Ald. Florida Calls Urban Review a “Stupid Blog”

Yes, in today’s Post-Dispatch Ald. Florida says, “It took me half an hour to find his stupid blog.” Stupid? Even those that often disagree with my views would most likely not characterize this site as stupid — as in “lacking intelligence or common sense” per one dictionary I consulted. I won’t even comment on taking a half hour to find my blog…

What I think Ald. Florida, and so many other elected officials find frustrating, is they no longer control the flow of information. In the old days, they’d go to neighborhood meetings and tell people A) as little as possible and B) what they wanted to hear. Few citizens would talk to each other about a proposal so even if some thought a plan was a bad idea they had no clue if they were the only ones that felt that way. If they thought it was bad they were not sure how to go about changing or stopping a proposal. Neighborhood newsletters did little to change things because by the time word got around the deals were done. Email had a big impact but only if you had a good list of contacts or an active listserve. A searchable website, on the other hand, is perfect for communicating to the masses. I have more readers each month than an alderman has total constituents.

Society today is increasingly interested in urbanity. Many are realizing the “suburban experiment” is nearly over and an urban existence is the way to go. My site and others provides a timely forum for discussion and debate of these relevant issues. Again, our elected officials are basically left out of the discussion because they continue to hold on to the way things were done when they were first elected. Many are a good two decades behind the times.

On the issue of the McDonald’s, as quoted in today’s paper:

“I really don’t know what I could have done differently,” Florida said. “I attend to the ward as if it were my own child.”

Really? Now what could she have done differently? Well, she could have started with telling Pyramid & McDonald’s that drive-thrus are against the redevelopment plan for South Grand from Utah down to Meremec and held firm that any such facilities would need to be limited to physical locations that have already had them. In other words, the bulk of the area has never had drive-thru restaurants and that should be enforced. She didn’t do that.

Ald. Florida will correctly argue this is a “private land swap” and they could do the deal without her. While it is true they could exchange real estate the problem with her logic in this case is the variance needed for the drive-thru. At the hearing in February Ald. Florida acted pretty much as the project’s spokesperson in full support of the variance over the objections of many residents that will be directly impacted. So, once again Ald. Florida had another chance to do something different — oppose the variance request rather than enthusiastically support it.

If she attends to the ward like her own child then it is clear she’ll sell out all the neighbor kids to make her own kid happy in the short term. She is even quoted as saying, “”Patterson went after my children,” which is pretty humorous considering they were the ones that came after me on my site (read post).

Ald. Florida has simply dug in her heals on this one, not wanting to consider the many alternative solutions offered by myself and others (see alternates). When Ald. Craig Schmid, who represents the bulk of the residents that will be affected by the relocation spoke against it, she voted against another bill that she was co-sponsoring with Schmid. Voting against legislation you co-sponsor over a disagreement on another issue is simply petty. Is this how we want our elected officials conducting business on our behalf?

The flap could ultimately cost Florida her job, as opponents galvanized by the McDonald’s debate move forward with a push to remove her from office.

This may well happen. Ald. Florida wants to blame me but she really has only herself to blame. I didn’t tell Gravois Park residents the McDonald’s would not be located on the former Sears site all the while planning for just that. I didn’t conceal drawings for the site plan at a Dutchtown meeting two days prior to the public hearing. I didn’t speak at public hearings over the wishes of the residents. I didn’t sponsor legislation to effectively spot zone the parcel to remove the no drive-thru clause from the redevelopment plan nor did I think it was OK to place a drive-thru on land acquired using federal tax dollars. I didn’t take the maximum contributions allowed from the officers of developer Pyramid Companies. Ald. Florida’s actions on the McDonald’s and other issues over the last five years have gotten her exactly where she is today, in the midst of a recall campaign. It is unfortunate that citizens have been forced to take such drastic measures to have a sense of checks and balances.

You see, in our municipal government we don’t have checks and balances. The other aldermen simply “defer” to the wishes of a singular aldermen when it comes to development issues. The will of one person often rules. Ald. Florida is attempting to say this issue is out of her hands. Interesting viewpoint since she has lobbied hard to get the necessary variance for the drive-thru and most likely will do so again on June 21, 2006 when the Board of Adjustment meets again on this issue (1:30pm, room 208 City Hall). I seriously doubt she’ll walk into that hearing and say she is withdrawing her support given all the information that has surfaced.

