Dignowity Hill Neighborhood Plan & Eastside Reinvestment Plan - - PowerPoint PPT Presentation

Dignowity Hill Neighborhood Plan & Eastside Reinvestment Plan

Rebecca Paskos, Senior Planner Neighborhood & Urban Design Division Planning & Community Development Department City of San Antonio (210) 207-7816 August 10, 2009

Meeting Purpose

Discuss and Sign Memorandum of

Understanding

Overview of Draft Neighborhood Plan Prioritize Reinvestment Strategies Group work session

Boundaries

North: Sherman East: New

Braunfels, St. James, Palmetto

South: Houston,

Crockett, Commerce

West: IH-37

Dignowity Hill Neighborhood Plan

Identify long and short term goals with

action steps to achieve goals and

• bjectives

Chapters include:

Future land use plan Community Facilities & Public Health Crime & Public Safety Housing & Economic Development Transportation & Infrastructure

Future Land Use Plan

Existing Land Use

Current Zoning

Downtown (D):

Cherry & IH-37

Mixed Residential

(RM-4): Historic district

Single family

residential (R-4): East

Arts &

Entertainment (AE- 1 & AE-3): Commerce

Intense commercial

(C-3): New Braunfels

Light industrial (I-1):

Cherry & Houston

Community Facilities & Public Health

Community Facilities & Public Health

Goal 1: Establish attractive community facilities and increase

usage by neighborhood residents and visitors

Goal 2: Enhance the historic character of the neighborhood Goal 3: Promote health and wellness and provide opportunities to

educate residents about healthy living

Maintain and enhance the neighborhood parks, community centers, and cultural events that promote healthy lifestyles and highlight the historic character of the Dignowity Hill neighborhood

Crime & Public Safety

Crime & Public Safety

Goal 4: Create a safe environment that is inviting to residents and

visitors by working as a community with the City to abolish drug trafficking, burglary, prostitution, loitering, and any other crimes

Goal 5: Enhance public safety by participating in beautification

efforts

Goal 6: Encourage responsible pet ownership Goal 7: Stress neighborhood responsibility

Improve the wellbeing of the community by eliminating criminal activity through improved public safety measures to ensure that all of the community members especially children are able to work and play without fear in a safe environment

Housing & Economic Development

Housing & Economic Development

Goal 8: Increase homeownership Goal 9: Well maintained and diverse housing stock Goal 10: Institute sustainable green building standards and

environmental design for homes and businesses

Goal 11: Expand neighborhood businesses that are convenient

and safe for residents and visitors to easily access and enjoy

Goal 12: City government that is more responsive to the needs of

the neighborhood

Coordinate and integrate development of a mix of neighborhood businesses that serve the immediate residents in the vicinity and establish housing options with diverse age and density that are walkable and secure

Transportation, Infrastructure, & Drainage

Transportation, Infrastructure & Drainage

Goal 13: Create safe connections for walking and bicycling between

residences, parks, and cultural activities

Goal 14: Create a pedestrian safe and friendly environment Goal 15: Improve safety and mobility along neighborhood streets and

to downtown

Goal 16: Beautify the area to add upon and reflect the character of the

area

Goal 17: Ensure streets and sidewalks are free from debris and clutter

in order to create a welcoming environment for tourists and neighbors

Goal 18: Reduce flooding in the neighborhood through maintenance

• f drainage system

Work with partners and neighbors to enhance the aesthetics of the area by improving sidewalks and road infrastructures, which will also create a safe and friendly environment for pedestrians, motorists, and bicyclists

Taking Action

Taking Action

Goal 19: Achieve the plan’s goals and objectives through

• rganizing available resources

Goal 20: Provide outreach to increase the Plan Action Team

membership, and to establish partnerships that will aid in implementation

Goal 21: Ensure reliable and timely implementation of the plan by

prioritizing objectives and routinely monitoring plan progress

Work toward achieving the goals and objectives that are laid out in the Dignowity Hill Neighborhood Plan

