www.cpex.org
Fifteen years of helping Louisiana communities grow safer, stronger and smarter—and we are just getting started.
From the Chair For most of my career as a practicing lawyer and a corporate CEO, I was not especially aware of how planning, or the lack thereof, affects the quality of life and the social and economic health of a community. My understanding of the critical role of planning began to develop after hearing a series of lectures sponsored by the Baton Rouge Area Foundation. Shortly thereafter, I chaired a committee which organized a public planning process called Plan Baton Rouge. Its focus was the revitalization of our downtown, and I am pleased with the improvements that have flowed from that effort. As important as the rebirth of downtown was, I saw it as an opportunity to demonstrate to our community the benefits of proactive planning. I realized that many of the problems faced by our community and others were the direct result of a lack of good planning in the past. I also learned that these issues were not unique to Baton Rouge or to Louisiana, but were being recognized and addressed by communities across the country. The sprawl model of growth which has prevailed in our area and in much of America has been enabled and encouraged by a variety of public policies that have had adverse unintended consequences. The unsustainability of this model is showing up in traffic congestion, air quality issues, crumbling infrastructure, and a lack of sufficient resources to provide such essential services as quality public education and a workable transit system.
The effort known as Plan Baton Rouge evolved into Center for Planning Excellence (CPEX) following the hurricanes of 2005. Our first priority was the creation of a long-term vision and plan for South Louisiana. This was developed with the involvement of leading national planners and over 27,000 Louisiana citizens. The resulting plan known as Louisiana Speaks, which won CPEX the 2009 Olmsted Medal, is providing a blueprint for the steps we must take to build safer, stronger and smarter in the future. Since 2006, CPEX has received federal grants that have enabled us to assist 14 Louisiana communities to create new land use and transportation plans. Baton Rouge has now developed a visionary comprehensive plan for its future, but it will take years of work by CPEX and partners to implement the plan and realize its benefits. With the disappearance of the federal grants that have enabled our work in the past, we are evolving into a member-supported planning organization. I believe that CPEX fills a unique and critically important role to advocate and enable good planning in communities across our state. Such planning will enable Louisiana to begin making the best use of limited financial resources and will be key in positioning our state as an economic competitor in the global economy. If you believe as I do that good planning is critical to our future success, I hope you will consider becoming a member of CPEX, thus enabling us to continue this important work. Cordell Haymon, Chairman of the Board
CPEX Board Cordell Haymon, Chair
Yolanda Dixon
Randy Roussel, Treasurer
Donna Fraiche
Senior Vice-President, SGS Petroleum Service Corp Partner, Phelps Dunbar LLP
Derek Gordon, Secretary
President and CEO, Arts Council of Greater Baton Rouge
First Assistant Secretary of the Senate, Louisiana State Senate Shareholder, Baker, Donelson, Bearman, Caldwell, & Berkowitz, P.C.
Raymond A. Jetson
Nancy C. McPherson
Adam Knapp
Jay Noland
Ben Marmande
John Spain
Pastor, Star Hill Church President and CEO, Baton Rouge Area Chamber Market President, Iberia Bank
Senior State Director, AARP Attorney, Real Estate Developer, Noland Development, L.L.C. Executive Vice President, Baton Rouge Area Foundation
Top Honors In 2009, CPEX won the American Society of Landscape Architect’s Olmsted Medal for Louisiana Speaks, an honor shared with the likes of the Ladybird Johnson Wildflower Center, Mayor Richard M. Daly of Chicago, and President Jimmy Carter and Rosalyn Carter.
investing in CPEX means
investing in
personal impacts in our
neighborhoods
Two billion
dollars
of public and private investment in downtown since Plan Baton Rouge
Revitalization [Planning] Today, downtown Baton Rouge thrives. Thanks to strategic recommendations from Plan Baton Rouge, the hub of the capital city hosts 4,000 residents and 23,000 workers, plus a wealth of new restaurants, venues and museums.
20
pounds
of sunflower seeds planted on vacant lots in Old South Baton Rouge (OSBR)
Community Greening [Implementation] CPEX’s GROW Sunflower Project has turned vacant properties in OSBR into sunflower havens, treating soil, beautifying eyesores and providing activities for youth at the same time.
1.6 million dollars
invested to enhance small businesses, bring owner-occupied homes up to standards, and green OSBR through plantings, community gardens and a state-of-the art outdoor learning space
Community Building [Implementation] Working with the LSU School of Architecture and Baton Rouge Community College, CPEX is building a solar-powered pavilion as an outdoor learning space for OSBR youth at the Baranco Clark YMCA.
A Core to be Proud Of [Planning] The ideas laid out in Plan Baton Rouge Phases I and II have yielded hotels, cafés, restaurants, a market, residential and office developments and innovative public-private partnerships all based on a unified vision for a connected, greener and more active city center.
