First Coast: March/April 2012

Planning

Design

Transportation

Environment

Professional Development

w w w . F i r s t C o a s t A P A . o r g

2011-2013 Board of Directors Chair Tony Robbins, AICP Vice Chair Betty Sue Stepp, AICP Secretary Beth Payne, AICP Treasurer Don Smith, AICP

From Ideas to Actions: Jacksonville’s North Point Town Center Neighborhood Action Plans (NAP) address a multitude of issues in a variety of the City of Jacksonville’s older, more neglected neighborhoods and contain strategies and recommendations that can be put into action. The City’s Current Planning Division utilize NAP to provide a cohesive and comprehensive plan for development of a particular area that partners with the community to develop the overall recommendations of the plan.

In general, the NAP specifically addresses the concerns of the neighborhood residents of the targeted area. The recommendations of the plan are not regulations imposed on people, but rather a policy framework to evaluate land use and zoning changes within a NAP. The Current Planning Division promotes the NAP recommendations to assure each community’s respective vision are respected during decisions about land use and zoning changes.

Immediate Past Chair Stephen Tocknell, AICP

Issue 2, Volume 5 March/April 2012

First Coast Events First Coast APA Board Meeting Friday, April 6, 2012 8:30 am offices of England, Thims & Miller, Inc.

Join Us! Join First Coast APAFL and North Florida Urban Land Institute for the 2012 Legislative Update.

Lester Abberger and Tom Beck will be our guest speakers.

Alyce Decker, AICP Fred Jones, AICP

Wednesday, April 4 Noon ‐ 1:30 PM at Aloft Tapestry Park.

Steve Lindorff, AICP Ennis Davis

In This Issue

Jennifer Hewett-Apperson, AICP

Endangered Neighborhoods…..2

Sungman Kim, AICP, Ph.D.

Restore Jacksonville Conference……....3

Kristen Reed, AICP Duncan Ross, AICP

Since 1977 a total of nineteen NAP have been completed and adopted by the Jacksonville City Council. I met with the Current Planning th Division’s Lisa Ransom and Emery Nauden to learn about the 29 & Chase NAP which is bearing some fruit and having its goals and objectives implemented with exciting results.

The 29th & Chase NAP Study Area is located in central Duval County north of the Martin Luther King Expressway, east of Canal Street, west of I-95 and the St. Johns River, with railroad tracks to the north.

Private Passenger Rail………………...5 North Point Town Center (continued)..………7 Opinion….…………9 Announcements…...10

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1ST COAST PLANNER The Bi-Monthly e-Newsletter of the First Coast APA, Florida Chapter, American Planning Association Issue 2, Volume 5 – Page 2

Endangered Neighborhoods: A Viewpoint Duncan Ross, AICP

The foreclosure crisis has resulted in the listing of our neighborhoods on the endangered list.

The culminations of 5-years of homeowners succumbing to foreclosure along with the impacts of vacant and abandoned properties have crippled many neighborhoods throughout northeast Florida. Some neighborhoods may have one of two vacant or abandoned homes, while others may have chronic numbers of homes in varying stages of financial distress, be vacant or have been abandoned.

Neighborhoods of all types have been impacted to varying degrees by the effects of the foreclosure crisis and the dramatic decline in housing values. In the Jacksonville area, about 45 percent of owners with mortgages owe more than the homes are worth, according to Corelogic. This is double the rate for the entire nation. In terms of foreclosure notices—they are rising again locally after a relatively flat 15-month period where the numbers remained under 500 new cases per month. This change began occurring in January of this year when over 700 foreclosure notices were mailed out to homeowners in Jacksonville.

As a result of widespread foreclosures in the region, you may see homes with their windows boarded-up or under security surveillance to prevent burglary, theft or squatters taking residence. Vacant and abandoned homes can become attractants for crime and easy targets for exploitation.

The property values of surrounding homes decline and soon other homeowners in the neighborhood find themselves owing more than their homes are worth and they too are unable to sell—leading to more of the same—the foreclosure cycle. Recently, a former Jacksonville mayoral candidate was among four people charged

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with squatting or renting vacant or abandoned homes to other people. Similar cases are under investigation in Clay and Nassau counties. It is not uncommon for homeowners going through foreclosure to remain in their homes for months or sometimes years while their case awaits a court’s judgment—their homes slowly deteriorate from the neglect of owners who may be evicted in the coming months. Some neighborhoods are at a tipping point of long-term decline and will struggle to find a positive future.

