Highgate Springs Neighborhood Association

Hello,

My name is Dave Houvenagle,

I plan to run for the Highgate Springs Neighborhood Association Presidency this year (2008).  Here is my analysis of the situation and my agenda or platform.

Analysis:

1. The Bon Air Estates area and the Highgate Springs area together are one functional area. At the core of this area is the cluster of the Bon Air Library, Fansley Park and the Bon Air Center which essentially is a business district. The Bon Air Center is a strong part of the area's identity with the "Bon Air Library, Farnsley Park, and the Bon Air Center itself. When central areas become dilapidated, the rest of the area declines, and this has happened with core of the Bon Air Center. The current boundary line of the Bon-Air Neighborhood Assocation (yet to be officially organized) and the Highgate Springs Neighborhood Assocation is creating a "fragmentation" in this functional area. Both organizations acting separately are extremely unlikely to act with any effectiveness to improve the neighborhood.

There has been some redevelopment in that the Bon Air Library was remodeled in the 1990's and appears to be a busy facility. There is a plan to restructure the park. However, the Bon Air Center itself has its original facade from its construction in the early 1960's.

a. It is an aging retail property that in reality has several viable businesses that export a good or service to the community outside of the (Krazy Dave's, Miles Ahead, Pets Palace, Printing Plus). Pets Palace does advertise in local media.

 

b. but the most visible business that serves purely the local neighborhood (the grocery store) has appeared to decline creating an air of oppression in the community. The store had been part of a local chain (PicPac) that has for the most part all but gone out of existence. The Dollar General seems to be quite successful. The store has changed hands many times and its state has continued to deteriorate-which is giving the impression that the whole Bon Air Center is deteriorating. The informal word from on Bon Air Center business owner is that the arrival of Dollar General Store and its selling of some food stuffs is the reason for its deterioration, but it seems more that the store is not competing with a Walmart Super Center and two Kroger stores within three two miles of it, and non-car drivers are the prime patrons. Non-car drivers are not going to sustain the store.

What exactly has happened trend wise in the area (census tracts 109.01 and 109.02 Jefferson County, Kentucky) is really not statistically clear yet. Available Census Data suggests that the population in the was actually increasing in from 1990-2000. Available Census data from the Missouri Census Data Center (http://mcdc2.missouri.edu/) shows that the 40220-zip code area was growing from 1990 to 2000, getting older and getting more racially or ethnically diverse. The 2006 American Community Survey by the Census Bureau did not have any relevant information. Short of going to do our own research, we will have to wait until 2012 to get any new data of significance-we will have to use our eyes ourselves to decide what it is that we see.

There is also a breakdown in terms of social capital in this area. When the area was developed in the 1950's, there appeared to be a number of significant institutions for human connectedness. Probably the last institution of connectedness was the swim club. This lack of social capital has meant difficulty in starting new organizations in the community and a lack of attention and interest from city government.

• Over time there has been an air of ambivalence and apathy on the part of people.

• It was not until November 2007 when the first of the sexual assaults happened that people started realizing the need to take action. The crises motivated people to get involved in the block watch and motivated a group of women to start "Ticked Off Moms."

• The neighborhood association concept is a good start in getting the social capital rebuilt-but more is needed.

• One factor in the lack of social capital is the large amount of rental property. People in a neighborhood who are renters rarely have interest in the local neighborhood. (Norb) is an exception. Typically this is an indication of what happens in under-class/inner-city area that are called "The Hood."

Preliminary Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats Analysis.

Strengths:

1. The neighborhood is relatively centrally located in the county.

2. It has a high amenity bundle in terms of the park, the library, the Bon Air, adjacency to freeway, hospitals, shopping, services, restaurants,

3. It is relatively close to the downtown (20 minutes by regular city street, 15 by freeway)

4. Good housing values and affordable prices of housing relative to the metropolitan area.

5. TARC routes.

6. Historically low crime rate.

7. Is a relatively diverse area already.

8. The majority of the houses are brick-which anchor value compared to all wood houses.

Weaknesses:

1. Aging retail property.

2. Low social capital-in terms of citizen involvement and interest in neighborhood affairs.

3. Aging infrastructure.

4. Propensity for flooding or high water levels

5. High amount of rental housing.

   a. High density of rental property around the Bon-Air Center.

   b. Increasing number of single family home structures being rented.