The McDonald’s is among several local stores operated by Jim Proctor, who says the move is necessary to build a new restaurant with an updated design.

I just love how these folks try to twist the truth around. Moving the franchise is not necessary to build a new restaurant. They’ve got a site. It may need to be re-graded and perhaps have a retaining wall added to achieve what they want. But to say they must move or close is false and is simply a tactic to get myself and others to capitulate. Since 1996 it has been recognized the area was blighted and it is the many auto-centric establishments that has made it so. We should not allow drive-thru restaurants to establish themselves anywhere they happen to buy land. Allowing them to locate anywhere is far to dangerous for the health of the street yet forcing them to leave is too harsh. The reasonable middle ground is to allow them to rebuild on their current sites.

Florida’s dilemma highlights the city’s shifting political landscape.

The landscape has changed. Myself and other citizens are tired of the status quo and some are not willing to wait until the next election cycle to take action. We are a city. We should look and act like a city. If the folks in office currently are not willing to work with those of us they are supposed to represent then we will simply replace each and every one. My role, as an urbanist, is to highlight the various issues and illustrate how politics is getting in the way of good urbanism. The tired tradition of aldermanic courtesy is not more important than the physical rebuilding and subsequent re-population of our city. Those in office & administrative jobs need to either adapt or get out of our way.

– Steve

Edwardsville HS To Build Tunnel To Get Students From Parking

For a minute I thought I was reading the great satire from The Onion but a quick glance confirmed I was reading the Belleville News-Democrat. The topic: It seems Edwardsville’s high school is going to spend $480,000 on a tunnel so they can stop busing students from an overflow parking lot across the street to the high school building. Why you ask? Apparently the road is too dangerous to cross. In fact, it is against school policy for students to cross the road.

District 7 Superintendent Ed Hightower stood with State Rep. Jay Hoffman, D-Collinsville, State Sen. Bill Haine, D-Alton, Edwardsville Mayor Gary Niebur and Glen Carbon Mayor Rob Jackstadt to announce a $384,000 grant. The grant will cover 80 percent of the cost of the $480,000 tunnel. Hightower said the tunnel has been part of the overall plan for the Edwardsville High campus since its inception. [emphasis mine]

So from day one they planned such a sprawling campus on a road lined with sprawling subdivisions that a tunnel would be the best solution. Remember when small college towns were charming and quaint? It seems they like sprawl as much as the bigger urban areas.

The tunnel will provide a lighted, video-monitored walkway for students who park at the stadium lot and must cross Center Grove Road to get to the high school. Currently, more than 200 sophomores and juniors park at the stadium across the street from the high school and ride buses across the street, which sees more than 14,000 cars per day.

Students are forbidden to try to cross the street on foot, and are faced with a three-day in-school suspension if they are caught doing so, according to student council president Mallory Smith.

“It’s a major problem,” Mallory said, especially for students who stay late for events or meetings. Once the buses stop running, they must wait up to half an hour for someone to take them across in a golf cart.

A golf cart? You see why I thought this was something the crazy folks at The Onion came up with. The school is in the top half of the picture at right while the stadium and extra parking are on the lower half, south of Center Grove Road.

This is wrong on so many levels. First, looking at the map you can see that Edwardsville, a small college town with a cute downtown, has sprawled beyond belief. The resulting high school campus is equally sprawling and auto centric. To be fair to the high school, the college campus of Southern Illinois University Edwardsville (SIUE), doesn’t really relate to the town either. It is bad when our metropolitan areas experience sprawl but perhaps it is even worse when small towns get in on the act with disconnected cul-de-sacs, strip malls and big box centers all reachable only by car.

– Steve

Dardenne Prairie In Talks with DPZ for New Town Center

The suburban St. Charles County municipality of Dardenne Prairie is talking with famed New Urbanist firm DPZ to help plan a town center for the mostly bedroom cummunity. Dardenne Prairie Alderman Scott Kolbe recently met with DPZ’s chief Andres Duany at their Miami offices. Kolbe and Mayor Pam Fogarty both need to convince the rest of their Board of Aldermen to fund the initial planning process as well as put out the RFP for a New Urbanist developer. Initial planning cost are expected to exceed $300,000.