Boarded-up and under surveillance, a home in Jacksonville awaits an owner

In Cleveland, Ohio and in surrounding Cuyahoga County which has struggled for decades with its vacant and abandoned home inventory—the level of neighborhood decline accelerated sharply as the foreclosure crisis barreled into town.

In 2009 alone, almost 14,800 foreclosure cases hit Cuyahoga County’s court system, with a similar number of cases occurring in each of the two previous years. In a massive response, local governments (with the assistance of Federal dollars) expanded their demolition programs and tore down nearly 1,700 of the worst vacant or abandoned homes, while public land bank authorities were set up to take ownership of these lands— renovating the best homes and holding others until they could be fixed and sold.

Private demolitions also went up significantly with over 1,100 occurring in 2009, a result of owners removing decaying houses before the local government did, resulting in a hefty bill to the property owner. In Cuyahoga County, it is estimated that between 8,000 and 17,000 distressed vacant or abandoned homes are too far gone to remain viable and will likely be demolished.

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1ST COAST PLANNER The Bi-Monthly e-Newsletter of the First Coast APA, Florida Chapter, American Planning Association Issue 2, Volume 5 – Page 3

Free is Good…Free CMs are Always Good!

March/April 2012

Restore Jacksonville Conference

Alyce Decker, AICP Professional Development Officer

We have just finished the first quarter of this calendar year and the opportunities are out there for beginning the assemblage of the required 32 CM credits due by 12/31/13. 1000 Friends of Florida and the Future is Now Foundation have partnered to produce a series of FREE, Florida-specific, on-line webinars (totaling 14 CM credits) that have been approved for AICP CM credit! The topics in this series release are; Clean Energy Technologies for Communities, Sustainability & Energy Planning for Communities, Transportation Alternatives for Energy Efficiency, Smart Planning for Sustainable Development, Community Partnering for Clean Energy, Energy Use and Efficiency in CampusScale Settings and Smart Planning for Communities: Tapping Green Energy Strategies. They can all be found: http://www.planning.org/cm/search/event.htm.

Virtual Conference Sessions are another way to experience sessions from the APA's 2011 National Planning Conference in Boston and earn Certification Maintenance (CM) credits. These are available for $40 per session and you may view them as often as you wish whenever you wish. The credit, however, will only go to the planner that actually purchases the session. Keep this great idea filed away for future emergency use in case you are stuck missing a couple of credits or still in need of the elusive Ethics or Law credits next year! Here is a sample of the Ethics and Law virtual sessions available: Gifts and Ethics, Social Networking and Ethics, Is There Value in Unused Land, Climate Change and the Law and Planners in the Courts. Might come in handy sometime!

Of course if you are fortunate enough to have the ability to attend the 2012 Annual Conference in Los Angeles, April 14-17, you’ll be able to pick up all the credits you need for this reporting session!

And a closing thought until next issue: “In complex situations, we may rely too heavily on planning and forecasting and underestimate the importance of random factors in the environment. That reliance can also lead to delusions of control.”

-Hillel J. Einhorn, University of Chicago Professor, 1941-1987

On May 2-6, 2012, the City of Jacksonville in partnership with Riverside Avondale Preservation will host a Preservation and Sustainability Conference at the Downtown Main Library. While some may think St Augustine has all the history, Jacksonville actually has an immense number of historic resources.

The locally designated historic districts and landmarks include over 7,000 properties. Additional urban neighborhoods and the downtown increase the number of historic structures by an exponential amount. These buildings have unique features and historic settings that when preserved and respected give these older areas an irreplaceable character and charm. However, they also come with their challenges: needing skilled craftsman to do specialized repairs, sometimes battling years of neglect, and balancing growth and redevelopment with the protection of the very architecture and pedestrian scale environment that make those neighborhoods special.

At the conference, attendees will have an opportunity to learn more about how preserving older buildings is a green concept. Why stop with recycling plastic when you can reuse an entire building, capitalizing on its unique character, original green design, existing infrastructure, urban setting and embodied energy?

This five day conference is filled with educational and entertaining sessions with nationally known speakers and local experts.

Planners are urged to attend events on Friday, when there will be sessions offered for AICP credits with topics ranging from downtown revitalization to new urbanism.

