Happy New Year

I lived for a couple of years in Korea. It's a beautiful country, one filled with ancient traditions as well as newly adopted technologies and ideas. The juxtaposition of these elements create an interesting atmosphere - a place where there is a 5000 year written history of a continuous homogeneous group of people sharing language, culture, and cuisine that now boasts the most Internet connections per capita. There are professional video game players in Korea. There are probably some here as well, now that I think about it. But the thought blows me away.

The thing to keep in mind about Korea is that 50 years ago it looked like this:

Today it looks like this:

Looking at the history of Korea, it's not really surprising. Located on the strategically important (and aptly named) Korean Peninsula between two of the most belligerent and bellicose nations (Japan and China), Korea has been overrun in turns by China, Japan, Mongolia, and more lately, western nations. In 1945, after 40 years of Japanese occupation, the retreating Japanese burned everything. Everything. It is hard to find a wooden structure or even tree that pre-dates the occupation. In 1951, a fratricidal war began on the peninsula, dividing not only the land but also families and a society that still feels the pains of the forced separation.

The truly amazing thing is that this country exists at all. And to think of the prosperity, the democracy, and the freedoms that exist there now is truly miraculous.

All of this must be attributed to the Korean people themselves. There is no more hard-working people in the world than the Koreans. They each have a fierce sense of national pride that is a wonder to experience. They call it "uri nara" - our country - and each person feels invested in making it succeed, from the smallest pre-school child to the eldest harabogi. It is important to each member of the society to do what they can to help it succeed. The trees all burned after the Japanese occupation? They have a national holiday to replace these trees - and everyone feels responsible to find a spot to go out and plant a tree (not just sit under one). This is just one example of the mentality best summarized by the Korean proverb chil chun pal gi -if you fall down seven times, get up eight. Never, never give up. It is that attitude that has made Korea what it is.

New Years is more than a "day after" event for Koreans. It is a time of reflection and introspection, a time for gratitude for ancestral intervention and for commitment to future generations. This is a true celebration of the past and its glories as well as an anticipation of the achievements yet to come.

I hope that this year will be one full of joy and fulfillment for each of you. I hope that we will all look for ways to make this happen for ourselves and for those around us. I hope we can all work a little harder, laugh a little more, care a little more deeply, and walk a little stronger and straighter.

Just an ordinary post

This morning I woke up to the sound of rain. One of the things that never ceases to amaze me about living in southeast Texas is the amount of rain. Now, everyone down here seems to think that this is not a lot of rain, but let me tell you - a lot of rain is a lot of rain. And this is a lot of rain.

You need to understand that I am from Utah (motto: at least we get one more inch of rain than Nevada!) and in Utah you will get about 13 inches of rain per year. That's right PER YEAR! Here, I think we have had more than that in the three months since I arrived. In Utah, if it rains .01 of an inch everyone celebrates. Sometimes in Utah, you can see it raining but the rain doesn't reach the ground. It's pretty wild. And when the sun sets behind such rain it turns into an incredible vision that looks like it is raining fire.

But I digress. Actually, this whole post is a digression. I just wanted to say how lovely I find it here. My family and I are very grateful to be here.

All is well. All is well!

The Greatest Generation - (Great Communities - Part 5)

I spoke with my father this weekend. He lives in Yakima, Washington (Hi Dad) and googled his way onto this blog. (Can I just say, as an aside, that I hate the word blog?!? What an ugly word. Why can't we call it a web journal? Or web diary? BLOG - it just sounds like 3rd grade humor...) :-)

But I digress. In speaking with my father, he mentioned that perhaps I was speaking to the wrong audience in this blog. Perhaps (said he) the web-savvy folks in the world who are interested in this kind of medium are younger and bored with politics. I wonder about that.

The counter at the bottom of the page is a link to another site which tracks where you are, as well as other interesting facts about your visit, like where you were directed from (google search, montbelvieu.net, or whatever) and how long you were here (most of you only spend about a nano second before realizing that this isn't what you thought it would be and move on). It's interesting: there are hits from all over. Does that mean people are interested in planning? On what a City Planner does? Or interested in civic involvement? Who knows? Because I haven't heard back from many people, it is hard for me to gauge. The counter doesn't tell me who visited and why. I would be interested to know.

