Session II - What is a Neighborhood Network?
Last night, we heard from city planner Hannah Van Nimwegen-McGuire about the City of Colorado Springs new approach to planning, a model centered around smaller neighborhood plans. We also heard CONO Execuitve Director Sara Vaas and CONO Board Chair Anthony Carlson discuss the plan to build neighborhood network boards to ensure citizens are involved in the development and implementation of these plans.
What do you see as the possibilities for this model in your neighborhood? What are some of the challenges that may emerge in this model?
It was really interesting to gain a little insight from the city around their master planning process. I was especially impressed with the thoughtful approach that is being taken through the partnership between the city and CONO. As the neighborhood network boards roll out, I am eager to support in my area - but like others am interested in listening in and supporting how I can the network immediately adjacent to mine.
ReplyDeleteThank you for these comments, Mary Alice!
DeleteIt was a very informative presentation and I appreciated it. I see it as a positive development that the city seeks to move toward decentralizes decision-making about plans for different geographic areas of the city, but I'm not sure how much power these Neighborhood Network Boards will have if the powers-that-be in the city (City Council, Mayor, Planning Commission, department heads) decide they just want to do something different anyway. I am cautiously optimistic that this can be more than just a "check-the-box" to show that there was public input. I'm also a little worried that this might replace existing organizations that people in many areas of the city have worked for years to build. The danger would be if an organization that has been meeting and working for many years to establish itself as representing its neighborhood goes to city government for something but is turned away and told "you should use the official channel of your Neighborhood Network Board to bring that to your government" -- and those NNBs are bodies that are envisioned to only meet 8-10 times in 18 months.
ReplyDeleteFor some reason name didn't show -- comment from Eric Pavri.
DeleteEric, thank you for sharing your cautious optimism about this model. See you in class!
DeleteI thought the meeting was an eye opener for me. It really shows me the importance of having proper representation for my community (K-Land) at the table. Because we will continue to be invisible and unheard if we don't. The planning process seems like a cool thing. But to have people speak for my community and doesn't even know where it is, is kind of scary.
ReplyDeleteThe establishment of Neighborhood Networking Boards, is somewhat of a surprise to me. I believe that an introductory overview of just what the Neighborhood Networking Boards are and how they came about, would have prepared us to be better able to contribute to the conversation. I do see the value of such a collaborative effort. I would like to hear more.
ReplyDeleteWoody, thanks for this comment. Looking forward to continued conversation in the weeks and months ahead!
DeleteEvery thing is possible, but not plausible...and the real question is whether it's necessary? In many ways only time will tell, but I like the concept. I suppose much will depend on what is being proposed for development in our community. Secondly, I live in an HOA where we have members of a board that are elected, and we pay a manager to handle the day-to-day responsibilities, so I am curious to see the dynamics whereas we already have an existing mechanism.
ReplyDeleteFadil, yes - it will be a journey together to discern how these NN boards interface with HOAS. Thanks for this comment!
DeleteJo Lucey
ReplyDeleteInteresting to hear the plans for the NNBs and good to hear the city is wanting to engage directly with neighborhoods. Since 3A is up next, the timing is intimidating. The area it covers is very large, so trying to squeeze every neighborhoods' desires into one plan will be challenging, even if each neighborhood is represented (and since they are not all represented in NU, I don't know how that will work). Without seeing an example master plan it's difficult to be more specific, and it isn't clear if/how existing neighborhood master plans (many of which are outdated) will be included in the process. Hopefully this will become more clear as the plans are drafted.
Thank you for these comments, Jo!
DeleteInitially, I was excited about the Neighborhood Network program however, it looks as though individual neighborhoods are replaced by the network in which it falls under. I'm not so sure that is a good thing at all. How will all these neighborhoods come together, how will all neighborhoods be represented and have a voice? This all sounds wonderful and sounds like the city has this all figured out with or without us.
ReplyDeleteThis is Andrew Hoskins. This week we've begun getting into the real purpose of this class. I can see how many feel like CONO has made a pact with the City and the existing neighborhood associations are now being included too late. But I am encouraged because we have an opportunity to redefine who represents different parts of our city and not simply rely on the existing (or non existing) structures. J do think it would be helpful if CONO was more forthcoming about its funding relationship with the city. What are the objectives and goals of this project and how is it reporting and to whom?
