Proposal for Community Development and Neighborhood Sustainability –   Planning for Success

Matt Morrissey ~ August 15, 2005

To the citizens of New Bedford,

When I was a kid growing up in the North End, we walked back and forth to school and didn’t think twice about it. My friends and I would deliver newspapers in the afternoons, eat a Ma’s Donut after finishing our route, and then play basketball in Brooklawn Park or go to the Wilkes Branch Library. Although there was occasional trouble around Acushnet Avenue, we all felt safe. We knew our neighbors and they knew us. We were part of a community that was knitted together by common interests, ethnicity, religion, and were from families who had lived in the same neighborhood generation after generation.

Today, the city has many new faces — including people just starting out who may not know each other the way we did. Today, we must take active steps to create an atmosphere so that the neighborhood, the way we knew it, can regenerate itself. This proposal offers a series of tangible plans for action in the context of a new administration. The steps represent a starting point, not a laundry list, to be built upon in an open and thoughtful process in the first days of a new administration. They include practical, implemental and affordable ways to empower neighbors within our community.

The highlights include:

• The development of a comprehensive and inclusive master plan delivered within 160 days that assures that the character of each neighborhood is preserved while development opportunities are identified and shaped.
   
• Incentives to build bigger and more vibrant neighborhood associations.
   
• The development of school/community partnerships
   
• Aggressive taking of derelict property with a focus on new homeownership.

Many of the ideas presented here are developments of thoughts mentioned by people I met while walking door-to-door in New Bedford’s neighborhoods. Many other folks, from all walks of life and areas of the city, shared in the creation of this plan on Community Development and Neighborhood Sustainability. I am grateful to everyone who has contributed thus far. It is my hope that this is the beginning of a long and fruitful dialogue concerning the collective future of our neighborhoods.

Sincerely,

Matt Morrissey

Summary

To better sustain our neighborhoods, the Morrissey Administration will:

• Immediately initiate the city’s master planning process. This process must be started within the first 30 days after the Morrissey administration takes office and must be completed within 160 days. We have been waiting eight years for a master plan. We don’t have any more time to waste.
   
• Offer incentives for long-term growth and vibrancy in neighborhood associations by implementing a grant-funding program that promotes increased participation in neighborhood associations.
   
• Offer a reduced property tax rate to eligible individuals in exchange for a set amount of hours of volunteer time.
   
• Ensure that policing strategies are embedded in neighborhoods (more on this topic in Public Safety proposal).
   
• Ensure that all neighborhoods are kept clean, and streets in all neighborhoods are paved (more on this topic in the City Infrastructure proposal).
   
• Pursue the overwhelming list of derelict properties that are currently classified as “tax title” and strive to put them in the hands of new homeowners.
   
• Make neighborhood schools available to city residents between the hours of 2:30 p.m. and 8:00 p.m. several days a week.
   
• Create a greener New Bedford, by dramatically expanding existing tree planting and maintenance programs.
   
• Reorganize the planning and development offices and create the Office of Planning and Community Development.
   
• Increase communication across departments by creating an “interdepartmental support team” of representatives from each of the city’s departments.
   
• Tree planting programs, street lighting improvements, and neighborhood association capacity building initiatives could be funded directly from tax revenue created by new home ownership by putting tax delinquent properties back on the city’s tax rolls.

How will the Morrissey administration differ from the Kalisz administration on community development and neighborhood sustainability?

• The Morrissey administration will put the people of our neighborhoods first. We will break down barriers between City Hall and city residents. We will work with residents, not against them. There will be no monopoly on good ideas.

• There will be no predetermined outcomes. Better planning, deeper grass roots involvement, expanded ownership will produce a shared vision for growth and development.

• We will work to empower neighborhood associations and other entities which will further the interests of our neighborhoods.

• We will evaluate progress independently, review all planning efforts on a regular basis, and above all be honest about what needs to be fixed.

• We will ensure that city staff is better utilized and that city departments work more closely together.

• We will build on successful existing projects and partnerships. Existing friends groups and neighborhood associations will be strengthened while new relationships are encouraged and nurtured.

We CAN do better (the Current Circumstance)

The Office of Housing and Community Development (OHCD) manages a range of housing rehabilitation programs, economic development projects, infrastructure improvements, and first-time home buyer programs. OHCD also assists in homeless and shelter initiatives. Currently, OHCD’s efforts are dramatically weakened by the lack of leadership from the Mayor’s office, particularly with respect to better coordinating the programs and initiatives of the OHCD with other key city departments. In fact, a much stronger partnership is needed between the OHCD, the Department of Public Infrastructure (DPI), the Department of Public Facilities (DPF), the Parks department, the Economic Development Council (EDC), the Planning office, and the Solicitor’s office in order to better serve neighborhood residents. Specifically, relations between the Planning office and the Solicitor’s office, in terms of tax title property issues, should be strong. Currently, they are not.

