Document Augustaga_doc_c8fb3e5dfb

1 CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION TO COMMUNITY ASSESSMENT ---PAGE BREAK--- 2 ---PAGE BREAK--- Chapter 1 – Introduction to the Community Assessment 3 INTRODUCTION The Comprehensive Plan is the official document that guides the future of Augusta- Richmond County. It spells out a coordinated, long-term planning program for the city. The plan, when completed, will lay out a desired future for the city and guide how that future will be achieved. The Comprehensive Plan is being updated in accordance with the Minimum Standards and Procedures for Local Comprehensive Planning effective on May 1, 2005 and administered by the Georgia Department of Community Affairs. THE COMMUNITY ASSESSMENT This document is the Community Assessment component of the Augusta-Richmond County, Georgia Comprehensive Plan. The Community Assessment is one of three principal components of the Comprehensive Plan. The other two are the Community Participation Program and the Community Agenda The Community Assessment is the starting point for the development of the entire Comprehensive Plan. The Community Assessment does this by answering the question, ―Where are we as a community?‖ The Community Assessment analyzes existing conditions and trends in the city and identifies the preliminary issues and opportunities to be considered in developing the Community Agenda component of the Comprehensive Plan. The Community Assessment includes separate chapters on existing conditions and trends in the areas of population, housing, economic development, transportation, community facilities and services, cultural resources, natural resources and greenspace, land use and intergovernmental coordination. The document also includes an assessment of the city’s adherence to the State Quality Community Objectives. COMPREHENSIVE PLAN COMPONENTS 1. Community Assessment – consists of an objective and professional assessment of data and information about the community. 2. Community Participation Program – describes the city’s strategy for ensuring adequate public and stakeholder involvement in the preparation of the Community Agenda. 3. Community Agenda – includes a community vision for the future development of the city, a list of issues and opportunities identified for future action and an implementation program for achieving the vision. Source: Georgia Department of Community Affairs, Standards and Procedures for Local Comprehensive Planning, May 1, 2005 ---PAGE BREAK--- Chapter 1 – Introduction to the Community Assessment 4 THE PLAN DEVELOPMENT PROCESS Compiling the Community Assessment is part of a four-step process to develop and implement the Augusta-Richmond County Comprehensive Plan. (See following text box). Public and stakeholder input and involvement are critical to every step in the process. PUBLIC CONSULTATION The Community Assessment is not based solely on the analysis of data about the city. It also reflects the input received to date from the general public and various stakeholders. The Community Participation Program, the second component of the Comprehensive Plan, includes more specific information about the tools and techniques used to obtain community input and the complete schedule for completing the Comprehensive Plan. PRELIMINARY ISSUES AND OPPORTUNITIES The following tables summarize the preliminary issues and opportunities included in the Community Assessment part of the Augusta-Richmond County Plan update. The issues and opportunities come from several sources including verbal comments made during public meetings, written surveys completed by the general public and other stakeholders, the analysis of existing development patterns, demographic data and other information about the city. COMPREHENSIVE PLAN DEVELOPMENT PROCESS 1. Identify and analyze problems and needs; Identify preliminary issues and opportunities 2. Develop vision for the future of the city; Evaluate alternative solutions (e.g. activities, projects, initiatives) to address needs and issues 3. Select solutions that will help achieve vision and adopt appropriate goals, objectives, strategies and projects 4. Implement goals, objectives, strategies and projects ---PAGE BREAK--- Chapter 1 – Introduction to the Community Assessment 5 POPULATION AND HOUSEHOLDS ISSUES OPPORTUNITIES  Projected low population growth rate over next 20 years  Stress low cost of living in Augusta  Stress presence of high-quality medical facilities, care and programs  Stress the city’s wide range of educational, recreational and cultural programs and services  Near-term decline in the school-age population  Increase number of young families  Retain more young adults  Increase in the number of one and two- person households  Promote construction of housing for smaller households  Increase in the number of older adults and the elderly  Invest in facilities and services that are attractive to retirees  Increase in education levels for the resident population  Invest in improvements to education facilities and services that facilitate life- long learning  :Lower than average median household and per capita income levels  Attract jobs that pay higher than average wages  Higher than average poverty levels  Invest in programs and services that empower poverty-level households to become self-sufficient HOUSING ISSUES OPPORTUNITIES  Need for more affordable housing  New housing construction by private developers / homebuilders  Need to stabilize and revitalize housing stock in older neighborhoods  Housing rehabilitation and new construction by non-profit organizations  Providing housing for the homeless and other special-needs populations  Implement projects and programs in the City’s Homeless Assistance Plan  Presence of dilapidated and boarded-up housing in several neighborhoods  Code enforcement by the city in neighborhoods with high concentrations of vacant / dilapidated housing  Presence of vacant lots in many neighborhoods  Continue to implement land bank program  Offer incentives to private builders to construct new houses on vacant lots  Provide housing in a mix of styles, sizes and price rages throughout the city  Implement financial assistance programs to assist low and moderate- income homeowners, renters and first- ---PAGE BREAK--- Chapter 1 – Introduction to the Community Assessment 6 HOUSING ISSUES OPPORTUNITIES time homebuyers  Need for incentives for developers to invest in older neighborhoods  Target financial and technical assistance programs to developers to provide affordable housing  City financing of inner-city revitalization projects and programs  Increase marketing of homes and neighborhoods, especially those located in south Augusta  Work