ReplyDeleteGreat questions, Andrew - thanks for sharing.
DeleteVicki Taylor-McNally
ReplyDeleteWhat’s important to me from the unique perspective of where I live?
To be transparent, my motivations and interests come from my perspective and life situation. (The following list is not in priority order.). I love history, geology, I am a mother of 3 sons, two of which live with me and are in D11 Special Education, I live in a mobile home community so I am an owner of my mobile home but since I rent my lot, I am not protected from quick eviction such as what is provided by federal mortgage protection like I was for 19 years when I owned a townhouse in Virginia. (Monument Creek MHP management sent the sheriff with eviction papers to our home when we first moved here 6-7 years ago because we were five weeks late on our lot rent. I was so confused. We incurred court costs almost immediately.)
I’m also a D11 educator, like to walk my dog and ferret on the trails in front of my house such as the Pikes Peak Greenway and the one on the other side of Monument Creek.
The list could go on, obviously, but I’ve found that my interests and perspectives have often been much different from others I hear. I live right by the old K-Mart, now the widely popular VASA on Fillmore and Nevada. I was actually REALLY hoping that the old K-Mart would become a grocery store because I just haven’t felt like grocery stores are as convenient to my location, as I guess I’m used to being a suburb dweller. However, how packed the VASA parking lot is ALL of the time, has helped me to realize that they are obviously filling a community need.
I don’t know how this process happened, but I am extremely happy when I happened upon the Tap Traders bar/restaurant, which is now the Public House at the Alexander, both of which depict the amazing pioneering history of the Alexander Film Company (which used to be one of the major employers in COS) through a diorama, static displays, photos, the film vault, etc. This is of extreme importance to my Plan 1B/North Nevada/The Studio Neighborhood location, especially since I’ve found that it’s very rare for my neighbors or other COS residents, unless they are into history and historical preservation, know anything at all about the amazing history right here in COS, including a half mile from my house.
So I want 1B/North Nevada/The Studio to develop the North Nevada business area to try to preserve the historic character of N NE as it was in its heyday. The Big Train is already lost and it looks like Navajo Hogan Roadhouse may also now be gone forever. Roman Villa seems to be thriving. But I don’t want the Fillmore/N NE area be turned into another University Village (what I call a more yuppie or hipster type of development). But maybe my views don’t represent my neighbors b/c all the businesses in University Village (Costco, Lowes, Starbucks, Panera, and probably another 50 or so businesses) usually have packed parking lots. I want historic character preserved in my neighborhood.
Vicki, thank you for your input and sharing a little about yourself. Being a mobile home owner, I think you might benefit significantly from getting in touch with 9to5 Colorado. They are currently working on legislation that will protect folks like yourself from evictions after such short notice.
DeleteI also agree significantly with much of what you've shared.
Excellent comments - thank you, Vicki!
DeleteCONO and the City have partnered for many years but I see Neighborhood University as a more formal partnership that shows the collaboration between the City and their desire for a structured community/neighborhood model for input. So I applaud you for putting together a balanced syllabus and getting us all started on the path forward, which I imagine will evolve over time until we put the model to use. With over 680 HOA's in town, the question is how do we integrate and learn from them too? I think although each neighborhood might have it's own flavor, that doesn't necessarily mean we all have the same shared values. I believe we would all benefit from a little training in conflict resolution! Thanks for a great session.
ReplyDeleteKatie, great insights - and yes, this seems like a more formalized partnership between the city and CONO that hopefully centers citizens.
DeleteAppreciate how the City is supporting neighborhoods in doing master planning. Multiple key points made in the training by the City Planning & CONO speakers:
ReplyDelete• Important to allow neighborhoods to maintain their unique character; build identify around basic set of values. Values-based decisions; values-based process.
• The individuals who live, work and play in the neighborhoods will drive the conversation and be active participants in identifying/deciding what is coming down the pipe.