It is my hope, however, to attract people of all ages to the blog discussion, so that we can all be informed about thoughts that each other are concerned with. Perhaps we can get to know each other a little better. Perhaps we will be given a chance to vent something that otherwise would be too controversial or disconcerting. And perhaps we can learn from each other... (what a concept!)

And that's where I want to wrap this section up. Mont Belvieu is great because there are young families, families with older children, empty-nesters, people moving toward retirement, and those with great amounts of experience to share. One of the people I work with has been in Mont Belvieu since before WWII. The insights that this great citizen can provide are invaluable. How has the town changed? What can we do to help retain the distinctive nature of the City? What are the values and characteristics that must be held on to in order to perpetuate the goodness that's here? Without these people in our community, it would be difficult to answer these questions. With the influx of new development, there will also be an influx of new people and new ideas. Hopefully, we will continue to attract a good mixture of people to the area that will provide a solid base of ideas and values that will help inspire future generations.

The Democratic Process - (Great Communities - part 4)

Things are ramping up in the national political scene. As the presidential candidates spar over a few town hall meeting votes in New Hampshire, or over the undecided caucus goer's votes in Iowa, we are inundated by the information that is available. On the other hand, in the words of Robert Plant - lots of people talkin', few of them know... People seem to be saying a lot but nothing really ever gets said. Have you noticed this? It's one of the most frustrating things about the national election process. Candidates run the risk of offending some person by stating what they truly think, so they turn to offending each other and saying the vanilla statements - the 10 second sound bites - that they think we want to hear. How refreshing would it be to hear someone say what they really think!

Enter local politics. On this level, things are real. You want to know what our City is going to be like? Want to have a say? Want to affect how the developers are able to operate in our City? All of this is possible. Our City Council members are very accessible - many of you know them already - and are our neighbors. I have seen City Council meetings hinge on the comments of one interested citizen. You really do have the chance to make a difference in our community. That's what makes communities great - the level of interaction and participation. But I have written about this before...

The problem is when our well-intentioned City Council members don't hear from you. How can they know what you think if you don't tell them? Developers speak with City Council members on a regular basis, which is their right as players in the development of the City. But it is also vitally important that they hear from all of us, because we have the responsibility to share our thoughts as to where the City ought to be.

I love City Council and Planning and Zoning Meetings. They are principally the reason I decided to get into this vocation in the first place. The first meeting I went to was regarding a parcel that a developer wanted to access right behind some older homes in an established neighborhood. An elderly woman whose home would have been directly affected by the placement of many town homes and the attendant traffic stood and spoke against the developers plans. She did not prevail, and she now has the homes and traffic in her back yard. BUT SHE HAD THE CHANCE TO SAY IT - AND SHE DID! That's what makes America great. Not our president and not the federal government. Its these local scale decision making sessions where people can come and make a difference.

She made a difference in my life.

Hail to the Chief! (Great Communities - Part 3)

Our police department got a new police chief last night. After over 20 years of faithful dedication and service, Chief Jerry D. Whitman retired late last month. At the City Council meeting last night, Captain Virgil Blasdel was sworn in as the new Chief of Police for the City. I wanted to take a moment to congratulate him.

I also wanted to take a moment to recognize the efforts of the police, fire, and EMS departments of our City. These are dedicated individuals who serve the greater interests of the community at large in an effort to provide a safe and healthy community. These are the people who respond when you dial 911. These are the people who risk their lives reporting to traffic accidents, house fires, and broken arms. Their professionalism and dedication are commendable and should be a source of pride for our community.

As one who lives here, I would like to commend them and express gratitude for their efforts and sacrifice. Keep up the great work!

What Makes a Community Great (part 2)

So, here's something fun to do. You can try this with almost anything, but I tried it with "mont belvieu." What you do is go to Google Image search online and punch in anything. Google search is a pretty complicated computer function which is based on several factors like relevance to the search parameters (how closely does what is returned match what you wrote) and access (how many people clicked on what website). This is what the Google image search returned for me.