Kolbe & Fogarty are focusing on roughly 80 acres at MO-N & Post Rd (map). Without a good town center plan in place this will land will likely develop like the rest of St. Charles County, lines of small to big boxes surrounded by lots of parking.

I’ve visited the area a couple of times as well as talked with Kolbe & Fogarty about their vision. Both seem to be seeking a mixed-use area that can serve as a center point for their municipality. Integrating the old Immaculate Conception church located at the main corner is an important part of their strategy for the area.

If Dardenne Prairie’s Board of Aldermen approves the expenditure the firm of DPZ, the same planners responsible for New Town at St. Charles, would help guide the process leading to an RFP seeking a developer for the project. Construction would be at least three years away at best.

While I don’t spend much time in St. Charles County I would like to see more municipalities take such issues as seriously as Dardenne Prairie’s elected officials. I’d like to see elected officials in the City of St. Louis to consider the old urbanism we’ve got as well as the New Urbanism that we need.

Kudos to Dardenne Prairie’s Scott Kolbe & Pam Fogarty for having the vision to push for such a project in an area where one would not normally think of having a town center. In the interest of full disclosure, I have previously solicited the Dardenne Prairie Board of Alderman to assist in their planning process as a paid consultant.

– Steve

Negligent Board Giving Away Charless Home

Despite the spin in the Post-Dispatch back in April the Charless Home, founded in 1853, is not “merging” with or being “acquired” by Bethesda Health Group. The folks I talked to tell me Charless’ Board is essentially paying Bethesda to take the south side landmark. The Charless Home has prime real estate at I-55 and South Broadway (map) yet the board has voted to give the real estate and millions of dollars to Bethesda in exchange for… well, nothing.

The board, comprised mainly of Clayton & Ladue socialites, is making a huge mistake. I’m told the Charless Home has nearly $17 million in the bank, hardly a distressed non-profit. A few board members voted against giving Charless to Bethesda and instead suggested they take on medicaid patients and consider constructing independent living housing on their grounds.

The one-sided article in the Post-Dispatch says staff didn’t want medicaid patients due to the paperwork. Wrong. The issue is the country club board didn’t want to spend any money upgrading the facility, instead finding it easier to give away the 153-year old institution. The grounds, just two blocks from my house, are spectacular. The setting is ideal for constructing new independent living apartments facing Osceola St. &/or Nebraska Ave.

Bethesda is talking about ensuring the facility remains open for at least three more years but I can’t see families entrusting their loved ones here with the possibility of future closure. Also, I’ve heard talk of Bethesda building some new building in St. Louis County and calling it “Charless at Bethesda” or a similarly offensive name.

Back to the location. I have fears a deal is already in the works to sell the property and raze all the structures and mature trees. I suspect city and Ald. Ortman (9th Ward) will use the “we need retail & sales tax” argument to go along with the demolitions. The property, originally 8 acres, was reduced to just over 1.6 acres over the years as the adjacent neighborhood developed. Still, I can see a big box developer eyeing the property’s easy highway access and visibility and try to get a couple of more adjacent blocks razed for a big development.

And before I hear the now tired “it is not in your ward” argument let me state that the other three corners of my intersection are the 9th Ward. So while I am in the 25th Ward I look at the 9th Ward daily. Furthermore, a potential buyout of homes and demolition to create a large site could end up directly across the street from me.

While this board is off playing golf with their country club buddies from Bethesda it will be those of us in the city left to deal with the consequences of their actions. If they didn’t want to take the responsibility to see the 153+ year old facility continue they should have resigned from the board so that community leaders with vision for the future of the city could take their place.

At the very least I would like some assurances the property is not leveled. The building and setting are spectacular and has great reuse potential. Our city continues to face critical urban development decisions but the decision makers are woefully inadequate.

