Affordable Housing/Sustainability

Hey Everyone!

There was an affordable housing subcommittee meeting before our regular planning meeting tonight.  It's a HUGE issue as we all know.

I spoke with Nora Shepherd and asked if there was something we could do with it as a class project.  It's so big!

She suggested I speak with Kimber, our planner who has done the most work with the code.  

The reality is that we need it.  The reality is that there is language in the code to BEGIN to ensure that it gets built.  

I believe that the people that work in our town, should be allowed to live here and raise their families.  . .  and, be able to purchase rather than rent.

However, I am at a complete loss as to how to turn this issue into a project. 

Like Sara, I want to leave a legacy.  But, flavors, I'm at a loss.

Another issue that came up in planning commission meeting is SUSTAINABILITY.  Flint Decker explained the "opportunity" to WalMart eloquently.  I know greenbuilding has already been done as a project, but . . .maybe theres something there.

To what Carey said, I need to tell you that I love you all.  I'm grateful to have you in my life!

Hugs,

Julie

Aha, that makes a lot of sense! Yes, that sounds like a great project!
Vielen Dank for explaining :-)

Jo

I will try to be brief here...Vielen Dank (Thanks) for the reply Jo!

What I have seen happen/am seeing happen - is that these somewhat arms
length families are so attracted to "their" experience they become
vested as full time residents OR they bring more people with them.
Example, my father is from Las Vegas (business man) he now owns a home
here...there is a HUGE growing community of Las Vegans in this town
now, high profile people from "Vegas" his peers call PC a "little
Vegas" - this sub sect of our community is used to - in their home
town calling the shots...big tides can shift with these influxes...new
character/influences/impact they begin
working/investing and participating in the political process. The
community evolves as a result - arms length slowly becomes a vocal new
"local".

Sara

I just wanted to share what I learned at the Summit Youth Summit in January: it is not specifically the Latino teenagers that are using drugs or partying excessively, but a lot of the kids of rich parents. Many of the panelists were saying that a lot of kids’ parents are out of town a great deal, leaving their kids at home where they have easy access to alcohol and nobody to keep an eye on them…

 

Johanna

Sara, on the one hand I agree with what you said, since the taxes these
people pay amount to 67% of the pie. On the other hand I wonder whether they
really care enough as they are only here for a short time. And wouldn't it
have more of an impact to work with those parts of the community that are
not too involved but here year-round?
Also, I have to say I don't really know much about the 2nd homeowners'
"attitudes," maybe you can explain some more... :-)

Jo

Annette, your observation is one of the reasons I thought about targeting the Hispanic community.  It's those kids who have no real direction that end up at parties where drugs and alcohol and yes, teenage sex, is served up and the kids go out looking for some excitement.  In addition there are two active gangs in town which is dividing the schools into factions.  Also, the rate of teenage pregnancy in this group is alarming...  Just go over to the People's health clinic and see the number of young girls there who are pregnant.  Sadly, it's so common in groups of this culture that it just accepted... but we bear the societal cost.  HOWEVER, this would be an extremely challenging and large project.

 

Doggie park, good idea.... 

 

Marla Howard

You are right, Marla, and teenagers are such a hard group to reach in general. You might have all heard about Summit Youth Link which is a resources website for teenagers, done by teenagers.http://www.summityouthlink.org/

It was just launched in January. Lindsey was also involved and provided great insights on their panel!

 

Narrowing down our focus to a specific age group might be helpful.

 

Johanna

I have to weigh in here and as I compose this...I bet there will be
another couple of emails that come in - I am trying to type fast and
my heart is beating! Maybe some of you are out in the pow, I wish I was.

I think it is awesome we are "jumping in" this morning with thoughts
already...

I just need to say that whatever we choose, I am going to lobby hard
so that EACH of us "flavors" has the opportunity to share/voice our
thoughts/reactions/hopes etc and that we each get to play a role
somehow...in the ultimate selection. I.e. we are ALL passionate about
a great variety of issue/issues in this town...I thought Lisa's
comments were very astute in that we each have different "approaches"
or perceptions as it pertains to leadership. So, when we finally
arrive at our decision I hope that we can sit in a circle (sorry is
that too touchy feely?) and allow each individual to express their
thoughts on the selection so that we can all really
participate...AND as Lisa said, this is probably 50% about process as
well as product!