Next Steps

Briefing to Community Development Advisory

Committee – August 11th, 10:00 am, 1901 S Alamo

Open House – TBD CDAC consideration – September 8th, 10:00 am,

1901 S Alamo

Community Development Summit – September

16th, Convention Center

Planning Commission consideration – October

2009

City Council consideration – November 2009

Eastside Reinvestment Plan

Prioritize long and short term strategies

for reinvestment from the neighborhood plan and other related plans

Infill Housing & Housing Rehabilitation

Housing restoration assistance to

subsidize rehabilitation

Market properties for sale on a

website

Sell vacant lots or properties in

disrepair to developers to renovate and sell to homeowners not renters

Meet with absentee land/property

• wners to sell or renovate housing

Meet with responsible home builders

and developers to encourage the development of quality constructed infill housing and or restoration older housing in disrepair

Provide grants for elderly to repair

their housing

Environmental Sustainability

Reuse building materials whenever

possible

Restore building materials as a first

• ption and provide incentives for

restoration

For City initiated demolitions, require

that all building materials be reused or sold for recycling

Develop a Green Parade of Homes

Tour for sustainable home restoration in Dignowity Hill

Collaborate with the Office of

Environmental Policy to improve household and business energy efficiency and water conservation

Economic Development

• Develop small businesses such as small retail

stores and restaurants

• Create a marketing plan to promote shopping in

the neighborhood

• Refurbish the historic commercial

establishments using available incentives

• Establish an open air market or a weekly

farmers market

• Start a First Friday type event once a month to

promote art and businesses

• Develop branding for the neighborhood with

signage and lighting

• Reinstate the New Braunfels Neighborhood

Commercial Revitalization (NCR) Program

• Participate in Project Facelift grants to improve

business façade to have more curb appeal to passing consumers

Enhance Community Facilities

• Organize Friends of the Dignowity Hill Parks
• Promote the use of parkland for festivals and

community activities

• Plant additional landscaping
• Develop a community garden
• Increase lighting
• Add additional water fountains, trash cans, and

restrooms

• Resurface the basketball court at Healey-Murphy

Park and place a cover or shading device over it

• Establish a park at the west end of the Hays Street

Bridge

• Build a community center and skate park at

Lockwood Park

• Close Burnet Street between Lockwood Park and

Dignowity Park to create one large central park

• Install covered picnic tables, barbeque pits, and

playground in Fairchild Park

• Demolish the brick structure in Dignowity Park and

construct a new plaza

• Construct landscaped walking paths in Dignowity,

Lockwood, and Fairchild Park

Historic Sites

• Establish a historic cemeteries tour
• Install a historic marker or information

kiosk for the Historic Cemeteries at Paso Hondo and Monumental

• Provide way-finding signs for the

following:

• St. Paul Square
• Ellis Alley
• Dignowity Historic District
• Hays Street Bridge
• Old Spanish Trail
• Collaborate with the Office of Cultural

Affairs to develop a Dignowity Hill tour guide

Create a Safe Environment

Request more lighting and or

video surveillance in crime hot spots to deter criminal activity

Institute Police Bike Patrol Prohibit the consumption of

alcoholic beverages on public streets and in pubic parks similar to provisions for Downtown and King William area

Prevent the purchase of one

alcoholic beverage at a time at convenience stores

Beautification & Code Enforcement

Plant trees or other

natural barrier to prevent graffiti

Participate in and promote

anti-graffiti

Neighborhood Sweeps

Program

Organize a neighborhood

cleanup effort for large items by participating in the Dial-A-Trailer Program

Responsible Pet Ownership

Provide education

regarding responsible animal care

Increase Animal Care

Services

Invite mobile spay and

neuter units to provide free or low cost services in the neighborhood

Safety and Mobility

• Implement a bicycle network
• Install landscaping along walking and bicycling paths
• Provide access to the San Antonio River Museum Reach
• Provide connection to Salado Creek Greenway
• Install additional streetlights
• Request street improvements for the following: Cherry and Mesquite from Houston to Center;

