partnerships

Task 11A Create facility committees as needed to work with community institutions to identify opportunities for shared use of public facilities, to allow for more efficient use of these facilities, and to make certain that existing partnerships like the athletic facilities partnership meet regularly to accomplish this goal.

Task 11B Incorporate multi-use rooms into as many city-owned buildings as possible to provide for flexible community use opportunities.

Task 11C Convene an annual forum for non-profit, public, religious, and institutional organizations to share ideas, resources, and strategies to meet the strategic goals of the community.

Task 11D Integrate art into public facilities, such as sidewalks or new buildings, in partnership with local schools, the Arts Alliance and local artists.

“Density & annexation” might not be the best overall descriptors for Goal #9 of Decatur’s Strategic Plan, but I felt compelled to use the most incendiary words possible in the post title.

FYI, I’m skipping Goal #8, which is located on page 38 of the Plan, because it’s essentially “support the Cultural Arts Master Plan“.

Goal 9: Expand and diversify the city’s revenue base

Task 9A: Find opportunities to redevelop existing commercially zoned properties to their highest and best use.

Task 9B: E xplore annexation options in partnership with the City Schools of Decatur that expand the property tax base and enhance school operations.

Task 9C: Support the redevelopment of the former Devry University property with a mix of uses that will serve the community.

Task 9D: Promote other revenue sources in addition to property taxes, such as increased sales tax revenues.

Sorry.  Have fallen a bit behind on these!  Onto Goal #7 of the 2010 Decatur Strategic Plan!

Goal 7: Support, expand, and develop programs, services, events, and opportunities that respond to diverse interests, encourage community interaction, and promote a stronger sense of community

Task 7a: Continue to provide volunteer support services and maintain programs like the MLK Day service project, Season of giving, and special event support.

Task 7b: Explore the opportunity for an event that educates citizens about their community and connects them with community, institutional, and nonprofit organizations to promote community pride, volunteerism, neighborhood interaction, and communication with the public.

Task 7c: Expand the Decatur 101 program to reach as many citizens as possible.

Task 7d: Consider using public funds to create a neighborhood mini- grant program that encourages grass roots community improvement projects such as neighborhood kiosks, public art, tree plantings, neighborhood signs, and park improvements, and builds a stronger partnership between city government and neighborhood organizations.

Task 7e: Partner with City Schools of Decatur to establish a Decatur youth council to advise on Strategic Plan implementation and how the city government can best meet the needs of local youth.

On to Decatur Strategic Plan Goal 6!

Goal 6: Strengthen communication and involvement in and among neighborhoods, city government, volunteer boards and commissions, institutions, community organizations, local businesses, and Decatur as a whole

Task 6A: Provide communication in a variety of formats to reach a broad audience. Expand the use of social media and electronic tools such as Open City Hall to encourage citizen participation.

Task 6B: Reorganize city staff assignments to provide focused support to improve interaction between neighborhood and community groups, and focus on developing a community that supports aging in place.

Task 6C: Create a Decatur smart phone application to serve as a visitor and resident guide for local businesses, as well as a source of event and other information.

‘Twas a curious clash of old ways and new ideas at last night’s City Commission meeting, which may portends more awkward deliberations destined to take place over the next ten years as the Strategic Plan’s various tasks are implemented.

The meeting, which followed a “work session” where the commissioners were presented with the current draft of the Strategic Plan, included a request by a property owner looking to subdivide a large lot with an existing apartment building. Shaving off a currently undeveloped portion, the subdivision would result in at 38′ wide single family lot, which is substandard according to the R-60 zoning.

But here’s where it started to get interesting.

Even though much of Oakhurst is zoned R-60, the majority of its lots are closer to 50′ wide and some are even smaller than that. In consideration of this, Commissioner Patti Garrett noted that, though substandard by existing regulations, the request presented some interesting parallels to the Strategic Plan goals presented just minutes before. Most notably that the plan recommends adjusting the city’s zoning to allow for more types of homes in a wider variety of sizes as a tool for fostering age and income diversity.

Commissioner Baskett countered by saying that, in all the years he’d been involved with city government, they had always rejected substandard subdivision requests because allowing one would lead to a flood of others.  And later in the meeting, Mayor Floyd suggested in an aside that perhaps smaller lots in a new subdivision – like the one just approved on Lenore Street – were a better way to accommodate the Strategic Plan goal of provide a more diverse array of housing, as opposed to “cramming” them in around existing neighborhoods.

If you blinked you may have missed it, but THAT was an important, yet brief, clash of new ideas presented in the Strategic Plan vs. Decatur’s historic precedent.  Both sides make reasonable points, but this is obviously an unresolved conversation that has only just begun to rear its head.

In the end, the Commission–all voting together–rejected the request, which seems a perfectly valid call, all things considered. We don’t need to have a debate over the specifics of this one request, I just find the contrast interesting and am curious how things will play out over the next ten years as the ambitions of current residents periodically don’t jive with the way we’ve always done things.