The first few images returned maps and schematic drawings of various petrochemical elements in the region. The first picture returned was this:

Pretty dramatic, huh? What is this telling people about our community? Assuredly, Mont Belvieu is heavily tied in with the petrochemical industry and has been since the early 1900's. When I was researching the area before moving down here, this was one of the things that I found out about the City. On one level, having this kind of thing in our City, it keeps taxes low, provides numerous job opportunities, and helps the country overall by allowing the storage of gas and oil essential for our economy. This probably is not going away any time soon. The question remains, however. What does this say about our community? This is so integrated into our culture here that there is a fake oil rig in front of the school.

The next picture that the Google Image search returns is this:

Now this is something that a community can get behind. This speaks to a community that is interested in the health and well-being of its citizens, that is concerned with providing families opportunities to gather and enjoy each other doing wholesome activities, and creating an attraction for the entire region. The recreation center, food court, wave pool, golf course, and pavilion are all well built and demonstrate good design principles. While nothing is perfect, these facilities speak to the needs of the community to gather and grow.

The City has just recently (yesterday) passed an 11 million dollar bond for the reconstruction of Eagle Drive. We have another chance to create the kind of positive image that we have all come to appreciate about Mont Belvieu. This will be another of the signature elements of a community that is looking to the future - one where Mont Belvieu is held up as an example of great community throughout the region.

What Makes A Community Great... (Part 1)

I have a lot to say about this, as you might well imagine. Much of what I will write will no doubt be filtered by my own experiences with the various communities that I have been familiar with. I have studied a lot about this, and I have come to some very definite conclusions. This series of ideas will probably take up a lot of blog posts over a long time, but bear with me. As communities evolve over time, and as our understanding of what makes communities great also evolves, my own ideas will certainly change. But I think that I have identified several basic ideals that help to foster positive community experiences.

The first ideal is community involvement. We all live here. This is our community. In fact, while the built environment is often highlighted in our ideas of what a community is, it is the people who live here, work here, and play here that make our community what it really is. The extent to which each individual becomes involved in creating this community is the extent to which the community will succeed in reaching its full potential. In short, if you are not involved actively in the community, the community as a whole suffers. Each of us has different idea of what we need from our community, and those needs change over time. I, for example, am very interested in the schools that my children will be attending. Are they safe? Are they good places for learning? Does the community support the efforts of the schools? In Mont Belvieu, the answer to these questions seems to be a resounding YES!

As my children grow, there will be other concerns: will they be able to find a job? Will their educational opportunities in the area be sufficient for their overall goals in life? Will the community that they grew up in retain the same essential character?

As my parents age, I am concerned about opportunities for their well-being as well. How will we take care of them? How will their needs be met for a place that is less maintenance intensive yet attractive and homey? Will they have access to medical facilities that are needed? Will they further have the opportunities for community involvement and activity that they need?

A good community finds the answers to all of these questions, as well as the concerns of each community member. It is only together that we can find the solutions that we need.

So what? My needs are being met. Why should I be concerned or involved with others? As I mentioned above, every one needs different things at different times of their lives. It is important to plan for our own future rather than resting on the laurels of the past. When our own time of crisis comes, it may be too late to correct deficiencies in our community, and we will be forced to look elsewhere for our needs.

Your voice is important in our community. Your apathy creates a hole that cannot be filled by someone else. Only you can adequately express your ideas. And only on this local scale can one person make a significant difference. Get involved! If something is not right, say something! If you have a good idea, share it!

Land Use Regulation

When white people first arrived in the Americas, they returned to Europe and reported that America was a vast empty slate, ready to feel the improvements brought by the farmer's plow and the lumberjack's axe. A land of limitless opportunity. An Eden.

There were a couple of problems inherent in this thinking. First of all, there were people here. The Europeans were very surprised when the native Americans objected to the loss of their traditional lands and resources. There were problems with how the land was to be distributed, how the land was to be worked, and how cities were to be involved with all of this. People were pretty much free to do as they wanted, provided they didn't interfere with other's enjoying their property (more on this below). This kind of thinking persists. The other problem is that land is a finite resource. There is simply not enough land for everyone to spread out and have enough space to do whatever they want.