• The process/structure is new; we are all learning this together and will be flexible together.
Dianne
Dianne - great points, thank you for sharing!
DeleteAppreciated hearing about the effectiveness of Neighborhood Boards as a way to get consensus
ReplyDeleteand focus. Sadly, I attended two NB meetings here in Honolulu that were incredibly dysfunctional and a battle between two factions which was a giant waste of time. Would like to know how I could get leadership to hit a reset button and get something done!
Andy, yes - a common experience. Hopefully some of the tools in this class will help with this!
DeleteChris Crockett (Erindale on Cottonwood Creek) here-- I can't figure out how to remove "in Katy" (Texas, where we used to live) from my google profile; sorry about that...
ReplyDeleteI appreciate Hannah's work and the planning that the city is doing to manage growth. Coming from an area where all growth of any kind was considered "good," I know growth that is not planned for can derail a city's trajectory. In response to the prompt, I think the challenge will be what many of the questions were about: how to stimulate "general community interest and engagement." It is wonderful to attend this U where that interest and engagement is huge; the challenge will be in getting neighbors to connect when there isn't a problem to solve.
Thank you for these comments, Chris!
DeleteIt is good progress that COS is spending more time developing/updating plans for existing residential neighborhoods and not just new developments/business districts. It is also a positive that COS/CONO aim to get a representative on the Neighborhood Network Boards from each distinct neighborhood area as this should allow for historically under-represented areas of town to have more of a voice and not “leave things to more boisterous neighbors.” I know we talked about it but some of the groupings of neighborhood networks are interesting to me and I’m not quite sure they make sense. But, then again, when combining over 300 neighborhood groups (is that the right number?) some things are going to come out a little wonky.
ReplyDeleteMark Tatro
Mark, great comments - yes, creating lines that make sense for neighborhoods can be a challenge. Great points!
DeleteAn evening of great information on the sixth key initiative of city planning, the Neighborhood Planning Program. Thank you, Hannah Van Minwegen-McGuire for the great presentation covering a lot of ground in a short time. Your thoroughness really gave great insight and provoked a lot of thought processes for me on the workings of the Neighborhood Networks. The greater insight from Sara Vaas and Anthony Carlson brought more clarity on how this is working or will work. The questions from the group were so helpful in hearing perspectives from long-term groups and people who have been actively involved in neighborhood change, improvements over the years. There seems to be a little more work to be done in combining all of this history into the plan in preserving the integrity of what is already in place while merging into the plan. Living in an area that is largely un-networked this is prime for developing into the new plan of Neighborhood Networks. I am eager to learn more. It seems we just touched the surface in this session.
ReplyDeleteThis comment was published by Deby Kenyon
DeleteThank you for these comments, Deby - and yes, much more to do as we dig deeper into this model.
DeleteI liked hearing details about the Neighborhood Network Boards from Hannah. I'm glad to hear the drawing of lines is not cast in stone. As days go on, it seems the lines are becoming more solid and I am concerned the Near North End neighborhood residents are not going to be included in a Master Plan since Experience Downtown doesn't include most of the residential properties in the Near North End. The changes need to be made sooner then later since neighborhood engagement meetings are happening now. I appreciate CONO U bringing in different speakers :-)
ReplyDeleteThis comment is by Cheryl Brown.
DeleteThank you for these comments, Cheryl!
DeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
DeleteAs many have mentioned above, I too am concerned about bringing together so many different voices and values in such a large fashion. I live on the backside of the Patty Jewett golf course. We have an active neighborhood association already. How will our small neighborhood be impacted by a larger body coming through making decisions?
ReplyDeleteI appreciated the piece about accessibility to food and the lack of easy to access grocery stores. Unless you have a car, getting the necessary basics can be quite cumbersome.
I would love to hear more about how disabled folks such as myself will be included in the development of the city.
- Red L.
Red, thank you for these comments - and for the great question about increasing access for all in our city. Hopefully we can dig into this more in the weeks ahead.
