This category may be applied to the purchase, donation, transfer or trade of lands which posses significant aesthetic, historic, natural, visual or open space values, including land and property listed in or eligible for listing in the National Register of Historic Places.

This category includes landscape planning, design and construction projects which enhance the aesthetic or ecological resources along transportation corridors, points of access, and lands qualifying for other categories of transportation enhancement activities.

Q.

I am looking for information on current trends in the Retail and Hospitality Industries. Specifically, I am searching for information that would help me to ascertain the who, what and why in upcoming (anticipated) development. Can you direct me to the right source(s)? I have seen many of the items that I can purchase to answer this question, but my budget does not allow for any purchases of that nature at this time. Have you got any information along the "Trends in Retail and Hospitality" line? Anything that you can give me would be helpful. Thank you.

Jennifer Collins, Pleasanton, CA

A.

       Jennifer,

I would suggest that you contact the International Council of Shopping Centers for that information. They can be reached at:

665 Fifth Ave., New York, NY 10022 Phone, 212.421.8181, Fax 212.486.0849. Hope this helps.

Pete Gozza

Q.

I am looking for studies which support the idea that Urban Downtowns are thriving ( or at least regaining momentum).

If there are any studies you would recommend I read please let me know.

Rebekah

Rebekah

I found an article titled Opportunities For Inner-City Retail Investment & Services in Commentary a magazine published by the Council for Urban Economic Development. It is in Volume 22 Number 4 the Winter 99 edition. If you are not a member of CUED let me know and I will contact them for permission to reproduce it for you. In the mean time I will try to locate additional information that may assist you.

Pete Gozza

Pete-

The question of a surveillance camera for Main Street has been brought up. The thought behind it is that it will "scare away" the undesirable elements. The camera rotates 360 degrees and you cannot tell which direction it is facing. There would also be a recorder in the Police Station. I have mixed feelings on it. Do you have an opinion on how it would relate to the revitalization effort. Thanks,

Joan, Liberty New York

Joan,

Cameras are used in many places as a deterrent to crime and also as the best witness to a crime. The down side is; they are expensive, they can cause public relations problems and they are no substitute for an improved business district with more good people on the street. We looked at them for Coliseum Central however the cost was prohibitive. We decided instead to create a Business watch program in partnership with the Hampton Police Division. It is much like a neighborhood watch. We all look out for each other the police provide quarterly training on crime prevention and also provide free security inspections for businesses. Crime has dropped dramatically in the district because we are unified and it is not as easy to commit a crime as it once was. I believe that was the premise behind the neighborhood watch program. Too many people watching out for each other scares away criminals.

I know my answer is not as definitive as you may like. Shopping centers use cameras successfully in their parking lots to keep an eye on things. I like you have mixed emotions. I do not like someone watching over my shoulder all the time but I understand how effective a camera is in solving crimes. Ultimately I believe the goal should be to replace bad people with good on Main Street Liberty. If you decide to go with them I would not make a camera my ultimate solution to crime but an interim one until I can get Liberty back in shape so they are no longer needed.

Pete

My name is Pauline Eaton and I am the Executive Director of Main Street Mansfield in Mansfield, Ohio. My question is about a "white elephant" building on our square. It was an old Reed’s department store and has been vacant for a long time. The potential for this building is wonderful, but we’re having a very hard time filling it. We have had two development companies interested in purchasing it for a low income tax credit project for a senior citizen housing facility. The owner is not crazy about "low income" anything in the downtown. We need some kind of "public meeting space" downtown and I feel this building lends itself well to that use. However, parking is a big problem and also the cost of redevelopment. We have almost no clothing/housewares businesses downtown, and we need them. I would like to see one of these or separate the spaces into individual businesses. The building is approximately 40,000 square feet, 3 stories, with an additional story in one area of the building. My question is really: How do I find businesses who are interested in locating downtown? We’re working on locals and expansions, but we need some larger/more recognizable businesses.

I will look forward to your response.

Pauline Eaton, Mansfield Ohio

Pauline,

A source of leads I have used in the past is a publication called Retail Lease Track. They can be reached at 404.728.8864. Their manual lists not only those retailers looking for locations in your state but also what the retailer is looking for in a location. There are more than likely other sources for this information however that is the source I am most familiar with. It is difficult to get a feel for the building or it's location over the Internet however I would like to make a few suggestions. A three-story building might lend itself well, if zoning allows, as a wonderful mixed-use project. Upper story retail is hard to sell but may make great meeting or residential space. I would not summarily dismiss the housing projects that have been proposed. Low income tax credit projects for seniors can be great additions to downtown. Senior citizens contribute to the economy in a big way and residential is always welcome in downtown.