Start the day with an ULI sponsored presentation by Donovan Rypkema (pictured above), principal of PlaceEconomics, a Washington, D.C.-based real estate and economic development-consulting firm. His company specializes in services to public and non-profit clients dealing with downtown and neighborhood commercial district revitalization.

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1ST COAST PLANNER The Bi-Monthly e-Newsletter of the First Coast APA, Florida Chapter, American Planning Association Issue2, Volume 5 – Page 4

Endangered Neighborhoods CONTINUED FROM PAGE 2

The land banks which oversee and manage these properties typically split vacant single lots between occupied houses to give neighbors bigger yards and in cases where there are contiguous vacant lots—they are consolidated to be reserved for larger redevelopment projects in the future. In addition, nonprofit organizations are assisting local governments to start pocket parks, installing landscape along busy streets to enhance the greenery in these affected neighborhoods. Residents have started more than 200 community gardens in Cuyahoga County. Urbanagriculture enthusiasts also envision small farms on newly vacant land, while eco-minded local governments have considered ponds and lowlands to treat or limit stormwater from entering older and over burdened drainage and sewer systems.

Some local governments across America have taken a back seat in addressing the foreclosure crisis and lay blame squarely at the banking industry—advocating that is not a local government issue to assist troubled neighborhoods affected by foreclosure. On the other hand, some communities such as Cleveland have initiated intensive efforts and programs that attempt to minimize the impacts of foreclosure on neighborhoods and view such interventions as an opportunity to achieve a more sustainable community in the longterm.

What should local governments be doing? There are a number of tools and resources that local governments have at their disposal that will, if implemented consistently, support neighborhood stabilization efforts. To address homeowners who may be entering financial distress, local governments can partner with non-profit organizations to provide pre-foreclosure assistance and resources so homeowners may have a better chance to remain in their homes and neighborhoods. Local governments need to rework their ordinances and strengthen enforcement policies and processes to ensure they can respond appropriately when properties first begin to exhibit signs of distress and before it begins to affect other homes in the neighborhood. A number of local governments are starting and/or strengthening their land bank authorities in order to streamline the

March/April 2012

acquisition of abandoned or distressed homes. These acquired properties can either be renovated as rental homes, sold to new owners or the worst properties can be demolished. Federal grants have been the key for local governments being in a position to provide the financial resources needed to implement these programs.

Programs such as the Neighborhood Stabilization Program (NSP) authorized by the Housing and Recovery Act of 2008 (HERA) has been used extensively by communities to initiate these efforts.

It is now the spring of 2012 and almost 5-years since the housing crisis began. It’s been routine since mid-2009 that we have heard that he bottom of the housing bust has past. Yet, the bottom of the housing market has proven to be extremely stubborn and with a staying power that nobody welcomes. However, just recently there have been numerous reports purporting that positive economic times are on the horizon. There is agreement that the most affected neighborhoods, even after the crisis subsides, will take many years or decades to recover. It is clear—local governments should not wait to intervene until neighborhoods have deteriorated to such a state where they become a law enforcement issue—as there are many opportunities to change the course of a neighborhood’s fate well before this stage. Continued vigilance and strong government and community partnerships are necessary to ensure that neighborhoods can navigate their way back to a brighter future and off the endangered list.

Do you enjoy running?

The First Coast is blessed with great weather and numerous opportunities to participate in organized runs. Is there an interest among planners who regularly run, jog, or walk to form a Section Running Club? It’s a great opportunity to meet others in the Section to run with, learn from, plan regular training runs and participates in various long and short distance running. It could be a great chance to improve your health and see different areas of our beautiful region and it’s always easier if you’re not doing it alone. If you have any interest whatsoever, please contact Tony Robbins at trobbins@prosserhallock.com or 904.739.3655.

1ST COAST PLANNER The Bi-Monthly e-Newsletter of the First Coast APA, Florida Chapter, American Planning Association Issue2, Volume 5 – Page 5

FECI bringing private passenger rail to Florida by 2014 Ennis Davis

Florida East Coast Industries, Inc. (FECI) recently announced its intention to develop a privately owned, operated and maintained passenger rail service connecting South Florida and Orlando by 2014. If the 240-mile route, which would combine 200 miles of existing track and 40 miles of new, is successful, FECI plans to extend service to Jacksonville and Tampa.