Personally, I am inspired by the concept of "recognition" or better
yet having a real impact/legacy - I plan on being here long term,
raising my family etc...I can't help but get seduced by the fact that
we have an incredible opportunity to create a real lasting "legacy" of
our own...My point is that I hope we can mold our ultimate concept into a truly significant "template" that will have deep reaching effects in "our" shared
community/visions...

Throwing my concept out there (but supporting everyones passions!) I
was most affected yesterday by the Pres of Rossignol's statement that
we "bleed the same blood" we are all in this together YIKES, do we/are we?

The fact that our second home owners (and 3rd, 4th, 5th homeowners)
have a tremendous impact and contribution in OUR lives - their taxes
are one of the biggest contributors to our way of life - this is a
powerful position...I am in the real estate business guys in Deer
Valley, I meet A LOT of these individuals on a daily business...and it
does NOT feel as though we are on the same page - how about bridging
the gap between the us and them mentality i.e. some kind of an intro
to Park City: welcoming and communicating a shared vision/sense of
community (allowing space for individuals to define their sense of community) to make sure the void between the apparent "have" and "have nots" doesn't widen so far that we have competing interests and values that do not compliment one another.

I have to stop writing! Sorry for the length...

Look forward to the other responses...

Sara

Annette-

Great thoughts.  There is a dog park planned for Quinns Junction and will be open the end of June.  It will be adjacent to the Ice Rink.  I’m sure there’s a need for others too.

-Alison

HI guys,

 

Just to throw new ideas out there, I wanted to put my two cents in.

 

1)       A growing problem in our community is graffiti. Graffiti can singlehandedly ruin beauty of the city, but also can cause other problems such as higher crime rates, lower housing prices, etc.  There is a program out there called TAG (Teenagers Against Graffiti). Since this is a crime that typically is committed by teenagers, this program targets teenagers in trying to prevent it. In other cities, local home improvement businesses have donate the supplies for removal, and the program has teens “on call” when the police or others report some new graffiti. The teens respond and remove the graffiti, and in the meantime get kudos from property owners and community members for their efforts and a sense of pride in their community that they can portray to peers. Since we have Lindsay and Andrew in the class, and some of you may even have teenagers in the schools, I thought this could be a project worth starting up in our community.

 

2)       Park City needs a leash free DOG PARK! In our meeting last night, nearly everyone brought up hiking with their pooches in their drawing! There has been a long time feud in Park City between the leashers and the non leashers! It is a subject no one wants to address, few want to enforce it and even fewer want it enforced, but everyone wants to put in their two cents when it comes to picking a location for a dog park and why it wouldn’t be a good spot. I have always thought that the lawn area north of the library building would be a great location for a dog park, since everyone treats it as that anyway! Let’s throw up a big fence, set out some poo bag stands and post some rules! It would make our four legged friends very happy and possibly a few two legged ones as well.

Annette ellis

 

Love it! Keep the dialogue going with all these great ideas. Enjoy the
process of considering all the ideas presented, and the merits of each, and
as you do so, please fully consider your part in the discussion:

* What is truly unique about me?
* What are the personal and professional strengths that I have to
offer? Do I have a particular area of expertise that will benefit the
project? Can I practice these strengths during this process?
* As a leader and a contributor, what are the areas that I want to
improve, expand or explore in myself? What can I learn from my classmates?
* Where are my efforts strengthened by partnering with others whose
abilities are stronger than mine in a certain area? How do my abilities and
those of my classmates compliment each other?
* When is the best strategy for me to step back and let others lead in
a particular area?
* When will my stepping forward to take the lead benefit the process,
the group, and the success of our efforts? 
* If I tend to be an observer, or keep my thoughts to myself, what am
I willing to do to take my place as a strong contributor to this project? 
* If I tend to dominate discussion with my brilliant ideas ;-)  , am I
also listening for the voices that are not being heard? Can I sometimes
learn as much from listening as from taking charge? Conversely, when is it
time to set discussion aside and take action to get the job done? 
* What are the issues that I observe in our community that strike a
chord for me? Why do I feel strongly about these issues? What triggers the
emotion, and why am I paying attention?
* When I hear people complaining about issues, do I spend my energy
joining in the complaining, or do I convert those concerns to ideas or
suggestions that might affect change? When am I willing to step up and be
part of that change, or become the leader of that effort?
* Where are the "gaps" that I perceive in our community, and what are
my ideas about how to address those?
* What do I feel truly passionate about, and how can I communicate
that passion to others?
* If someone else's idea is new to me, or even uncomfortable to me, am
I willing to listen to the idea anyway, and consider its merits? Even if I
do not agree with it, am I able to support the idea's importance to someone
else and consider what I might learn from it if I give it a try? 

These are just a few questions to consider as your class project discussion
begins. As we discussed last night, every single one of you has something to
contribute to this project and to the class. The unique perspective of every
voice deserves to be heard and is critical to the dialogue. Keep a list of
the ideas suggested, and note the ones you are especially interested in. 

There are no silly suggestions-- they are all welcome! Enjoy the
brainstorming, dig deep for great ideas, and make sure you are part of the
process!

All the best to every one of the amazing "flavors" in Class 14!
Lisa

That is such a great idea, too. Wow, Lisa was right,  it will be hard to decide on one project….

Johanna

Hey Allison,

 

That is awesome!!! So, I don’t know whether this would be the end for my idea J or whether there is a possibility for us to be involved in this process or to form focus groups, etc.

 

Johanna

Wow,
It is certainly going to be tough deciding on what project to take on this year. I have a feeling that this class will come up with many.
I am proposing a project around affordable housing. The project would be education and awareness for the need for affordable housing and changing the mis-perceptions of many of those opposed to it. With affordable housing I mean units that are sold to working locals and are deed-restricted (not the mess that Mountain Lands put up across from the high school), not seasonal rentals for resort workers. 
Our town and surrounding areas are loosing their sense of community without full-time, working residents (look at Old Town).
If anyone would like to join me in putting together a proposal for this to be the Flavor's project, please let me know.
Thanks,
Katie

I love Julie’s idea and maybe the two can be combined by broadening our focus to include not only the people who live in PC proper but also those in Summit County who are a part of and affected by what is happening here. This will naturally include the Latino community and overall reach out to “those whose voices aren’t always the strongest.”

 

Johanna

Johanna-

Great thoughts.  The Community Visioning will include the Hispanic community and the City anticipates holding a few of the meetings in Spanish to hopefully draw more people to participate.

-Alison

Hi Everyone!

I wholeheartedly agree with working on Johanna's idea.

My other thoughts included . . .

Last year, on City Tour, the point was made that we need to increase communication between the two sides of the county, PC Proper, and Wasatch County.   Perhaps a project could parallel the visioning that Alison is leading at the City.

I feel very lucky to be a flavor!

Julie

I agree with Johanna about including the Latino community, but I see a real need for a modified Jump In for those kids agest 10 through 16.  There are a select few that work through the cultural issues and graduate from high school and go on to college, but I see so many who don't want to be here, cause trouble and never take advantage of improving their lives or the lives of their families - ie, they can't get out of their cultural warp...

 

Marla Howard

project idea

Good morning Flavors!

 

I really enjoyed Allison’s exercise yesterday which made us think about what it is we value about Park City, what we think is important and what we would like to see in the future.

 

On my long drive home, I started thinking about the class project, and I was wondering whether the Latino community will be involved in what the Sustainability Team is planning over the next 15 months. Maybe Allison can comment on this. But my idea was that if there is no plan yet on how to involve them, it would be great to work on that and figure out what they like about Park City, etc. They are a big part of this community and it is their home. It would be a real step towards better integration I think.

Let me know what you think.

 

Thanks, Johanna