Pete

Mr. Gozza,

Hello! I am the Director of Administrative Services/Downtown Development Director for the City of Cadillac, Michigan. We are a city of 10,104 people. Our U.S. Post Office is currently located in downtown Cadillac, but we have heard rumors over the past few years that it may be seeking a larger facility. Subsequently, we have contacted our postmaster, as well as our legislators over the same past few years to determine its long-term status. Through this process, we were assured relocation was still at least ten years away. However, we have just recently been notified that our post office is on the "critical" relocation list. We have maintained regular contact with our legislators and post office officials over the years and will continue to do so in an effort to at a minimum, retain the retail operation of the post office in the downtown. My question to you is, are you aware of other communities who have gone through a post office relocation project that I could contact for information on "do's and don'ts" regarding this matter? We have heard about several negative experiences in general terms, but I do not know what communities were involved. I would appreciate any information you could send my way.

Also, this is a two for one e-mail. Do you have any information or statistics on the funding of downtown public parking lots? We removed the parking meters years ago and now special assess the maintenance (including snow plowing and hauling) of the off-street public parking lots to downtown businesses. It is time to renew this special assessment and I would certainly appreciate any information you might have or know of that documents how other communities about our size deal with this issue.

Thanks for all your help!

Precia Emmons

City of Cadillac

Precia,

I have located information concerning the relocation of U.S. Post Office's from downtown business districts. These relocations have been quite controversial.

Post Office Community Partnership Act: HR 1231
The United States Postal Service (USPS) has a history of making facilities decisions which are not in the best interest of the communities it serves:

First, the Postal Service is not required to abide by local zoning and building laws. This has led the Postal Service to build new facilities or make changes to existing facilities out of compliance with local plans for growth management, traffic management, environmental protection or public safety. Second, communities have little say in the decisions that impact them. While Section 404(b) of Title 39 of the U.S. Code provides limited involvement to communities in post office closings, communities have no legal right to be involved in post office relocation decisions. This is important because the U.S. Postal Service has relocated many historic downtown post offices to outlying areas, against the needs and wishes of local communities and their plans for their future. This has devastated downtown business districts, increased urban sprawl, and reduced the livability of our communities.

When USPS management made it clear that they were uninterested in solving these problems, the Post Office Community Partnership's legislation was introduced to force them to be a better member of our nation's communities. Congressman Blumenauer (D-OR) was the Coalitions Partner in the House, introducing HR 1231, the Post Office Community Partnership Act. HR 1231 treats the Postal Service as a responsible member of the community by not allowing it to be above local laws. Gives the community a voice in post office decisions:

First, the bill would require the Postal Service to comply with any zoning or building codes that the local community may have in place, so long as those regulations are applicable to state or local public entities, including the zoning authority itself. Second, outlining minimum community contact procedures that apply to the relocation and closing of post offices, not just closings as under current law. The Postal Service would be required to consider at least the following criteria when considering major changes:

1. the extent to which the post office is part of a core downtown business area;
2. the effect on the community served by the post office;
3. whether the community opposes the relocation or closing;
4. the quantified long-term economic saving to the Postal Service; and
5. the adequacy of the existing post office, and whether all reasonable alternatives have been explored.

Under the community contact procedures, individuals served by the post office in question would be given the opportunity to offer reasonable alternatives to the Postal Service proposal, to which the Postal Service would reply in writing why the alternative is or is not viable. The proposal would also expand communities' rights to appeal Postal Service decisions to the Postal Rate Commission, to include relocations along with closings.

After the introduction of HR 1231, Senators Jeffords (R-VT) and Baucus (D-MT) introduced companion legislation in the Senate, S. 2035. S. 2035 was added to the Senate's version of the Treasury-Postal Appropriation's bill, but the language was removed in the days leading up to the final passage of the appropriations bill. While neither HR 2035 nor HR 1231 passed in the 105th Congress, the popularity of the bill forced the USPS to introduce new community relations procedures ("Community Relations Guide for US Postal Service Facilities Projects"). While the new community relations procedures are insufficient to solve the USPS's numerous facilities problems, the procedures are an improvement over old practices. At least now communities can see, in writing, what internal guidelines postal officials are supposed to follow when relocating a post office. One of these standards is a requirement to look first at a downtown location before moving a post office out by the highway. The USPS is also supposed to obey local zoning laws, when possible. A copy
of the internal policies of the USPS are available from John Sorensen, USPS, 4301 Wilson Blvd., Suite 300, Arlington, VA 22203-1861, 703-526-2782, JSORENSO@email.usps.gov

Congressman Blumenauer will be reintroducing HR 1231 in the next session of Congress -- it is expected that Baucus and Jeffords will again introduce legislation as well. As soon as a bill number is available -- we will need letters and calls from IDA members to get bill cosponsors for the new bill. Passage of the bill is important for two reasons. First, the internal guidelines of the postal service can be changed at any time, so the gains that have been made are not guaranteed to last.
Second, the guidelines do not go far enough -- just because they say they will look at downtown sites first and try to obey zoning does not mean they will. If they don't, the current system gives communities no recourse.