What could this mean for Jacksonville?

Called "All Aboard Florida," the intercity passenger rail project will include business- and coach- class service with advance purchase reserved seating, gourmet meals, Wi-Fi, and the ability to work productively throughout the entire trip. FECI began a feasibility analysis for the project several months ago. Currently, the company is conducting an investment grade ridership study and engineering work to design the system, planned to be operational by 2014. Exact station locations have not been announced, although the major stops are anticipated to be located in Orlando, West Palm Beach, Fort Lauderdale, and Miami. According to the company’s press release, “All Aboard Florida" will provide a high-quality experience for passengers, and will be the first privately owned, operated, and maintained passenger rail system in the United States.

Since the idea of a privately operated passenger rail system is a foreign concept to Jacksonville and the State of Florida, several questions have been raised since the announcement. These questions include: Is A 2014 Start Date Too Ambitious?

Used to public rail start-ups moving at a snail's pace, many believe that having this system operating by 2014 is impossible. However, FECI believes otherwise. In the event that 40 miles of new track between Orlando and Cocoa is not complete by 2014, the railroad would run on the existing FEC from Miami to Cocoa, and offer temporary connecting service to Orlando.

How Fast Will Trains Go? Amtrak currently runs a daily service between Orlando and Miami, but it isn't direct, and takes between five and seven hours. FECI envisions a three-hour trip

March/April 2012

between the cities at an average speed similar to the Acela between New York and Washington, DC. Trains will likely run at 79 mph from Miami to West Palm Beach, 110 mph from West Palm Beach to Cocoa, and 125 mph on the new segment to Orlando.

How Much Would It Cost?

The initial 240-mile project between Orlando and downtown Miami is expected to cost $1 billion. While this may seem like a lot to many, FECI's parent company, Fortress Investment Group, has $43.7 billion in assets and raised $4.2 billion in capital during 2011. In addition, FECI owns Flagler Development Group, a real estate company that owns 5,000 acres of land in Florida, including 9 acres in downtown Miami that would be used for a new passenger station and transit-oriented development.

How Frequent Will Trains Travel?

Eugene Skoropowski, FECI's recently hired senior vice president of passenger rail development, envisions trains operating on one-hour headways. Skoropowski describes the FECI project as "Capital Corridor East" but with a much bigger market. Before joining FECI, he became well known in the railroad industry for his successful management of California's Capitol Corridor passenger service. The Capitol Corridor is a 168-mile passenger train route operated by Amtrak between the San Francisco Bay Area and Sacramento.

Started in 1991, the hybrid intercity/commuter rail service carried over 1.7 million passengers during the fiscal year 2011.

How Many Jobs Will Be Created?

FECI envisions approximately 6,000 direct jobs will be needed to construct the system and over 1,000 more jobs will be needed to operate and maintain it. In addition, the project will create new transit-oriented economic development opportunities along the entire 240-mile route.

Congresswoman Corrine Brown Excited Congresswoman Corrine Brown is extremely excited with the announcement of Florida East Coast Railway’s All Aboard Florida initiative. The Congresswoman is always looking for expanded opportunities for rail service throughout Florida and the nation. “I can assure everyone that I will continue to work with the railway to tap any federal resources necessary to make this project a success,” said the Congresswoman.

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1ST COAST PLANNER The Bi-Monthly e-Newsletter of the First Coast APA, Florida Chapter, American Planning Association Issue 2, Volume 5 – Page 6

March/April 2012

Restore Jacksonville Conference….

FECI bringing private passenger rail…

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In 2004, Rypkema established Heritage Strategies International to provide similar services to world-wide clients. Since 1983, he has provided ongoing consulting services to the National Trust for Historic Preservation and its National Main Street Center.

Today, Mr. Rypkema is recognized as an expert in the economic benefits of preserving historic structures.

“Indeed,” she continued, “this project serves as a perfect example of how the private market has come to recognize the public’s desire for transportation options as our roads become more and more crowded in all of our nation’s metropolitan areas. This environmentally responsible option will bring more jobs and get commuters and tourists moving faster than they would be able to travel on any highway. Furthermore, these new lines will work hand-in hand with Sunrail to enhance the multimodal system that is expanding throughout the state.”

Later that day, the conference will host another applauded speaker, architect, urbanist, and author of The Original Green, Steve Mouzon.