These problems persisted until the early part of the 1900's, when a series of legal decisions helped define what could be done to help address some of these problems. Consistently, the courts have found that land regulation is a necessary exercise of the police power of a governing body. Land utilized in certain ways are more likely to be disruptive of incompatible, adjacent uses. This is the whole smokestack in your back yard deal. If you were there first, why should you put up with a steel plant in your neighborhood? You shouldn't. And cities should not allow it.

But wait! This is America. Don't we have the right to do whatever we want? Well, yes, but only to an extent. One of the most important rights that we enjoy as Americans is the "Right to Chill" as my law professor put it. We have a right to quiet use and enjoyment of our property. What does that mean? It means that if I am noisy or noxious or obnoxious, I may be censured by the government for interfering with others in their desire not to be annoyed or poisoned or kept from their economic investment's payoffs. The awareness that people have about the environment and industry's impact on the quality of the environement has heightened the importance of this kind of regulation. Further impact comes from noise and air pollution levels near freeways, manufacturing facilities, and petro-chemical industrial storage (of note here in Mont Belvieu).

This is where a planner comes in. In a carefully planned community, people are able to build houses in areas that they can know are free from intrusions of this sort. Likewise, people in industry can know that they can be noisy when required without having to worry about offending neighbors. And everybody's happy, right?

Well, not really. People have to work in factories or whatever, but not many people want to live in the factory. So they go home. Traditional suburban models puts people driving on congested highways to destinations far removed from their place of employment in search of the bucolic ideal. In the early part of the century it was "40 acres and a mule" - now it's a quarter acre and a three-car garage.

So what's the answer? We'll see. All we know for sure is that what we have now is not working very well in terms of sustainablility.

City Planner - What is a City Planner?

So, it occurs to me that many of you may not know what a City Planner is or does. Here's a little idea about what I do every day:

First, a little history. Cities in various forms, shapes, and sizes have existed since the beginning of the human experience. Ever since people began to gather together in groups to gain mutual benefit, cities have thrived. If you were a cart maker, for example, it might make sense to live next to the person who makes wheels. And so on. There are things that take up a lot of space (like growing food) and things that can be done in a smaller space (like a blacksmith shop). The things that take up less space tend to group themselves together. This also provides for community safety and protection. As time progresses, several regions become more specialized in certain activities, drawing people from far and near to trade for the valuable commodities (salt mines, spices, silk, whatever). People begin to appreciate that the flow of goods from one place to another leads to wealth, and that wealth leads to an easier life. Easy lives allow time for the pursuit of activities not possible in other circumstances, such as arts, education, and religion. In this way, living in a city has led to the development of civilization (which comes from the same Latin root as our modern word city).

The problem lies in property rights. Who can do what on their property is a real challenge. In the western world, certain societal norms have developed regarding this sort of thing that help dictate what is acceptable and what should be avoided in close proximity. Thus, it becomes the planner's job to review land uses for compliance with these norms. This prevents the storage of nuclear waste immediately adjacent to an elementary school, a porn shop next to a church, or a waste-water treatment plant upstream of your favorite swimming hole... These things are at the very micro-scale of what planners do.

On a larger scale, planners concern themselves with the transportation network of a region. Larger metropolitan regions have designated transportation councils, and states and the federal government have their departments of transportation. So why does our road system fail so frequently? Good question. The answer is that the very nature of transportation is a dynamic and a fluid thing. In an example I am familiar with, the sudden explosion in the housing market in a certain area turned a large stretch of farm land and sheep ranch into houses in the course of 10 years. Why couldn't planners have noticed that and done something about it? Well, they did and they are. But these things take time and political will.

No planner works in a vacuum (that would be called a dictatorship) and we are accountable to the elected officials who really govern the City. They control one of the strongest tools in the community - the budget. If there is political will to create or widen a road, it can happen. But city councils can be overly cautious and this can help lead to infrastructure failures. If a city council is progressive enough, and if the planner is doing an good job, then the potential for these kinds of problems can be reduced.

