Thursday, May 8, 2008
What Kind Of Neighborhood Do You Want?
The city of Morgantown has asked the South Park Association of Neighbors to come up with a "vision" for our neighborhood so they may incorporate those ideas into the city's comprehensive plan. This is our opportunity to ask for all the things that we collectively want the city to consider for our neighborhood as planning decisions are made. If you'd like to have a say on the type of neighborhood South Park will be over the next 10 years, please consider participating in discussions currently going on by commenting on the blog, sending your ideas to spanwv@yahoo.com or attending a SPAN meeting. Check out the South Park Neighborhood planning matrix.
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6 comments:
Great site! Congrats for getting it underway. I hope to have my copy of the planning matrix, my computer, my brain, and some energy all in the same location soon to make some comments, mostly filling in the matrix cells.
-Eric Hopkins
I want the neighborhood to continue to reflect the historic designation. It should remain single family dwellings with a minimum of student housing. Limit non local traffic and keep heavy loads off of the brick streets. The brick streets need repaired but NEVER resurfaced. It is not a place for small or large businesses.
Thanks so much for this community space to express our concerns and wishes. I would like to know if we could identify areas of South Park that would receive local government assistance in planting trees along streets or other beautification projects. The area around the Exxon and Dominos could be improved. The sidewalks also need a massive make-over. I don't know if our association has either the funds or the pull with city government for such projects.
Pete Carmichael
Wouldn't it be great if South Park could lead Morgantown in the use of efficient & effective lighting? So often the street & building lights shine upward into the night sky or directly out into the eyes of pedestrians or drivers. Lights need to project down, illuminating doorways, sidewalks & roadways. Below are a couple websites with info on this issue. Lunar Light is especially interesting!
therese vanzo
http://www.metropolismag.com/cda/story.php?artid=2683
http://www.rpi.edu/dept/lrc/nystreet/how-to-officials.pdf
In regard to the neighborhood plan, it is very important that anyone who got one of my copies of the planning matrix at the SPAN meeting on the 23rd look at the web version to get the topic headings, i.e. Land Use, Transportation, Infrastructure, etc. I made a mistake when downloading the document to print for the meeting. I believe that you should be able to use the online document to pencil in the topics on your photocopy version. If you got one of Brian Bell's copies, then there should be no problem. The online document is, of course, definitive, so you will be fine using that one. I apologize for this error. I got in a hurry and didn't proofread before I photocopied.
-Eric Hopkins
I live at 46 Jackson Ave. Next to the building site at #54. If anyone has seen the catastrophe that site has continued to cause over the last 7 months, such as the clay and mud washing off the hillside and filling the storm drains, the failure to clean up construction debris, the trucks leaving mud and dirt in the streets, you may sympathize with my thoughts on neighborhood planning. I believe that SPAN needs to have some influence on land development as well as major remodeling. The plans for this home were approved by the city, but it is apparent that the house will not be a "conributing structure"in South Park, especially considering the textured cement block used for the foundation. I cannot tell you the number of comments my husband and I have received in regard to this project and its failure to be sensitive to the neighborhood nor nearby residents. I will breath a sigh of relief when it is finally done and I can do damage control for my property's value. That aside, houses built in this neighborhood or major remodels such as that on the corner of Elm and Maple (same family - mother and daughter) should have been given a minimum standard to uphold in order to preserve the neighborhood. Instead, it is pot luck for the rest of us. Perhaps as the city sets the rule that permits are not required for projects under $500, something could be set up as a dollar amount or Square feet impacted, or if roofs or outside walls are being chaged (other than painting and window/door replacement), or something. There has to be a yardstick which could be used to determine if a review of the changes is called for in order to preserve the neighborhood. Thanks for letting me vent!
And did I mention working times? Like nothing before 7 am and not on a national holiday such as Memorial Day? Just another thought....
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