economic success in downtowns and commercial strips - gsmsummit 2014, carol morris
DESCRIPTION
Why plan for growth and change, when it seems so much easier to simply react? When there is a distinct and shared vision for your community - when residents, businesses and local government anticipate a sustainable town with cohesive and thriving neighborhoods - you have the power to conserve your beautiful natural spaces, enhance your existing downtown or Main Street, enable rural areas to be productive and prosperous, and save money through efficient use of existing infrastructure. This is the dollars and sense of smart growth. Success is clearly visible in Maine, from the creation of a community-built senior housing complex and health center in Fort Fairfield to conservation easements creating Forever Farms to Rockland's revitalized downtown. Communities have options. We have the power to manage our own responses to growth and change. After all, “Planning is a process of choosing among those many options. If we do not choose to plan, then we choose to have others plan for us.” - Richard I. Winwood And in the end, this means that our children and their children will choose to make Maine home and our economy will provide the opportunities to do so. The Summit offers you a wonderful opportunity to be a part of the transformative change in Maine that we’ve seen these gatherings produce. We encourage you to consider the value of being actively involved in growing Maine’s economy and protecting the reasons we choose to live here.TRANSCRIPT
ECONOMIC
SUCCESS…
IN DOWNTOWNS AND
COMMERCIAL STRIPS
GROWSMART MAINE SUMMIT 2014
SUCCESS STORIES
Kennebunk Mat Eddy, Economic Development Director
Houlton Nancy Ketch, Community Development Director
Falmouth Theo Holtwijk, Director of Long-Range Planning and
Economic Development
INTRODUCTION TO
OUR COMMUNITIES
What are the characteristics of your
commercial / downtown area and how it has
developed over the past decade?
KENNEBUNK
HOULTON
FALMOUTH
LOCAL BUY-IN
Getting early local buy-in on vision, zoning and
financial investment - and not wasting hard-
earned “community capital” - is very important.
• How did each of you approach it?
• How long does this process take?
YOUNG PEOPLE
What role can and do young people play in a
community’s success, both in becoming
movers and shakers and in wanting certain
amenities?
THE PRIVATE SECTOR
How did you involve that critical private sector:
developers, building and/or business owners?
How important is it to make it easy for them?
How did you do so?
WORKING TOGETHER…
Can you get private sector members to work
together?
Is there value in creating regional work groups
around development issues?