Steve founded the New Urban Guild, which helped foster the Katrina Cottages movement and Project:SmartDwelling, which works to redefine the house to be much smaller and more sustainable. Steve speaks regularly across the US and abroad on sustainability issues. He will also be Saturday’s luncheon speaker discussing his latest book in which he explores the original green design of buildings built before the thermostat age and how today, we are trying to live sustainably, but often focusing on green gadgetry verses real sustainability.

The rest of the conference will provide a two-day training for building professionals that covers historic preservation fundamentals and tackles energy efficiency in older buildings. The sessions on Saturday will help homeowners make wiser choices for their older homes. Sunday’s tours will provide interesting site visits to see first-hand how “old” and “green” work together. Special events include the Jacksonville Historic Preservation Commission’s Annual Preservation Awards on Thursday evening.

Check our website restorejacksonville.com for more information.

This article was written by Lisa Sheppard, AICP, LEED AP who is a Senior Historic Preservation Planner with the City of Jacksonville.

What Does This Mean For Jacksonville?

FEC and Amtrak still plan to operate their new intercity rail service between Jacksonville and Miami by 2015. The long term plan for the "Flagler Line" was to grow it into a corridor service with frequent trains traveling from Cocoa to Miami, joining those running from Jacksonville to Miami, complementing long-distance intercity service. FECI's proposed privately owned and operated service can complement the Amtrak project in many ways; in terms of capital costs, the double tracking of the FEC corridor to increase the corridor's capacity, (ability to efficiently move passenger and freight trains) should reduce the financial burden on the Amtrak project. In addition, the corridor project's frequency of service will potentially feed Amtrak with more rail passengers between Cocoa and Jacksonville.

Long term, assuming this system is successful in its early years, the extension of corridor service into Jacksonville essentially delivers frequent regional rail service between downtown and St. Augustine, services that many believe JTA won't be able to deliver any time soon.

It's very possible that Jacksonville could become a hub for frequent regional passenger corridor service and a passenger rail gateway to Florida before this decade is over. From a local planning standpoint, it means that it's time for Jacksonville's officials and residents to move into the 21st century and plan in advance for the world that continues to change outside of our borders. This includes hiring a competent replacement for JTA’s Michael Blaylock, who is well versed in the operation and implementation of a multimodal mass transit system. In addition, those seeking to pump life into our morbid downtown should place a higher priority on relocating Jacksonville’s passenger rail station back to downtown.

1ST COAST PLANNER The Bi-Monthly e-Newsletter of the First Coast APA, Florida Chapter, American Planning Association Issue 2, Volume 5 – Page 7

Jacksonville’s North Point Town Center CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1

It has a resident population that is 99% AfricanAmerican whose household incomes are on average $15,000 annually (compared to a Duval County average $52,000). The 29th & Chase NAP Study Area has experienced decline, such as population loss, housing vacancies, commercial disinvestments, and infrastructure deterioration.

In 2003, the City of Jacksonville began a partnership with the 29th and Chase community through an application by the nonprofit Northwest Jacksonville Community Development Corporation (NJCDC). The community has invested countless hours in meetings where strategy sessions and consensus occurred over the last ten years. One of the results of this initiative was the completion of the 29th and Chase NAP. It contains five overarching goals: 1. Promote homeownership and stable housing conditions, and preserve the historical character of the housing stock.

2. Create safe and attractive streets 3. Provide safe and attractive recreational facilities for residents of all ages.

4. Provide retail and other neighborhood services through attractive businesses that invest in the community.

5. Build community pride through beautifying the neighborhood.

Lisa and Emery provided me with information about the commencement of the North Point Town Center development, a business node that brings jobs and community services to the community. It adds senior independent living units, commercial lease space, and office park activity to the for-sale and rental housing programs begun by NJCDC in 2003 to the area.

This particular project addresses all of the objectives set out in the 29th and Chase NAP. It is named North Point, in part, because it is the northern most point of the City of Jacksonville’s Town Center road improvements, a Better Jacksonville Plan initiative. It

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is located at the apex of Moncrief Road and Myrtle Avenue, literally pointing north, a symbolic place for hope of former slaves and son of former slaves. The site is the geographical center of most of NJCDC’s development.

Most work has been done or is being planned within a halfmile radius of this center.

