CANTON COMPREHENSIVE
PLAN COMMUNITY DISCUSSIONS
czb llc., David Boehlke
Community Building Partnership, Joel Owens, Brenda Turner & Maureen Austin
June, July 2015
Cantons Comp Plan Process 20 member Steering Committee (SC) directs czb consultants Steering Committee (SC) worked for 8+ months every other week Decisions, trade os, our values set by Steering Committee, not consultants
1st round of meetings last September, October 2014 Robust web site to keep community informed: https://canton-comprehensive-plan.squarespace.com
Comp Plan includes much more than neighborhoods: transportation, infrastructure, economic development, community development, zoning, land use, parks, recreation, downtown, sewer and water-its COMPREHENSIVE & STRATEGIC
FAIR, SMART, BALANCED
Comprehensive Plan
A general direction setting tool for communities.
A strong comprehensive plan is..
Community-Driven
Grounded in Reality
Built to be exible
DATA DRIVEN Settlement @ Risk Familes
Owner Standards Tax Delinquencies
COMPETITIVE, DIVERSE, RIGHT SIZED Market Strength Population Density
Schools + Churches Community Assets
Comp Plan Future Steps
This Draft Plan will remain open for comments through July 2015 The PLANNING COMMISSION will review and likely hold additional hearings before approving and passing onto City Council The CITY COUNCIL will review and approve if acceptable: likely after additional opportunities for comment
Stay Up-to date on activities on the Comprehensive Plan information site:
General Plan information site: http://canton-comprehensive-plan.squarespace.com .
Content of todays meeting
Update on planning activities since community meetings last fall
Review of Plans Core Strategies & Elements Your Opportunity to Clarify, Question and Answer, Comment
Your Input Will Make A Dierence
The Numbers Are Serious
- 2800 vacant houses
- Loss of too many middle class households
- Unprecedented numbers of families in poverty
- Limited tax base but high service demand
- Too much infrastructure serving fewer people
- Too few employment opportunities
FOCUS: Too many vacant houses
Focus: Loss of Population
393,789 405,334
110,053
73,007
0
50,000
100,000
150,000
200,000
250,000
300,000
350,000
400,000
450,000
1900 1910 1920 1930 1940 1950 1960 1970 1980 1990 2000 2010
Population Trends, 1900 to 2010
MSA Canton
FOCUS: Too Many Families Are Struggling 1 in 4 families live in poverty 1 in 3 families are classied as low income Canton houses more than twice its share of the countys poor individuals and families that have few choices.
By 2012, the poverty rate reached 30.8%. A poverty rate of 20% is considered high and a poverty rate of 40% is considered extreme.
Among 755 metropolitan areas in the country with at least 50,000 residents, Canton has the 27th highest poverty rate.
COMPETITION Ongoing competition makes it dicult to attract new owners and strong renters; Competition makes it dicult to grow and add new businesses and jobs.
Repositioning Canton to Compete
Protect key assets: the hospitals, downtown, Hall of Fame Village and adjoining neighborhoods
Manage excess property and land Encourage new commercial activity Develop strategies to engage more residents and volunteers Bring corporate sector in as full partner Commit to sound zoning, codes, and infrastructure Rethink provision of services: parks, police, schools
Three Core Strategies
Protect, Grow, Connect Citys Core Assets Repurpose Vacant Land with a focus on Quality of Life
Maintain and Stabilize the Citys Neighborhoods through strategic intervention and community organizing
FOCUSED, ASSET-ORIENTED, ROBUST
Downtown Grow, Protect & Connect
Downtown Grow, Protect & Connect
Grow & Connect Key Asset Job Creator
Grow & Connect Key Asset Job Creator
Protect & Connect Key Asset Employer Regional
Protect & Connect Key Asset Employer Regional
Connect & Protect Other Assets Divides Downtown from Mercy and HOF Village
Connect & Protect Other Assets
FOCUS ON QUALITY OF LIFE *conserve and reposition
Clean and Green then Repurpose
Clean and Green and Grow
Clean and Green and Grow
Land Assembly
Clean and Green and Repurpose and Grow
Clean and Green and Repurpose and Grow
Clean and Green and Beautify
Clean and Green and Expand
AREAS THAT ARE WORKING WELL
maintain
Landscape Contest Winners in West Park
Neighborhood Pride in Vassar Park
Residents and Art in The Boulevards
Addressing Problem Houses: Case Study
Addressing Problem Houses
Addressing Problem Houses
Canton Proud
Canton Proud
Canton Proud
Canton Proud
Canton Proud
Canton Proud
Canton Proud
Encourage Commercial Investment
Encourage Commercial Development
Engage more residents and volunteers
Engage more residents and volunteers
Engage more residents and volunteers
Engage more residents and volunteers
More Ways to Reposition Canton
Expand the role of corporations
Rethink zoning, codes, parks and services
Rethink provision of services
Break for Questions
Shared Responsibility
Citizens, Associations and Volunteers
Institutions and
non prots
Businesses and Corporations City Government
Successful Plan
Success=Shared Responsibility
Rethinking about what can and cannot be done by local government and where capacity must be expanded.
Coordinating the work of the foundations, educational and religious institutions, and community nonprots to strengthen Canton
Creating new ways in which corporations can partner and invest in Canton
Developing innovative ways for citizens to be included in the decision-making and the work of neighborhood stabilization
What will it take to make this work?
The city must add a planning oce to coordinate city government work, to support the mayor and the city council in carrying out the comprehensive plan and to solicit new federal, state and other resources
What else will it take?
Canton needs a signicant community organization that gives the residents a much larger voice, that oversees the neighborhood initiatives, and that provides direct services like home purchase counseling, organizing self-help eorts, promoting community gardens, farms, and nurseries, etc.
And One More Step
The community must develop a public-private partnership to carry out critical development projects such as land acquisition, assistance to existing businesses to expand and outreach to new businesses, and to promote the city and the region
What will it take to make this work?
The Planning Oce The Community-Driven Nonprot The Public-Private Development Corporation
Condence in Our City
Choice Competition Conditions Capacity Community
100 YEARS AGO THIS YEAR.
Were Planning On a Better Canton!