There are two principle reasons why these municipal offices are not functioning anywhere near their potential:

1. The current administration lacks a cohesive approach and a unified focus.
    

2. The current administration bottlenecks projects by placing the city solicitor in the functional roles of city solicitor, chief of staff, chief of economic and community development, and primary land court attorney. No matter how good, bright or well-intended the current city solicitor is, this approach makes no organizational and strategic sense and is a deterrent to real progress.

Images of Washington Square in the South End of the city. This potential gateway and neighborhood center has been ignored far too long.

“Many master plans”: The current administration has failed to deliver on its promise (made eight years ago and repeated many times since) to create a strategic master plan which will guide the social and economic development of the city. Instead, the administration has retreated to word games such as “many master plans” to cover up its failure to deliver. A series of sporadic, disconnected, “quick start” projects with monikers such as “make safe” and “smart growth” are typical of the haphazard way that this administration operates. There is no consideration of how these projects relate to one another, no sustaining focus and no community involvement. In general, major priorities are not set in relation to a larger, more comprehensive framework.

Because of the absence of a master plan, neighborhoods across the city are vulnerable to misguided development. The Fairhaven Mills/Home Depot development project is one example. In this case the question should not have been “Home Depot or not?”, but rather “how should the space be developed” and “in relation to what?” Neighborhood residents should not be forced to react to surprise proposals where they are pitted against a “national corporate identity”, hoping that what’s being proposed can fit in and be a good neighbor. The developer should be reacting to, and working within, the framework of a “neighborhood development plan”. Each neighborhood across the city should have potential development sites identified and goals set for the highest and best use articulated as one component of a master plan. Potential projects should be measured against the question: “Does this fit into what we envision and what we have planned for?”

Role of the Neighborhood Liaison: There is one staff person who works out of the Mayor’s Office as a Neighborhood Liaison. With a city of nearly 100,000 residents and neighborhoods with issues as diverse as those who live in them, one person is simply not enough and is an ineffective approach to meeting our needs. In fact, despite good intentions, this staff person has not been involved, in any meaningful way, in neighborhood planning efforts, especially those relating to housing rehabilitation, infrastructure improvement, or open space development. Instead, he is sent out to neighborhood association meetings to “put out fires”, serving in a reactive capacity as opposed to leading a proactive approach to capturing opportunities or resolving problems. Because the Kalisz administration approaches neighborhood planning in an event-driven and piecemeal fashion, it has failed to adequately and proactively address real concerns in the areas of growth, safety and infrastructure needs for the future.

Each neighborhood in New Bedford is different. The South End is a mix of triple deckers and single family homes, some with the most desirable water views in the city. The West End boasts some of the finest whaling and textile era homes as well as early twentieth century bungalows surrounding Buttonwood Park. The “new” Downtown neighborhood is home to the latest additions to the real estate market: upscale condominiums. The North End and far North End neighborhoods range from old mill housing and tenements located south of Nash Road to single family houses with detached garages on large lots north of Tarkiln Hill Road all the way up to the Freetown line. Although different in many ways, there are elements common to all neighborhoods: Each has a school, a local parish, a public green space, and some neighborhoods have all three.

All the folks I have spoken with over the last three months desire to know their neighbors. They want their children to feel comfortable with their neighbors, and they want to feel confident that they can rely upon their neighbors. They want, deeply, to feel connected to the world outside their front door. Although the current administration has welcomed the 90/10 state investments in the rehabilitation of the city schools, they have not gone to the next level of investment by leveraging the physical space - our neighborhood schools - that exist in all of New Bedford’s neighborhoods as a foundation for community building.

New Bedford’s wealth of diverse neighborhoods reaches from Fort Taber in the south end, to Sassaquin Pond in the far north. The Morrissey administration will plan for the success of all neighborhoods, and not leave our future development and growth to chance.

We WILL do better

The Morrissey administration will assess neighborhood initiatives used by the current and past administrations, building on those that have a proven track record, and integrating successful concepts into a community-centered, resident-driven model for investment. Under the Morrissey administration, neighborhood planning efforts will be coordinated and strengthened.

Master Planning: This campaign asks people to believe again in the possibilities of the city. People from all walks of life have shared with me both their dreams and frustrations about the state of our city, and I am deeply grateful for their willingness to participate. The master planning process is the natural next step in formally taking hopes and concerns and turning them into a detailed action plan that will ensure successful community development.