North Point Town Center is geographically the center of approximately 25,000 residents who have created at least eight organized neighborhood associations that meet regularly. Benefits from the implementation of this project include: 1. Eliminates blighted conditions and crime, especially on a commercial corridor 2. Remedies the existence of vacant, abandoned lots 3. Affords the desire of hard-working families to shop and work within the community in which they live (the area is among the highest unemployment districts for all of northeast Florida) 4. Provides affordable, high-quality new constructed businesses that are energy efficient replace ancient antiquated structures that are inadequate for the 21st century.

5. Helps gain site control of several dilapidated units to overcome inferior conditions that currently exists.

These concentrated dilapidated units help create conditions that are ripe for crimes. Currently the area has a high incidence of several crimes, particularly prostitution and drug sales which frighten potential merchants and customers The project will be developed in three phases intended to serve as catalysts for change in a community largely suffering from decades of disinvestment and neglect. The desired outcomes from the North Point Town Center are: 1. An improved community image. The program’s purpose is to create a neighborhood that has a strong positive image that attracts neighborhood-friendly private investment. As a result, people within and outside of the neighborhood are confident in its future.

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1ST COAST PLANNER The Bi-Monthly e-Newsletter of the First Coast APA, Florida Chapter, American Planning Association Issue 2, Volume 5 – Page 8

Jacksonville’s North Point Town Center CONTINUED FROM PAGE 8

2. A stronger market is achieved.

Program outcomes are expected to foster fewer home foreclosures, as well as create the conditions for single family housing units to be sold with and without subsidies. Also a stable commerce center will exist with strong businesses that employ neighborhood residents.

3. Improved physical conditions will result. Property maintenance standards are well maintained on all community properties. Vacant and abandoned properties are returned to neighborhood friendly use.

4. Better neighborhood management occurs. The neighborhoods are managed by a strong network of neighbors.

Neighbors feel safe in the community and neighbors have a sense of control over the future of the neighborhood.

Over the past decade the City has spent approximately $2.3M on streetscape and infrastructure improvements as part of the Better Jacksonville Plan.

Under the steady leadership of Paul Tutwiler, Executive Director of the CDC Executive Director, the NJCDC has overcome tremendous financing obstacles: the community’s demographics, crime rate, brownfield issues, etc. Through a combination of federal, state, and local grants and loans in conjunction with bank loans, the NJCDC has been able to fund approximately $7.5M in neighborhood housing development. North Point, Phase I, the community’s focal point, is a 10,600 square foot mixed use/office-retail facility was completed in December 2011. The development is currently undergoing its LEED certification. North Point, Phase I is a $3.5M commercial improvement to the community. These $11M of investments do not include the planned activities for additional phases of work and service.

The implementation of Phase I offers a bit of irony: the Great Recession' has all but stopped office construction throughout the First Coast, yet contractors are constructing North Point’s offices in a part of Jacksonville that previously lacked commercial construction even in the good years.

March/April 2012

North Point, Phase II is slated to be on adjacent land that has only been partially assembled. It is expected to anchor a community grocery store and other support businesses.

North Point, Phase III is slated to be on land that is south of Faust Temple Church of God in Christ. A large property owner would like to jointly develop the land with NJCDC. This development might require additional land assemblage. It is expected to serve the site of senior housing units additional to the Mary Eaves Center Senior Living Facility, replacing twenty eight units to be demolished located eight blocks south of the North Point Town Center. This site is adjacent to Stanton High School, an academic magnet high school that at one time has been number one in the nation. The community vision is of Stanton pupils and Mary Eaves residents interacting socially fostering a wholesome opportunity for the community to serve all age groups in a healthy, safe and nurturing way.

Later this month NJCDC will announce its selection as the host agency for Jacksonville’s “Epic Program” by Local Initiatives Support Corporation (LISC), a national initiative to engage citizens in the process for deciding the community’s fate. This will result in a contract with the community with multiple stake holders with target completion dates for results. LISC has been a major supporter of NJCDC in providing loans, grants, and technical assistance for its program and projects since 2001.

The implementation of the NAP embodied by North Point Town Center is a testament to the City’s commitment to respect the community’s vision for the future and in helping to maintain Moncrief Road as a strong commercial corridor. I am hoping that as construction continues and its ancillary effects are felt in the area, the First Coast Section can highlight the North Point Town Center in a walking tour and/or mobile workshop. If you would like to learn more about the city’s neighborhood action plans, they are all contained online at www.coj.net/departments/planning-and-development/communityplanning-division/plans-and-studies/neighborhood-action-plans

Tony is travelling around the Section to develop a better understanding of what makes the communities that make up the First Coast unique and interesting places to live, work, and visit.

