This city is totally out of control.
Our attorney is trying to warn us:
Although the State owns a number of the buildings located within the area encompassed by the Plan, none of those State buildings must comply with any of the recommendations outlined in the Plan due to the State’s immunity from land use controls by a local government.
This parental warning came in the context of investigating whether Planning Commission Chair Bob Mills has a conflict of interest in voting on the Master Plan since his architectural firm is employed by both the state and VCU.
River City Rapids hits the nail on the head:
I find it slightly ironic that if the DMP indeed has zero authority over those buildings that Mr. Mills represents in his work capacity, then why is his concern so passionate and outright that he (and others) insist the language in the report in regards to VCU be drastically toned down and some sections of it removed completely?
You tend to be the most defensive about things that matter to you most. And legal opinion or not, people’s actions tell you exactly where they stand and what they stand for.
January 29, 2008 at 11:27 pm
Sadly, I think Trani is pretty much in control.
January 30, 2008 at 4:55 am
So, are there any civic leaders (besides Rachel Flynn) embracing the plan? I don’t mean providing double speak, but actually embracing it? If everyone’s just going to ignore it and continue with business as usual, any further meetings about the Master Plan seem futile. And people wonder why there are so many in this town who are apathetic.
January 30, 2008 at 9:33 am
That’s a good question, Jennifer, which I haven’t actually paid attention to. John Sarvay might know…
January 30, 2008 at 10:40 am
I’ve heard the mayor is a big fan of the plan…
January 30, 2008 at 11:53 am
It’s interesting, this question. I’ve been gathering wool to write about it on my site but haven’t had the time. There seem to be two groups on the civic leader front about the plan right now — those who appear to be outright hostile to it and those who will say they like it but won’t actually step up on champion it. Bob Mills of the Planning Commission and Kathy Graziano of City Council feel like one extreme to me — they are cautious about overcommitting, or boxing in developers or VCU, or the risk of the plan’s vision being bigger than its technical specs. These are all valid concerns, but when you lead with caution or doubt or a penchant for detail, you begin to plant seeds of caution and doubt and detail. Others — like the Mayor or other key civic leaders — say they love the plan, and when asked will tell you why. But they won’t lead on it — they won’t get out in front of the public on the issue. Maybe it’s because as a region we’re not used to inspirational, forward-looking leadership that shapes public conversation (That’s what Jim Crupi’s report says). Maybe it’s because they are waiting to see where things shake out in this people versus developers debate — about the river, about VCU, etc. Whatever the reason, they’re staying on the sidelines. Which in my book means they aren’t leading.
And then there are individuals like Jim Ukrop who has publicly championed the downtown plan in at least 4 public meetings, and has gotten a line or two of news coverage for it, but its takes more than one person’s voice to turn the public conversation.
Call your councilperson. Call the planning commission members. Call the mayor. Write a letter to the editor. Make your neighbors go to the upcoming hearings.
No one else is leading the damn plan. We might as well take up their slack.
January 31, 2008 at 6:26 am
Thanks for the thoughtful comments John. If Jim Ukrop really is behind he plan, that’s encouraging. But at the same time, I’m not hopeful that our elected officials will take leadership on it. The downtown plan IS ambitious; it’s not exactly what one could call a “safe” topic during an election year. And unless I’m mistaken, ulitmately the city council will be the body that will make decisions on implementing the plan (or not.)
I’ve followed through on some of the things you suggested, but not all. There is certainly more I can do, and hopefully others will do so as well. But can Mr. Smith still go to Washington? IOW, can”regular Joes” still get things done in this town? I’d like to think so, but from some of the things I’ve read lately, it sure seems like there’s a whole lot of evidence to the contrary.