Planners also concern themselves with the way that a community looks. The number of parks and their relationships to each other, trails and other open spaces, and the community design overall are all things that a conscientious planner will look at. Planners review the code (law) of their cities to ensure that the code is appropriate and that it is being followed. Planners also help determine which uses are best placed near each other (day care facilities in residential areas are good;not good in heavy industrial areas).

Much of this probably seems either mundane or easy. At times it can be both. But it is challenging in that there is a lot of technical information that must be reviewed for compliance and accuracy, that the various needs of the several involved parties are considered and clarified, and that the city continues to move along the path desired by the community at large. It's a rewarding and exciting thing to do. Personally, I really love it.

One of the things that I am trying to do is promote citizen participation. This blog is one avenue that I am attempting to reach out to people in the community to solicit input. If you have something to say - please comment. If you would like a face-to-face meeting - even better. Come on by! It is my belief that as we all work together on our community, it will be able to retain its character and stay a great place to live.

Next time - more about property rights...

Learning from Las Vegas

When was the last time you were in Las Vegas?

If you haven't been in the last 10 or 15 years, you are in for a surprise.

When Robert Venturi, the famous architect and writer, wrote about Las Vegas in the late 60's/early 70s, he saw a built environment that was very unique. I think we can all conjure up images of the "Las Vegas Strip" with all its garish lighting, loud and obnoxious signage, and horrible architecture. Mr. Venturi called this the "decorated shed." This kind of building is cheap, quick, and easy to construct, and found itself being contructed all over the country. While cities looked at the types of buildings that were being built in this way, the lack of appropriate architectural guidelines and well-planned zoning regulations, developers found that they were able to build these kinds of builidngs in almost every commercial zone in the country.

But ironically, Las Vegas has learned from Las Vegas.

Let me give a very brief history of Las Vegas. Las Vegas was originally populated by Spanish missionaries who maintained a small outpost here along the old Santa Fe trail to Los Angeles. In the mid-1800s, Mormon pioneers acquired the land and water rights and began farming the area. Las Vegas remained a small farming community until the 1950s, when the introduction of casinos and other elements. The promoters of the casinos were able to draw people from Los Angeles to take the trip up to Las Vegas. The popularity of the place increased with the promulgation of Hollywood movies about the old west, and people came to Las Vegas looking for a sense of the historic old west. The picture on the right is an old map of Las Vegas ca. 1908 (you can click on it for a larger image).

In the 60s, the owners of the casinos changed tactics. They wanted to appeal to a more wealthy crowd, pulling in the high rollers to their high-class casinos done in the tradition of some of the great casinos of the world. They also wanted to emphasize the decadence and wealth of the place, so one started seeing places like Caesar's Palace, the Sands and Sahara, and places like that. It basically turned Las Vegas into a large night club... This image persisted until the mid 1990s.

Las Vegas has learned from its history. Now buildings are going up that have become icons unto themselves. Why waste time on a huge sign (they have them anyway) when you can turn your entire building into an advertisement?

So what? Las Vegas is Las Vegas, right? What does that have to do with our little community out here in southeast Texas?

I would submit that we are under the same pressures that they are under. While we will probably not have anything quite this garish, there are more insidious ways that developers have of making inroads into our community. The strip mall was for years denegrated as the natural outspring of the decorated shed, and now big-box retail establishments are even starting to forgo the decoration and going straight to the shed. None of this is condusive to the creation of a community: it is destructive to the way a community feels, which is essential to retaining the unique little distinctions that make our community what it is.



If that is the case, and these strip malls seem ubiquitous, how do we stop it? We learn from Las Vegas. We demand a character that helps augment our community, rather than diminishes it in the name of profit. We demand quality in construction and design. We form a group of citizens and professionals to review the architecture of each new commercial development for compliance with an overall plan set up to ensure quality and harmony. And we remain constantly vigilant against poor design and shoddy workmanship. In this manner, we can encourage developers to buy in to our community, and not just get the quick profit that seems to be the dirving force of all the developer's decisions.