The process must be started within the first 30 days after the Morrissey administration takes office and must be completed within 160 days. We have been waiting eight years for a master plan. We don’t have any more time to waste.

Once the framework for the planning process is established, people in our neighborhoods must be engaged. Success will depend on rebuilding the trust that has been lost and by guaranteeing that the Morrissey administration will truly listen. The plan will focus on a clear and measurable city-wide vision implemented through individual “neighborhood development plans.” The master planning process will be built on the foundation of real input from people who live, work and own property in our community and will yield countless new ideas for continued engagement and authentic inclusion of all of New Bedford’s residents. These neighborhood development plans represent a beginning, not an end, and will not become stagnant documents. Instead they will be revised and updated as the needs and goals of the community change over time.

To further stimulate the process and to cut down on costs, we will reach out to the University of Massachusetts system and develop a formal partnership. The campuses in Dartmouth, Amherst, Boston and Lowell each have something different to offer a city like New Bedford. I know the University would welcome the opportunity to expand its existing relationship and I am confident that it could be a creative and cost-effective partner in building a vital future for the city and its neighborhoods.

We will work with a regional university planning program i.e. University of Massachusetts Amherst, rather than another consultant, to facilitate the process. Led by experienced urban and master planning professors, graduate students will provide vitality and infuse current best practices into the process at a cost that will be substantially lower than what has been spent on previous planning initiatives (initiatives that have resulted, in many instances, in reports that collect dust on a shelf).

While the master planning process moves rapidly forward, we will aggressively begin to implement ways to improve the streets and sidewalks in our neighborhoods, address quality of life issues such as public safety, supplement existing tree planting/maintenance programs, and encourage access to and use of public spaces and community centers such as neighborhood schools. Several of these concepts will be discussed further in our City Infrastructure plan.

Building capacity in our neighborhoods: In New Bedford, we have many good people who have worked for years to further the interests of their neighborhood. They need far more help from City Hall -- through established relationships with city staff and more effective, relevant support programs -- than is currently made available. Traditionally, neighborhood groups come together around moments of crisis or opportunity. Violent crime in a neighborhood reaches a tipping point and good citizens take action. Frustration turns to discussion. Discussion turns to organizing. Then, organization turns to action. Another example is when citizens band together to ensure that a vacant lot in their neighborhood, a magnet for litter and delinquent behavior, is turned into common green space. Unfortunately, once the challenge is temporarily overcome, or the opportunity is realized, the appetite for continued participation greatly diminishes. Further, the current power structure too often discourages people from “bunching up” around ideas. In old school political thinking, organization of people outside of City Hall’s direct or indirect control is seen as a threat to political viability. As a result, strategic, citizen empowerment is seldom encouraged and groups are often marginalized through bureaucratic processes and endless discussion—often resulting in an outcome predetermined by those in power.

We can do better.

Civic engagement must be lauded. It must be celebrated. It must be earnestly supported. How can a neighborhood maintain momentum in creating positive change after they have achieved success by solving the immediate crises facing their neighborhood? How can we assist neighborhood associations in meeting their mission goals in a more comprehensive and meaningful way? While supporting neighborhood associations in confronting day to day threats to their neighborhoods through stronger police presence, the creation of more effective after school programs and neighborhood infrastructure improvement initiatives, we can begin to formulate strategies that ensure an environment where neighbors know each other, where we can sit on our front porches, and where our children can play safely.

The energy that the city needs in neighborhoods cannot be manufactured in City Hall. What does it take? It takes a mayor who thinks differently about the true empowerment of people. It takes more folks involved. And, yes, it will take some limited funding --in that order.

One way the Morrissey administration will seek to encourage and offer incentives for long-term growth and vibrancy in neighborhood associations is by implementing a grant funding program that promotes increased participation in neighborhood associations. Born out of a city-wide strategic planning process, the city will propose to leverage city money against non-profit grants by tying increased neighborhood association membership to neighborhood association funding. For each additional active member, the neighborhood association would receive an incremental funding increase. Parameters would be created to ensure that the funds would be centrally managed but locally controlled, and created to ensure that the funds are spent in ways consistent with the outcomes of the master planning process. Increased numbers of members means increased diversity of dialogue. Locally controlled funding means more results from each person’s activity, promoting even greater participation and results.

Another simple way to foster volunteerism in our neighborhoods (and provide some property tax relief to seniors or new home owners) is to offer a reduced property tax rate to eligible individuals in exchange for a set amount of hours of volunteer time. For example, a homeowner could garner relief of just over $700 on a $2,200 annual property tax (a 1/3 reduction) in exchange for 50 hours/year in volunteer service. Volunteers could provide a range of services in our neighborhoods such as serving as captains for neighborhood watch groups, weeding city gardens, picking up garbage along the gateways into our city, staffing city run events and festivals, and serving as crossing guards for our schoolchildren.