Lamar, Hays, Burnet, and Nolan from Pine to New Braunfels

• Repair/Install sidewalks on Nolan, Hays, Sherman, Burleson, Muncey, Pine, Mequite, Burnet,
• St. Charles, and Can’t Stop
• Widen sidewalks with a landscape buffer on Hackberry for pedestrians
• Improve the railroad crossings at Houston, Commerce, Lamar and Burnet
• Add lighting along railroad tracks for public safety
• Designate new bicycle facilities
• Install traffic calming devices and traffic lights where warranted
• Close Burnet between Dignowity and Lockwood Park in order to connect the two parks as one

large park

• Improve the flow of traffic at the Nolan underpass
• Create a street trolley route from Dignowity Hill historic sites to other historic sites in

downtown

• Install a public art display using neon lights at the underpass of IH-37 and Nolan

Streetscape Beautification

• Build safe zones between the road and walkway, i.e. landscape buffer, and include street trees in street

design standards

• Enhance the appearance of streets with landscaped sidewalks, bicycle lanes, and wheelchair accessible

sidewalks

• Advocate for programs to assist property owners with maintaining or installing sidewalks
• Improve New Braunfels Street over the train tracks in order to create a gateway into the neighborhood
• Improve the aesthetics of Houston Street as a gateway corridor and symbol of the Old Spanish Trail
• Install historic district street signs to identify the historic district
• Install way-finding signage in the neighborhood in order to direct tourists and neighbors to cultural activities,

such as the Old Spanish Trail

• Install public art throughout the neighborhood especially within any roundabouts utilizing a central theme to

brand the neighborhood

• Study bus routes to find out which ones are used most often and request that bus shelters with the highest

rider ship become more attractive

• Use appropriate materials on shelters proven to deter vandalism
• Create special designed bus shelters, which reflect the neighborhood character, for those shelters where two

bus routes intersect

• Construct a covered bus terminal with benches at Ellis Alley with bicycle storage and newsstand
• Work with COSA to keep streets cleaned or implement a neighborhood improvements district (NID) similar to

the Downtown PID Maintenance Amigos

Public Health & Wellness

• Host health and wellness informational

booths or health screenings at neighborhood/community events

• Include wellness facts or an essay within

each neighborhood association newsletter

• Organize an annual community-wide

physical fitness educational event and include a 5K run/walk

• Organize sporting events and teams for

youths, adults, and senior in the neighborhood to compete against other teams in the area

• Create a youth center aimed at promoting

physical activity and addressing concerns

• f the youth in the neighborhood
• Establish a youth mentorship program to

provide positive role models for neighborhood youth

Drainage

Identify areas experiencing drainage

problems and areas in need of drainage improvements that are not included in COSA’s proposed drainage projects for the area

Improve the drainage at Sherman and

Pine

Prioritize Reinvestment Strategies

Review each of the reinvestment

strategies

Place dot next to your top five strategies 15 minutes Afterwards, please join your group

Contact Information

Patrick Howard, AICP Assistant Director Planning & Development Services Patrick.Howard@sanantonio.gov 207-7833 Nina Nixon-Mendez, AICP Planning Manager Neighborhood & Urban Design Section nnmendez@sanantonio.gov 207-2893 Richard Milk, AICP Community Development Coordinator Community Development Section RMilk@sanantonio.gov 207-2893 Rebecca Paskos Project Lead, Senior Planner Neighborhood & Urban Design Section Rebecca.Paskos@sanantonio.gov 207-7816 Loretta Olison Senior Planner Neighborhood & Urban Design Section Loretta.Olison@sanantonio.gov 207-7919 Ashley McNabb Senior Planner Regional Planning Section Ashley.McNabb@sanantonio.gov 207-8187