Tag: Free technical assistance

Cuyahoga County officials and local residents met with representatives from Smart Growth America on May 1 and 2, 2013 as part of a free, grant-funded technical assistance program. The workshops aimed to give Cuyahoga County strategies to create a built environment that focuses on better and more accessible transportation options for all residents.

“Providing a multi-modal transportation network is a key component to Cuyahoga County’s guiding principles of designing a place-based development strategy. Under the leadership of County Executive Ed Fitzgerald, the County also recognizes the momentum of the City of Cleveland’s efforts to implement a Complete and Green Streets policy and embraces this opportunity to explore the concept of Complete Streets on the regional level,” said Glenn Coyne, Executive Director of the Cuyahoga County Planning Commission.

Local residents and officials in Houston, TX  met with representatives from Smart Growth America on April 17 and 18, 2013 as part of a free, grant-funded technical assistance program. The workshops aimed to give Houston the tools to develop a Complete Streets policy in their Museum Park Neighborhood, which will lay the foundation for future Complete Streets policies in other neighborhoods throughout the city.

“Museum Park, in partnership with the City of Houston’s Office of Sustainability anticipates that the Complete Streets workshop will take Houston a step closer to achieving a few of Mayor Parker’s stated goals for her second term, such as “sustainable development, public safety, infrastructure and quality of life,” said Kathleen O’Reilly, Vice President of the Museum Park Super Neighborhood. “Museum Park, with its mix of 14 museums, Hermann Park, 3,000 homes, schools, health care, churches and more offers the ideal mix to craft the highest standards for transit and quality of life in Houston. As we launch ReBuild Houston, the timing of this exciting collaborative effort couldn’t be better.”

City of Port Isabel officials and local residents will meet with representatives from Smart Growth America on May 21 and 22, 2013 as part of a free, grant-funded technical assistance program. The workshop will aim to give Port Isabel the tools it needs to leverage community assets and create a sustainable growth plan for the city.

“Port Isabel’s history and character set us apart, and the City works hard to maintain those assets,” said Mayor Joe E. Vega. “We want to make sure Port Isabel stays a great place to live and visit for generations to come and we want to do that in the best way possible. That’s what next week’s workshop is about.”

City of Port Isabel residents are invited to join the workshop’s first day for an introductory presentation that will feature a broad overview of strategies for implementing smart growth strategies. The event will be held Tuesday, May 21, 2013 from 6:30–8:00 PM at the Port Isabel City Hall, 305 East Maxan Street, Port Isabel 78578.

“Smart Growth America is committed to providing training to help community leaders keep cities and towns livable, sustainable and vital places,” said Roger Millar, Director of Smart Growth America’s Leadership Institute. “Port Isabel has the potential to create and implement great sustainable plans for the future of their city. This workshop will give city officials the tools needed to start a conversation about smart growth strategies and the value it can bring to their community.”

Photo courtesy of Dougtone via Flickr

Officials and local residents in Campbell, NY met with representatives from Smart Growth America on April 24 and 25, 2013 as part of a free, grant-funded technical assistance program. The workshops gave Campbell the tools it needs to preserve its character, while creating strategies that allow the town to move toward a more sustainable future.

“The Town of Campbell feels very fortunate to have been selected for this technical assistance workshop,” said Town Supervisor David Tennent. “We’re eager to learn what Smart Growth America has to teach us regarding strategies for improving our zoning code and planning for sustainable growth in our town.”

Nicolette Barber, AICP, with Hunt Engineers, Architects & Land Surveyors, a consultant for the town and working closely with the technical assistance team said, “Campbell is a small town that would like to maintain and enhance its rural character. In planning for its future, the town is not looking to compete with the regional shopping centers or expand its population by leaps and bounds. Rather, what residents would like are more opportunities for local shopping, social events and recreation. To the extent that the Comprehensive Plan Committee could help promote that through smart growth strategies learned from Smart Growth America, they would like to do so.”

Photo courtesy of justinrummel via Flickr Officials and local residents in Virginia Beach, VA met with representatives from Smart Growth America on April 24 and 25, 2013 as part of a free, grant-funded technical assistance program. The workshops provided the …

Photo via Graham County Chamber of Information.

Tucked in a corner of the Smoky Mountains, Graham County, North Carolina is a rural community known for it’s abundant natural beauty, windy mountain roads, local produce and artisans. As county residents look toward the future of their community, Smart Growth America will assist Graham County in how to utilize their existing assets to ensure a healthy, economically productive place in which to live, work and play.

On April 2 and 3, 2013, Graham County officials and local residents will meet with representatives from Smart Growth America as part of a free, grant-funded technical assistance program. The workshops aim to find innovative strategies for improving the county’s safety, health and economy through the development of a resident led action plan for future growth.

A rendering of streetscape plans for Buena Vista Township. Image via MLive.com.

Smart Growth America will meet with residents and leaders of Buena Vista, MI next week to help identify new strategies that could attract business investments and stabilize neighborhoods in the township.

Buena Vista Township residents are invited to join the workshop’s first day for a public presentation on March 5, 2013 from 6-8 PM at the Buena Vista Community Center, 1940 South Outer Drive, Saginaw, Michigan.

Main Street/Downtown Winchester. Photo by the Town of Winchester.

Next week Smart Growth America is headed to Winchester, Connecticut to talk with residents and town officials about how the city can revitalize its downtown and attract economic growth.

“The redevelopment of Winsted has been a historic struggle,” says Winchester Town Manager Dale Martin. “Although several efforts have been taken to envision a revitalized downtown, those well-intentioned attempts failed to revitalize the commercial center as hoped. With the economic upheaval of the past several years, many of the foundations upon which those earlier studies were based have been undermined. The interest and experience of Smart Growth America presents an exciting opportunity to re-shape the future of Winsted, using principles and techniques that have been proven successful elsewhere.”

The Hershey Theater in Derry Township, Hershey, Pennsylvania. Photo by Mr. T in DC.

Hershey is a rural town of 25,000 residents in the center of Pennsylvania, best known for being home to The Hershey Company and Hershey Park. Now, Hershey’s Derry Township is working to make sure new development benefits residents and visitors alike.

In 2010, the city’s Board of Supervisors passed a resolution to update Hershey’s 1991 Comprehensive Plan and zoning ordinances to include smart growth policies. To help achieve this goal, Hershey applied for and received a free technical assistance workshop from Smart Growth America and Clarion Associates, on Smart Growth Zoning Codes for Small Cities.

A view of downtown Eastport, ME. Photo by The Indestructible Enforcer via Flickr.

Eastport, Maine is a charming rural community vying for its survival.

An island off Maine’s northern coast, Eastport is actively working to reduce the town’s increasingly substantial winter heating costs. To help in this effort, the community applied for and received a 2012 free technical assistance workshop from Smart Growth America and Otak, made possible by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s Building Blocks for Sustainable Communities program.

Eastport depends almost entirely on fossil fuels for winter heating, and pays more for them as compared to the rest of the country. And while all of Maine has severe winters and high heating costs, Eastport is a rural community that serves a primarily low-income and older population, making these obstacles even more challenging. The cost of heating has implications for Eastport residents’ disposable income, the region’s economy, and even home foreclosure trends. The city recognized that it needed to find a more sustainable, efficient, and affordable way to heat buildings.