…back again with a bit of insight on post-tornado planning

If I was being paid for blogging I would have been fired by now.  But hey, I do what I can…

Which, since this summer, has included (among other things) serving as a member of the Citizens Advisory Committee dealing with post-tornado planning, and now, implementation.

As you may recall, after the tornado, the City pulled together a very large group of citizens as well as staff members and consultants and that task force worked on the preliminary draft of the Tuscaloosa Forward Plan.  After that plan was edited by the Mayor, it was submitted to the Citizens Advisory Council (CAC) for review and comment.  The CAC is composed of 10 individuals appointed by the City Council and the Mayor.  We met for two weeks on an almost-daily basis and ultimately produced our own document with broad recommendations which can be summarized as follows:

•  Communication: It is urgently important that ALL citizens of Tuscaloosa understand the vocabulary of the plan – what it is NOT as well as what it IS – as well as the possible timeline, funding plan, and City-wide impact. As changes occur, it will be essential to update and disseminate that information.
•  Collaboration: West Alabama earned the admiration of our nation in the aftermath of the April 27 storm as we joined together to dig our way out of a historic catastrophe. That same creative, “can do” attitude must continue to guide us forward.
•  Cooperation: Longstanding political and economic barriers must be bulldozed to make way for a new level of cooperation that will guide Tuscaloosa’s future progress.

(Citizens Advisory Committee’s Assessment)  Ultimately, the plan was approved by the Planning & Zoning Commission (although not unanimously) and then, unanimously by the City Council.  Our comments were not officially adopted as part of the plan.  They are apparently being considered by staff when making implementation decisions…

The CAC is continuing to work through the implementation stage of the recovery.  Right now, the City’s consultant, Code Studio, out of Austin, Texas, is drafting a new zoning code that will be applicable to the recovery zone only.  This is going to be a different kind of zoning code than most of us have ever lived with – I, for one, fully expect it to be a vast, vast improvement over what we have now and I hope that it will not take too long to expand to cover all of our city.

The new code is called “form-based.”  The code we have now is “use-based.”  Use-based codes separate uses – business is separate from residential is separate from institutional is separate from industrial.  Single-family one-size lot residential is separate from single-family smaller-size lot residential is separated from multi-family, etc.  In form-based zoning, we look at how a community and the human beings who inhabit it best function.  We benefit when things we need (think grocery store, cafe, etc.) are close enough to walk to rather than drive.  It is nice to work near our homes – maybe even in a street-level business that we live above.  Basically, I think of the difference like this:  form-based zoning puts priority on people.  Use-based zoning puts the priority on motor vehicles.

So, anyway, the Code Studio people were here in late September and I attended a meeting they had with business owners and if you want to, you can read my notes on that.

They will be back in town and appearing in a public forum on Monday, October 17 from 5-7 at the Bryant Conference Center.

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