6. The neighborhood association structure is fragmented and that there is the high probability that appropriate planning to improve the neighborhood will be increasingly difficult.

Opportunities:

1. There is the potential of federal money that can be applied for to incentivize redevelopment of the Bon Air Center. (Local politicians love to take credit for growth).

2. There appears to be some of the rental apartments that appear to be appropriate for rezoning and redevelopment for medical offices and other business services.

3. The price of Gasoline and petroleum-based products could be a motivator for many individuals and families to desire to move in closer to the downtown and different business corridors-making the area locationally desirable.

4. The existing cluster of public housing, businesses, and public amenities could be an opportunities to utilize the "New Urbanism" paradigm as a marketing tool.

   a. The Norton Commons development utilizes this principle.

   b. Technical assistance to make this work may be provided by

   1. The Center for Sustainable Urban Neighborhood or

   2. The Center for Neighborhoods.

5. There has been a resurgence of interest in neighborhood affairs with the recent crisis

caused by the sexual assaults. Several people have come to the forefront.

Threats:

1. Divergence of interests in the general neighborhood.

2. Possible competition with other neighborhood interests

3. Possible apathy of business interests.

4. Continued trend of single family homes being made into rental properties.

5. Nuisance crime in the park, Bon Air Center.

6. Possible damage of neighborhood reputation due to the sexual assaults.

In light of the general and SWOT analysis the the agenda overall is

• one of growth

• rehabilitation/beautification of the neighborhood

• increase in social-capital in the neighborhood . . . mainly civic pride. 

• Set in place organizational structures likely to be enduring and robust given the geopolitical and social boundaries.

• Create a spirit of new-urbanism with the cluster of the Library and the Bon-Air Center and the Park as a safe, center of human activity and commerce. In a sense the goal is to BRAND the area as a great place to live that is affordable and .

• Increase the ratio of owner-occupied households and decrease the number of renter-households

Strategies:

1. Unify organizations for one voice for the neighborhood by merging Bon Air and Highgate Springs associations.

2. Market the Bon-Air area to the metropolitan area.

   a. Development a jingle e.g. "This is our neighborhood. It can be yours too."

   b. Utilize the news media

   c. Use the Neighborhood Link website.

3. Begin a coalition with city government, and business for economic development.

4. Develop coalitions with Community Block Watch and Ticked-Off Moms.

5. Facilitate redevelopment of the Bon-Air Center to be more attractive to potential business tenants, and the general consumer.

6. Use news media (TV, Radio, and Newspaper) coverage to improve image of the neighborhood-especially a model of "New Urbanism."

Tentative short-term objectives (within one year) could include:

1. Conduct of a fuller (SWOT) Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities Threats analysis of the organization and the area by using the services of Center of Neighborhoods and perhaps the University of Louisville Center for Sustainable Urban Neighborhoods.

2. Printing of brochures of the organization and distribution by a door-to-door campaign to create awareness of the agenda.

3. Merging with the Bon-Air Association remnant.

4. Increase of the membership of the new organization by 60 percent.

5. Recruitment of 50 percent of the businesses to be members of the organization.

6. Conduct of two civic pride community events using public spaces to be covered by the news media.

7. Recruitment of 50 percent more people to the block watch.

8. Conduct a meeting with Ticked-off moms.

9. Convene a meeting with Brown Noltemeyer, Bronner Realty, and other major apartment owners and Ellen Call or successor, to facilitate process to apply for funding for new facade for Bon Air Center.

Longer term goals could include.

1. Redevelopment of some of the apartments for rezoning for business.

2. Attraction of major healthcare systems to open medical practices in the Bon Air Center area.

3. Increase membership of the organization by 150 percent.

4. Have a block watch active on 70 percent of the streets in the area.

5. Development of a New Urbanism project with the Center for Sustainable Urban Neighborhoods (SUN) and the Center for Neighborhoods.

6. Development a program to facilitate more owner-occupied housing in the neighborhood.

7. Development of a annual neighborhood festival-evolving from one of the civic events.

If you have questions, please contact me.

Thanks.