Livable Neighborhood Summary

 

 

1. Neighborhood: GARVINWOOD

 

2. Date of Meeting: May 11, 2000

 

3. Number of Participants:  9 neighbors

 

4. Facilitator:  Dan W. Hayden, United Way staff

 

5. Boundaries of Neighborhood: Highway 41 on west, Virginia Street on north,

Rotherwood on east, and Lloyd Expressway on south.

 

6. Neighbor Description of Neighborhood:

 

Ø      Working class people

Ø      Low crime

Ø      Older section of housing stock (built in 1920s)

Ø      Housing is affordable

Ø      Centrally located

Ø      Nice people

Ø      Neighborhood assets: elementary school, 2 churches, Willow Bowling, Grocery, other businesses

 

7. Descriptions of “Ideal Livable Neighborhood”:

 

Ø      Less rental housing, more home owners

Ø      Better sidewalks

Ø      Property around railroad tracks better maintained

Ø      City take care of Willow street easements

Ø      Vacant properties (residential and commercial) fixed up or torn down

Ø      Alley next to Bradford Pointe either paved or restrict its use

Ø      Streets don’t flood during rain storms

Ø      Improve railroad warning signs at intersection

Ø      More resident participation in the neighborhood

Ø      Clean streets, alleys, yards; and beautiful yards with shrubs and flowers

 

8. Agreed-Upon Goals:

 

1.      Improvements to neighborhood sidewalks (4)

2.      Vacant properties repaired or demolished (3)

3.      More resident participation in the neighborhood (3)

 

4.      Less rental housing, more home ownership (2)

5.      Railroad property and signs better maintained (2)

6.      Clean up and beautify the neighborhood (2)

7.      Reduce or prevent flooding (1)

8.      Pave or restrict vehicles down Bradford alley (1)

 

 

 

9.      Goals, Objectives and Responsibilities:

 

 

Goal #1: IMPROVEMENTS TO NEIGHBORHOOD SIDEWALKS

 

Neighborhood Objectives:

 

Ø      City to institute a shared funding arrangement with home/property owner  sharing cost of repairing sidewalk and curbs;

Ø      Tax breaks for repairing sidewalks.

 

City Objectives:

 

Ø      City to institute a shared funding arrangement with home/property owner  sharing cost of repairing sidewalk and curbs;

Ø      Improved enforcement of city codes;

Ø      Tax breaks for repairing sidewalks.

 

 

Goal #2: VACANT PROPERTIES REPAIRED OR DEMOLISHED

 

Neighborhood Objectives:

 

Ø      Neighbors advocate for properties to be torn down

 

City Objectives:

 

Ø      Determine which properties can be salvaged, and use code enforcement to demand repairs

 

Other Resource Objectives:

 

Ø      Some entity to collect salvaged material to use as “low-cost” home repair materials

Ø      Community organizations provide free or low-cost repairs to low-income or elderly home owners.

 

 

Goal #3: MORE RESIDENT PARTICIPATION IN THE NEIGHBORHOOD

 

Neighborhood Objectives:

 

Ø      Neighborhood association members to be friendlier and personally invite neighbors to meetings and activities;

Ø      Neighborhood association conduct more social events;

Ø      Neighborhood association coordinates more clean-up and beautify projects;

Ø      Develop additional incentives for people to participate in neighborhood projects;

 

City and Other Resource Objectives:

 

Ø      City and others find ways to provide more block grants to neighborhoods for projects.