– Steve

Who Can It Be Knocking At My Door

One of the best things about having such a well-read website is all the feedback I get — both the pro & con. I love nothing better than a good debate on issues. Of course, some comments have little to do with the actual issue and simply seek to bash me. I’m pretty thick skinned so I can handle it. Such was the case with this comment a couple of weeks ago:

From “James” on 5/13/06:

I think it is fortunate for Steve Patterson that this is a Blog. It is human nature to give more credibility to items that are read than those heard by word of mouth. For this reason, Steve is able to present himself as a Journalist in order to gain credibility all the while using this sight for his own personal gain. It is really kind of clever because Steve can write absolutely anything he wants and people will read it and think because of the lay-out it is true. Talk about self-serving.. tell me Steve.. are you planning on moving to the 15th ward anytime soon? I heard forces outside of the Ward may render it alderman-less pretty soon.. maybe if you could run opposed the people would be idiotic enough to elect you.

A couple of hours later I got the following comment, sent from the same location [computer IP, unknown physical location] as “James” from above.

From “Megan” on 5/13/06:

I am a Journalism student at the University of Missouri-Columbia. I heard about your blog through various sources and I decided to check it out.
Recently, in one of my Journalism classes we discussed the dangers of blogging to the field of Convergence Journalism. The Convergence field of Journalism is a newly recognized (it is the first year this sequence has been offered at MIZZOU) sequence that focuses mostly on Online Publishing and Online Periodicals (CBSNews.com, etc). The problem of blogging is that in creating a blog and deeming it a title so decidedly journalistically inclined as the “Urban Review” you are lending a false credibility to yourself and, in essence, misleading those who may misinterpret your articles as truth instead of simply your opinion. I am sure that you think that you are very unbiased but the truth is that as a Journalism student I am horrified at what blogs like yours will mean for the future of Convergence Journalism. I can see that you have been praised by several in my future chosen field, but I am simply horrified and insulted by your irresponsible use of a blog for your own ulterior motives.

The above two comments were among a total of 70 on this post from May 10th. Yesterday I get another comment from the same location [cryptic IP, unknown physical location] answering another commenter’s question from a different post about what Metamora has to do with Jennifer Florida.

From Ian on 5/31/06:

Michael Allen

The comment about Metamora is a reference to where she was raised. She was born in Peoria Illinois and was on the road with her father and mother until middle school, when her parents settled down. She lived there until she graduated from college. Metamora is located about twenty five miles South East of Peoria, it has a population of roughly three thousand, however, due largely to many residents of Peoria leaving the city, Metamora’s population has been steadily growing.

So Ian is posting from the same location as James & Megan. Interesting. And who is this Ian with email address ief919@truman.edu? Well, I believe that would be one of Jennifer Florida’s children, Ian Florida.

Today Ian posted another comment, this time on the post about the ACC;

Doug Duckworth

Your assertion that citizens are moving out of the area because of the “botched” redevelopment of the Sear’s site is absurd. People have been leaving this city for many years, just look at the population statistics and crime rate and you’ll see for yourself why. The city’s crime rate has risen from roughly 38,000 in 2000 to
over 45,000 according to the most recent estimate. While at the same time the population has dropped from 396,685 in 1990 to 348K in 2000 and is now hovering just under 340K. It would be much more rational to draw a correlation and subsequantly attempt to prove a causation between crime and people fleeing the city than your supposition that its all Florida and McDonalds.

So this leaves me wondering, who are “James” and “Megan?” Also, does Ian Florida share his mother’s view that a new McDonald’s will help reduce crime?

The soap opera that is the McDonald’s on Grand continues….

[UPDATE 6/2/06 @ 4am – I added a bit of clarification to the above shown in brackets. I have no clue as to the physical location of the single IP address where these came from, nor do I really care. Nor do I know about 99% of the visitors/commenters to the site. I have not done any research on her kids, an there are many, and only know Ian is her son because she mentioned him at the SSNB ribbon cutting on Wednesday. For all of you that want to think I’ve been doing major digging get over it already — I simply observed four comments came from the same computer location of an unknown physical location. Without her mentioning her son at a public event I would not have been able to know that was who posted. ]

[UPDATE 6/2/06 @ 5:30am – please see my next post on privacy policy.

– Steve