Chronology:
3/19/97 Congressman Blumenauer Meets Rudy Umscheid & Tony Conway, USPS Management
4/08/97 Introduction of HR 1231
6/01/97 USPS Publishes Community Relations Guide
8/27/97 USPS Publishes Notice of Proposed Rule Making for Community Relations Guide
2/25/98 Congressman Blumenauer Meets Postmaster General Marvin Runyon
3/05/98 Introduction of Senate Companion Bill, S.2035, by Sen. Baucus & Jeffords
7/22/98 Congressman Blumenauer Meets New Postmaster General, William Henderson
7/29/98 In Senate, Congressman Blumenaur's language added to HR 4104, the Treasury Postal Appropriations bill
10/5/98 USPS Publishes Final Rule on Community Relations Guide
10/6/98 Conference on HR 4104 held -- Congressman Blumenaur's language removed

Cosponsors: 104

Allies:

American Planning Association National Governors' Association Association of United States Postal Lessors National League of Cities International Downtown Association National Trust for Historic Preservation Nat'l Association of Postmasters of the U.S. Preservation Action Nat'l Conference of State Historic Preservation Officers
Courtesy Michael Harrison, Congressman Blumenaur's Office

As far as funding for public parking is concerned, in Michigan you have tax increment financing available to you for parking structures. I worked in Monroe Michigan at one time and recall that Ann Arbor financed its parking garage in this way. I believe the Downtown Kalamazoo Organization manages parking structures and could be of assistance. I will post this message on the Doctor Downtown web site with a link to your e-mail address to enable others too contact you for Information. Send info to Precia Emmons Humanresources@michweb.net .

Pete

Q. What is a business improvement district?

Freda Pate

A Business Improvement District is an area in a municipality identified as an area in need of attention. The short answer is that it is a self-funded economic development district. The property owners in the district agree to be assessed an additional tax. The tax is collected and given to the district to be spent on such things as physical improvements, marketing, planning, administration and security. The district is usually located in a downtown however a number of districts are now being formed in commercial areas containing malls and strip shopping centers.

Pete Gozza

Q. Can you give me some examples of successful public/private partnership structures that are focused on urban revitalization - I am particularly interested in the privatization or semi-privatization of Council Departments linked into the private sector to achieve urban renewal,

Neil Fraser, Executive Director, Central Johannesburg Partnership

A. Mr. Fraser,

There are a number of examples of public-private partnerships being used successfully around the country. Shared responsibility for funding, maintenance, security, marketing and incentives come to mind immediately. I have located two articles that I think you will find useful. I am attempting to receive permission to reproduce them and send them to you. One is from Economic Development Review a publication of the American Economic Development Council and the other from Commentary a publication of the National Council for Urban Economic Development. There are also a number of useful publications on the subject i.e.:

Reinventing Government; How the Entrepreneurial Spirit is Transforming the Public Sector David Osborne, Ted Gaebler (Contributor);

Reinventing Government : A 50 Year Report Card Donald F. Kettl;

You can purchase these over the Internet at either www.Amazon.com or www.barnesnoble.com

Peter F. Gozza

Response: Thanks again for your quick response. Just to provide you with some background, my two organisations the Central Johannesburg Partnership (CJP) and Partnerships for Urban Renewal(PUR) are both non-profit companies dedicated to urban revitalisation, CJP focusing on Downtown Johannesburg and PUR on other cities in Southern Africa. We have been operating since 1992 and have a number of different core activities - we establish and manage Improvement Districts known as CIDs (City Improvement Districts) in South Africa rather than BIDs - we manage four in the Johannesburg downtown and one outside the city, and are in the process of establishing two in Pretoria and in a number of other South Afrcan cities. Two issues that we are addressing at the moment and would welcome input on, are the issue of the privatisation of Council services either fully privatised or carried out on a public private partnership basis, the privatisation of city centre management other than via the supplemental approach of BIDs and, secondly, how to empower the Community to be more able to be involved in the processes of urban regeneration. We need to find some form of funding initiative that will assist them in becoming self-sufficiient and not having to rely on handouts which disempowers them. Our web site is a bit out of date but will be updated shortly, you can view it on http://www.cjp.co.za.

Lastly, I write a personal commentary/newsletter "Neil Fraser’s Citichat" on Johannesburg each week but also on other cities that I visit or have info on, if anyone is interested in receiving it, it is free and anyone can get on my mailing list by e-mailing me at neil@cjp.co.za

Regards, neil fraser

Q. Thank You for Your information concerning this homepage.

You can find information concerning our organisastion in English on out homepage www.fskservice.se, e-mail address fskservice@orebro.se

Hans Bergh-Nilsson

A.I have been An Economic Development Practitioner for 18 years in the United States. My background can be found at the bottom of the Doctor Downtown page. Click on the scrolling text to bring it up. The reason for the web site was to bring the commercial development and downtown development community together and provide an additional resource. I am not an employee of the Economic Development organizations in the USA, however I am a member of several. I have no connections in Great Britain. I do hope that you will consider the web site as a resource when looking for information or ideas.