with Board of Realtors on a marketing program ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT ISSUES OPPORTUNITIES  Need for more shopping / retail and entertainment options, especially in east and south Augusta  More direct marketing of the community to retailers and developers  Expanding missions at Fort Gordon  Expansion of medical education, research and care facilities  Continued diversification of the economic and employment base  Market existing industrial sites and office parks  Targeted marketing of the city to businesses and investors in the following industry groups: life sciences, customer service, aviation and military  Retain and expand existing businesses  Augusta Corporate Park – attract business and industry to the park  Local unemployment rate is higher than state and U.S. averages  Job training programs and financial incentives for business investment  Adaptive reuse of older commercial centers  Implement redevelopment strategy for former Regency Mall and surrounding area  Implement recommendations in the Corridor & Gateway Action Plan  Downtown revitalization  Private investment in downtown businesses  Adaptive reuse of historic structures for downtown housing and pending construction of new condominium units  Construction of Trade, Entertainment and Exhibit Center  Pending update of the Downtown ---PAGE BREAK--- Chapter 1 – Introduction to the Community Assessment 7 Development Plan  Attracting / expanding business investment in inner-city neighborhoods  Enterprise Zone Program incentives  Tax Allocation District  Implementation of the projects in the 3rd Level Canal Study  Kroc Center Project TRANSPORTATION ISSUES OPPORTUNITIES  High percentage of all trips by automobile. Three-quarters of workers drive to work alone  Encourage use of alternative modes of transportation, use of public transportation, telecommuting, flexible work schedules and carpooling  Facilities for pedestrians and bikers are limited, especially in suburban and rural parts of the city  Implement projects in the Regional Bicycle and Pedestrian Plan (2003)  Install sidewalks on collectors and arterials to connect neighborhoods  Make sidewalks mandatory in new subdivisions  Participate in the Safe Routes to School Program  Public expressed a desire for an increase in the level and frequency of public transportation service  Update Transit Development Plan for Augusta Public Transit  Consider / implement alternative sources of financing for public transportation  Evidence of congestion on some major roads  Implement components of an Intelligent Transportation System to make more efficient use of existing roads and freeways  Limited funding for road improvement projects and public transportation  Explore / implement alternative financing options for transportation projects  Impact of car and truck emissions on air quality  Take proactive steps to implement air quality initiatives under the auspices of the CSRA Air Quality Alliance  Integrate freight transportation needs into regional transportation planning  Complete Regional Freight Transportation Plan and implement recommendations ---PAGE BREAK--- Chapter 1 – Introduction to the Community Assessment 8 COMMUNITY FACILITIES AND SERVICES ISSUES OPPORTUNITIES  Address space needs for general government administration, judicial system and public safety  Ongoing renovations to Municipal Building  Pending construction of new judicial center  Improve stormwater drainage to reduce flooding on streets, sidewalks and private property.  Program improvements to stormwater drainage systems  Providing adequate public education facilities. Improving the perception of the Richmond County school system  Implement Phase III School Improvement Projects  Providing public water and sewer service to meet projected needs  Implement water and sewer improvement projects outlined in the Water & Sewerage Revenue Bonds, Series 2004, Engineer's Report, November 2004.  Providing adequate solid waste collection and disposal services  Implement improvement projects in the updated Solid Waste Management Plan  Provide expanded park and recreation facilities to meet projected demand  Implement projects included in Recreation Department’s master plan  Financing of desired community facility improvement projects  Extension of the special purpose local option sales tax  Make all public facilities accessible to the handicapped and disabled  Implementation of City’s ADA Plan CULTURAL RESOURCES ISSUES OPPORTUNITIES  Updating and consolidating the local historic resource surveys that are 20-30 years old.  Historic Preservation Fund grants for survey, nomination and planning projects  Georgia Historic Resource Survey  Stabilize and protect resources that are threatened by neglect  Georgia Heritage Grant Program  Update the Augusta-Richmond County Historic Preservation Plan (ca. 1991)  Historic Preservation Fund grants for survey, nomination and planning projects  Technical support for Augusta Historic Preservation Commission  Training sponsored by the Georgia Alliance of Preservation Commissions  Financial assistance for preservation and adaptive reuse of historic properties  Federal Tax Incentives Programs  Georgia Preferential Property Tax Assessment Program  Georgia Income Tax Credit Program ---PAGE BREAK--- Chapter 1 – Introduction to the Community Assessment 9 NATURAL RESOURCES AND GREENSPACE ISSUES OPPORTUNITIES  Protection of water quality and quantity  Implement structural and non-structural best management practices to protect water quality  Protection of air quality  CSRA Clean Air Alliance  Prevent soil erosion  Education and training about best management practices  Enforcement of soil erosion and sediment control ordinance  Preserve additional open space  Continue to implement the Community Greenspace Program with assistance from the CSRA Land Trust and others  Encourage development of more conservation subdivisions LAND USE ISSUES OPPORTUNITIES  Sprawl pattern of development  Promote more infill development  Confine commercial development to major intersections  Promote more mixed-use development  Explore alternatives to conventional development patterns  Protection of neighborhood integrity  Update neighborhood plans and / or complete small area studies  Amend development regulations as appropriate to buffer neighborhoods from other land uses  Improve community appearance / gateways  Gateway enhancements  Explore overlay district design guidelines  Redevelopment of CBD and inner-city neighborhoods  Identify opportunities for infill and redevelopment projects  Some parts of the city lack a readily identifiable ―sense of place‖  Identify appropriate areas for implementing town center or similar concept