DeleteThis weeks subject matter is the reason I signed up for Neighborhood University in the first place! I'm so excited to learn of the PLAN COS and that of the 12 neighborhood plans MINE is up first! I can easily see why 3A was made a priority as its neighborhoods are all incredibly diverse. What's needed on the Mesa's is so different from Ivywild, which is very different from Midland. The styles of neighborhoods and homes, topographies, social needs, activities, businesses are so unique in their own ways. I am definitely planning to join OWN's board now so I can make sure my micro-neighborhood has a voice not only within the Westside group but also to join other "3A"-ers in doing everything we can to support our greater community where and as needed. The time commitment presented to join the neighborhood network board was very helpful to know ahead of time and reasonable as well.
ReplyDelete--Courtney Benson
Thank you for these comments, Courtney!
DeleteCathy Verdier, OCC
ReplyDeleteI am excited to hear that Colorado Springs desires input from its citizens in making future plans. But I am cautious as I wonder how much authority or influence a NBB will have? It seems like there are a lot of details to be determined about how CONO and NBB work with the city at all levels. I have to admit that I don’t know the structure of COS very well- do the planning commission answer to the mayor and city council? How do they work together, or not? Then, where exactly does an NBB fit in. I understood the graphic with an NBB working with their council person, but again how does it all fit together? And then, there are many existing HOAs and organizations already functioning and how does a NBB bring those into the process and provide balance? I know we have a session on consensus building and communication. I struggle with those that say “It has always been done this way” or just don’t want to change or even hear about something new that may really bring citizen voices to the table. I do appreciate that we were told it is fluid and being developed as we take NU and going forward. I look forward to being an active participant in the process. I learned so much and could write a whole report, filled with questions! I so appreciated Anthony’s excitement in stating “This is Democracy in Action” and it can be hard and messy! I do want to be a part of the process!
Excellent comments and questions, Cathy. Hopefully we can dive into all of this more deeply in the weeks ahead!
DeleteWonderful and thoughtful presentations on what COS is doing to identify areas/neighborhoods where more involved planning can help. Master plan- what forethought. Found it very interesting about the MIT study which highlighted the fast food concentrations. My interpretation is that there are “food deserts” on the horizon. Great forward thinking to identify this potential problem now rather than later- after the damage has been done. Good info on what neighborhood involvement can and should be. Advocacy and involvement.
ReplyDeleteThank you for these thoughts, Bruni!
DeleteThis class was very insightful and filled with great resources to include HOA Neighborhood Associations and 4A City Council District. I better understand the "WHY", in the Neighborhood Network. Two of my questions was answered:1. Network versus City Council power dynamic- determining different opinion and who has the authority? 2. Can you attend a committee even if it's not in your neighborhood? I really appreciated the answer to the question- bring back concrete planning versus incomplete planning. It is necessary to be part of the planning before the decision are made!
ReplyDeleteI was impressed by the city planning and for reaching out to the people that make up Colorado Springs through CONO, In my neighborhood there is no network or community connections whatsoever, my goal is to be an instrument of change and make the neighborhood and the community I live in a better place. I appreciate being included and having this opportunity to be a part of this great idea to make our communities better for all and getting people more connected and involved. I believe getting more new people involved in a neighborhood network is a great idea and I believe the City of Colorado Springs is doing a great job of including CONO, and supporting CONO.
ReplyDeleteThanks for these comments, Jessica. The partnership between CONO and the city is promising, I think, in terms of better including citizen input across the whole city.
DeleteHave always found Hannah and Morgan to be exceptionally well prepared and excellent presenters.
ReplyDeleteFor those who haven't had an opportunity to look at the 500 plus page draft, it is online on the Planning website for the City. Having been an active participant in the original PlanCOS, am a bit disappointed that there weren't similar efforts at outreach and feedback throughout the City to mitigate the surprise that clearly many have surprise that many have shown, not the least of which were some of our Council members, one of whom expressed surprise/anger on limitation of blue grass, for example. A possible advantage to the 'district' plan is that it MIGHT lead some Council members to pay more attention to what is happening in their respective district and the City as a whole. jrj
great point about council, Judith. Thank you for sharing!
DeleteGreat thoughts Daniel. Thanks for sharing!
ReplyDelete