If you’d like to share some little known features of your community, send him an email at trobbins@prosserhallock.com.

1ST COAST PLANNER The Bi-Monthly e-Newsletter of the First Coast APA, Florida Chapter, American Planning Association Issue 2, Volume 5 – Page 9

OPINION Sungman Kim, PhD, AICP, ASLA/PLA, GISP

We are living under Capitalism. Almost everyone in the US believes that a free market competition determines the price, production and consumption of goods for efficient market equilibrium, and the idea continues to globalization with supports of Ricardian Comparative Advantage theory.

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planners need to better focus on investment planning and infrastructure developments. It is the time for planners to work with educational institutions to make the future economic development work in the area.

LEGISLATIVE UPDATE: MARCH 26, 2012 Below is the latest bill tracking update. Only a

The main concept of the Ricardian theory is that developed countries have comparative advantage in producing innovative products whereas undeveloped countries have the advantage in producing laborintense products. Indeed it is happening in practice.

Apple company develops ideas and China builds the products.

On the other hand, there is an unidentified shift in the theory: from countries to companies. When regulatory power of countries is removed, there will only be the pursuance of wealth by companies. Existing high standards and GDP status of a nation are no longer merits to a company, which seeks higher return.

Indeed, like Apple’s case, manufacturing industries moved away from the US, when headquarters of wealthy companies (rather than general people) in the US are making huge profits. The richer gets even richer while the general public loses their jobs.

Expectations of local governments in economic developments are pretty depressing at the time like this. Virtually entire local governments are seeking jobgenerating businesses competing with each other, but the actual competition has been in oversees. Due to the reduced size of manufacturing industries, there are limited opportunities in economic developments and local governments have been engaging in cutting a pie, which is barely generating opportunities.

The quantity in production has become no issue. It does not matter if a company can produce zillions of products by utilizing machinery operations with decent numbers of skilled-employees because there are limited level of consumption and off-shoring with cheaper labor are better advantageous.

So, what can we do? We need to focus on quality enhancements for a product differentiation and create quality manpower for a product innovation. Therefore,

few of the bills that APA Florida was tracking have been signed and presented to the Governor for signature. The glitch bill is not one of them yet.

HB 107 (Special Districts) - signed by the Governor and effective July 1, 2012 HB 1197 (Agriculture) - presented to Governor who must act by April 7, 2012 HB 4003 (Growth Policy) - presented to Governor who must act by April 7, 2012 HB 7041 (Governmental Reorganization) presented to Governor who must act by April 7, 2012 HB 7075 (Military Installations) - presented to Governor who must act by April 7, 2012

If you want to track the status of the bills as they are presented to the Governor, go to http://www.flgov.com/bill-action/ .

1ST COAST PLANNER The Bi-monthly e-Newsletter of the First Coast APA, Florida Chapter, American Planning Association Issue 2, Volume 5 – Page 10

March/April 2012

Jeannie Fewell Scholarship Fund

The Jeannie Fewell Scholarship Fund was established to honor Ms. Jeannie Fewell who was a planner with an impressive record of service to the community and the planning profession.

A scholarship recipient may be enrolled in an accredited or equivalent planning program located in the State of Florida, or may be a resident of Northeast Florida attending an accredited planning program out of state.

To apply, the Annual Scholarship Application Form must be completed and submitted to First Coast APA by June 30, 2012. A copy of the form can be found on the First Coast APA website at http://www.floridaplanning.org/firstcoast/index.asp

Your application may be emailed to Don Smith at smithd@etminc.com or mailed to Don Smith at 14775 Old St. Augustine Road, Jacksonville, FL 32258. If you have any further questions, you may contact Don Smith at 904-265-3194. No application fee is required.

The APA’s Chapter Presidents Council (CPC) Study Manual for the AICP Exam is available for purchase To order a copy of the manual on CD, send a check for $18.95, payable to “Florida APA,” to the Chapter Office at 2040 Delta Way, Tallahassee, FL 32303. Please include your shipping address if it is not the same as the address shown on your check. Credit card purchases are not available.

AGENDA ITEM VI(A)

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