State Capitol Park Grounds
Pentagon Barracks and DeSoto Park
Arsenal Museum and Park
s Eye View of the overall greening proposal
Reinvestment [Planning] unds of the River Center and City Hall Plaza are largely paved,
The comprehensive h little respite from theOSBR sun. Numerous barriers limit use of, or vement through fences and planters to walls plan these laid aspaces--from vision for revitalizing stairs. Removing these barriers, community adding trees, and knitting the the historical k together withbetween generousLSU paths willdowntown create a “Central Green” and Baton RougeBaton residents: a gracious setting in which to spend Rouge, and it has driven afternoon or evening—one surrounded by a variety of cultural years of CPEX’s tangible tinations.
River Road, and on to the formal State Capitol grounds will create a second new park: Capitol Park West, a system of green spaces worthy of a state capitol.
Old State Capitol Grounds
implementation work.
pitol Park West. The magnificent State Capitol grounds,
igned for viewing and strolling, could accommodate greater . Linking the grounds to the Levee Promenade and an improved Soto Park would draw more people to the capitol grounds. ending the Levee Promenade through DeSoto Park, across
Engaged Community Members [Implementation] Gardens in OSBR serve not only as local sources of healthy food, but also as places for community members Plaza Images inof front the of different Shaw Center green areas for theinArts downtown to congregate and be active, and for neighborhood leaders like Master Gardener Marva Coleman21to emerge.
Louisiana residents deserve strong, vibrant communities. We deserve to have attractive, safe and walkable neighborhoods. Most importantly, we deserve the security that we are building safer, stronger and smarter than ever before, especially in the face of natural and manmade disasters and economic instability. The fundamental first step for every community is to develop a vision for growth through stakeholder participation and public collaboration. CPEX has operated by these standards throughout its existence, and our work is never finished...
CPEX Core Practices: Planning and Implementation Tools and Resources
(offering technical expertise where the rubber meets the road)
(creating knowledge for all to use)
Outreach and Education a brighter future for Louisiana
(nurturing a culture of sustainable growth and smart investment)
investing in CPEX means
investing in
long-term impacts
statewide
monsoursphotography.com
Capitalizing on Assets [Planning] Through Louisiana Speaks, CPEX helped Lake Charles create a vision for their downtown. Mayor Randy Roach has since realized that vision, attracting businesses and enhancing public spaces such as this marina and promenade.
14
communities have created comprehensive plans with assistance from CPEX
75%
in support of rail connecting passengers between Baton Rouge and New Orleans according to a regional poll conducted by the CONNECT Coalition
Vital Connections [Outreach] CPEX’s CONNECT Coalition is uniting New Orleans and Baton Rouge in unprecedented ways to foster smart transportation investments that connect the places people live to the places people work—throughout the super region.
Zero
taxpayer dollars
needed for communities to access the Best Practices Manual for Development in Coastal Communities, which in turn can save millions of dollars and thousands of lives
Coastal Resiliency [Resources] Coastal communities at risk of natural and man-made water-related disasters now have a free resource for building safer and smarter, thanks to CPEX’s Best Practices Manual for Development in Coastal Louisiana.
Information [Outreach] The Louisiana Smart Growth Summit keeps Louisiana citizens, planning practitioners, developers and elected officials on the cutting edge of community development.
Bold Leadership [Planning] Mayor Murphy McMillin of Jena, shown here on land acquired for a future school close to his town’s core, worked with CPEX on a plan that leveraged assets and preserved the local qualities his community holds dear. To date, Jena has completed or started work on 20 implementation projects from the plan.
Predictability [Resources] CPEX’s Louisiana Land Use Toolkit is a free, customizable resource that helps communities create clear development standards.
CPEX was initially formed with generous funding from the Baton Rouge Area Foundation and subsequently through significant federal grant dollars. Unfortunately, in today’s constrained economy we can no longer rely on these funding streams. For the first time, CPEX is seeking individual donations in the form of membership—we are asking you to play a critical role in keeping our indispensable work alive. Our unique position as a non-political, non-profit organization allows us to be true advocates for the public good, and Louisiana cannot afford to lose such an asset. It is our job to see that our communities are well-prepared for future impacts, that our culture endures and that our children are proud to call this place home. Join our cause today at cpex.org/membership.
membership levels (annual basis)
Foundation* Receive our weekly Planning in the News newsletter, an annual report, two Smart Growth Summit registrations and an invitation to our Annual Reception. FOUNDAT ION members
Foundation Level One $250 Foundation Level Two $500 Foundation Level Three $1,000 Leadership
L E A D E R S H I P members
Receive an invitation to a pre-keynote event at our Annual Reception, six total Smart Growth Summit registrations, an invitation to an event with a renowned planning specialist and all the benefits of the Foundation levels.
Leadership Level One $2,500 Leadership Level Two $5,000 Vision V I S I O N members
Receive a CPEX presentation by request, a tour of a CPEX community by request, ten total Smart Growth Summit registrations and all the benefits of the Leadership levels.
Vision Level One $10,000 Vision Level Two $25,000 *Foundation Level One is available to students and professionals under the age of 35 for $100
Visit us on the web cpex.org facebook.com/centerforplanningexcellence twitter.com/cpex_la vimeo.com/cpex
100 Lafayette Street Baton Rouge, LA 70801 T 225.267.6300 F 225.267.6306 www.cpex.org