Kick-Off Meeting an Enjoyable Meeting of Neighbors

By Lee Medart, Chairman
Davis Islands Neighborhood Planning Task Force

The June 3rd Neighborhood Planning Kick Off meeting was very well attended. There about 153 people that registered and more there as well.

Four of the seven City Council Members were there, Charlie Miranda, Bob Buckhorn, Linda Saul-Sena and Gwen Miller. We thank them very much for their show of support.

Jill Buford, Chairperson for the City of Port Tampa Neighborhood Planning Group was there to offer information on Neighborhood Planning.

Six Planning Staff of the Planning Commission were there to answer questions, provide aerials, zoning maps, land use maps, transportation information all to aid Davis Islands’ stakeholders in creating a vision for an ultimate Neighborhood Plan. All and all there was a tremendous amount of support for this process.

And most admirable is that the Davis Islands Baptist Church loaned their recreation center for this neighborhood meeting. They had their staff set-up and breakdown screens, provided coffee, and even used their projector for pictures of historic Davis Islands. They were outstandingly kind and thoughtful in their support of the neighborhood to which they belong.

The Next Step

The next step is to analyze the verbal comments participants made about their interests and concerns. In addition, many filled out the comment forms that were provided as well as “Report Cards” for the gathering giving information as to what was liked about the kick off and what might we do in the future to improve the meetings.

The group met on June 10th and spent 3 hours going through the verbal comments recorded by the volunteers and putting them in some category order to work with. The next step, on Monday, June 24th, is to go through the “Comments” Sheets and the “Report Cards” to fit them into the established categories or create new ones as needed.

The outcome of this activity is to use the comments to prioritize topics for summer meetings with City personnel. Reviewing the comments is an educational process and we invite those interested in the topics to attend.

The schedule of the City-Davis Islands meetings will be published as they are set up. Look for the meeting notices on this website, in the Davis Islands News, or by public notices in the Village. All residents of Davis Islands are urged to attend.

Development, Transportation Issues Top List

The initial analysis of the verbal comments is not surprising.

Concerns in the residential area came up quite frequently. People referred to liking the unique historical character but were concerned about the regulations or standards for development.

Most specifically the concerns were centered on incompatible development such as McMansions, building height, setback, etc.

Transportation was the next category that had a number of respondents. The transportation category is directed towards motility of the Islands. Needless to say there were many respondents making mention of automobile speeding on the Islands. Under General Traffic Problem’s sub category, the most respondents mentioned parking as a concern.

Information gathering from the City on the current data of the community in these areas and others should take 3 – 6 months. After quantifying the “shoulds” and “should nots”, another meeting (tentatively scheduled for January 2003) will take place with stakeholders to get neighborhood reaction on what we’ve found out.

If we seem “slow” to you, please remember that the Task Force and interested residents are all residential “volunteers”. We have jobs, families and activities, just like you. We are doing this for you and ourselves because we like where we live and want it to have “planned” change, which, by the way, is inevitable, always.

The results of the neighborhood planning process are many. Most importantly, the neighborhood and the city will have a document, a plan to go by and to consult based on your desires.

This plan defines the desired direction of the neighborhood and is a positive experience. The plan is a document that assists those who are working to make neighborhood improvements.

The planning process is based on the shared vision of all the stakeholders, residents and businesses, and is an articulated consensus statement by the neighbors for the neighborhood.

KEEP INFORMED!

Check the DI Neighborhood Plan Website. Check the Davis Islands News monthly.

BECOME INVOLVED!

Come to the following meetings at the Tennis Center, June 24th, July 15th, August 5th, and September 16th. All meetings start at 6 pm.

These meetings will be attended by city department representatives who will give information on current zoning and land use plans. The subjects will be published when we know which representatives have been scheduled.

A resident concentrates on her Neighborhood Plan questionnaire.

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