Tree planting programs, street lighting improvements, and neighborhood association capacity building initiatives could be funded directly from tax revenue created by new home ownership by putting tax delinquent properties back on the city’s tax rolls. With the average tax collected per home at $2,200, even a modest 10 properties per year put back on the tax rolls would result in $22,000 in additional revenue to pay for special street signs and banners, playground maintenance, seed monies for “block parties” and other grass roots programs. You will see the results in very real and meaningful ways on the streets that we call home.

Rebuilding New Bedford and increasing home ownership: Property taxes are high enough in New Bedford without having some property owners getting a free ride and dragging down the quality of life in neighborhoods throughout our city. These are the abandoned houses, vacant lots and eyesores that we see all too often. These virtually derelict properties contribute to crime, bring down the efforts of pride-filled homeowners, cause property values to fall, and taxes to rise. These properties are a cancer in the neighborhoods of New Bedford and we need to get serious about eliminating them from the landscape.

The Morrissey administration will be tireless in our efforts to strengthen homeownership opportunities. Homeownership can be the most effective tool to neighborhood redevelopment, city pride and establishing a safer community. The programs currently offered by the Office of Housing and Community Development to provide technical assistance for property owners and first time homebuyers do not go far enough.

The Morrissey administration will aggressively pursue the overwhelming list of properties that are currently classified as “tax title” and strive to put them in the hands of new homeowners (see appendix for list). The Morrissey administration will work to gain control of these properties and market them to those who are willing to take on the responsibility of homeownership as the anchor of the American dream. We will track the new revenues that are brought into the city coffers by these properties and reinvest this money right back into the neighborhoods that generated this new revenue. The Morrissey administration will not only put properties back on the tax rolls and, through existing and new housing programs, get low income and elderly residents into homes of their own but will also establish programs that ensure that these people can stay in these homes. It is one thing to better connect potential home buyers with the private lending and OHCD programs available; it’s another issue to ensure that new homeowners are able to hold onto their piece of the American dream.

School and community partnerships: Through school/community partnerships (PTOs, Neighborhood Associations, etc.) neighborhood schools must be made available to city residents between the hours of 2:30 p.m. and 8:00 p.m. several days a week. Every school in the city can open on a rotating weekly schedule to allow for academic enrichment opportunities (homework and MCAS tutorial centers), athletic programs and instruction in the arts—visual and performing. These youth-centered programs can happen in the period between the close of school and dinner time.

After the dinner hour, schools can become much-needed community space accessible to all neighborhood groups and associations for monthly meetings, events and capacity building workshops. While the current administration does allow limited and arbitrary access to schools for these groups, not every neighborhood is being served. The Morrissey administration can do better.

As a result of the Commonwealth’s 90/10 state investment strategy for new school construction, there has been significant investment made in the development and redevelopment of our schools. We need to better utilize these spaces, on a year-round, 12 hour/day basis so we can begin to see a substantial return on that investment. These concepts will be discussed further in our Education proposal.

Tree Planting Program: Because trees have a positive environmental and social impact on our communities, we will aggressively work to enhance and expand the New Bedford Preservation Society tree planting program and Friends of Buttonwood Tree Keepers program. Tree planting and community-based forestry can add significantly to a local community's sustainable economy while restoring the environment.

Reorganization of planning and development offices and the creation of the Office of Planning and Community Development: Planning efforts demand vigilant communication between planning-oriented departments and a philosophical understanding that we must put the people first. Planning efforts will be coordinated by a newly created Office of Planning and Community Development. This planning office will be organized into four teams: neighborhood planning, city planning, environmental planning and special projects. The neighborhood team will provide focused efforts in the north, south and center of the city. The staff for this new office will come from existing personnel and unfilled vacancies in the current planning office and OHCD. This new office will be led by a Chief of Planning who will report directly to the Director of the Office of Planning and Community Development. The main focus of much renewed activity and communication will be on our neighborhoods—all neighborhoods.

Increase communication across departments: In addition to this new staffing structure, the Morrissey administration will bring together a “support team” created from representatives from each of the city’s departments. This team will provide direct points of contact to address areas such as crime and quality of life, tax title properties, street/sidewalk issues, etc. Constant communication across departments at all levels is essential to these efforts. Improvements and efficiencies in department communication and teamwork will be a priority.

This new staffing structure may represent the greatest effort the city has seen in years regarding neighborhood planning and community development.