The truly ironic thing is that spaces that speak to the quality of the community are also those that lease for the higher rents, allowing an even greater profit margin for the developer...

Comparing Mont Belvieu

I am not one to compare anything with anything else. There is usually a winner and a loser, which gives the winner arrogance and the loser a feeling of inferiority. However, in the case of city planning, it is often beneficial to look at other cities and determine which strategies are working and why.

I have been staying with a friend in the Woodlands while my wife is trying to sell our house Utah. There are several things that make the Woodlands an area of distinction. I wanted to highlight a few of those today.

First, the area has been very carefully planned. This is clear in the way that the natural environment blends in with the built. Trees are carefully preserved, while buildings and streets are thoughtfully laid out in a way that emphasizes the feeling of enclosure in the natural surroundings. Meandering streets create vistas that focus on the trees at the end of the streets, rather than on the street itself or on the horizon. The use of landscaped park strips and medians along the roadway serves to slow traffic and also heightens the feeling of natural beauty.

The way that signage is done is also an important aspect of the creation of an overall community character. These monument signs are low to the ground, elegant, and simple. They are not garish, but tastefully done. Signs done in this fashion do not overwhelm the natural surroundings - rather, they serve to highlight the business opportunity that exists within this area. Pole signs, very large billboard type signs, and signs with moving copy or images should be avoided for aesthetic and safety reasons. The kind of sign shown in this image further incorporates landscaping, which is aesthetically pleasing and further serves to highlight the sign and business.

The other thing that I would like to highlight is the existence of several wonderful public parks in the area. The one we went to on Saturday evening involved picnic areas, a large lake, playing fields, pavilions, tot lots, and a small amphitheater. This kind of facility creates such an amenity for the community that it is difficult to estimate its real worth. Parks are expensive to install and to maintain, but help to foster a sense of community and generate pride in the community. This is a fun place to gather, play, and renew ties with family and the community.

There are many communities that are doing wonderful things all over the world. As we strive to help Mont Belvieu remain unique and attractive, it is important to keep in mind things that make other areas successful so that we can learn from them and implement them into our community.

Next up: learning from Las Vegas (no, not Venturi...:-))

Mont Belvieu - a City of character and distinction

As the new City Planner for Mont Belvieu, I want to take a chance periodically to write about some of the things that are going on in the City, my own efforts, and help create a forum for people in the City to learn about what I do and have a chance to talk about it. I have no idea how well this will go, but here goes...

First off, a little about myself. I have recently moved to the area from Utah. I have lived in Utah off and on for most of my life (I spent a few years in Korea and Michigan). The first time I came to Texas was for the job interview. It's interesting - I wasn't really looking for a job. Of course, I was dissatisfied with my current situation (the job was great, but the compensation was lacking). I have seen in the course of my life communities bow to the pressures of development and become diminished - they turn into looking like everywhere else. Much of that speaks to the nature of living in a capitalist society: developers want our money, so they give us what we think we want. But I don't think that it has to be that way. Coming to Mont Belvieu is like a dream come true. Here we have a community unsullied by the developer's greed. Here, we have a chance to do it right, creating a model community.

The City is an interesting juxtaposition of heavy industry and rural agricultural uses. The seeds of becoming just another suburb of Houston are being sown, and creative and innovative steps must be taken in order to prevent this. It seems inevitable that the area will become suburban in nature, but it need not be that way. Why are Sugarland and the Woodlands held up as the local models for what a community should be? Well, there are a lot of reasons for that, not the least of which is the over-arching plan that was implemented in these communities that governs every aspect of the place, from how trees are handled to where the commercial/retail buildings go.

Mont Belvieu has a lot of great things going for it. I am excited to be a part of it all.

In the next few months, this is what I am planning to accomplish:

1. complete a review of the existing ordinances to strengthen the weaker parts, eliminate the dead parts, and initiate a workable system that is easy for everyone to understand and follow. This will include everything from the permitting process (I want to streamline that) to the actual zoning map of the City (we should get the zoning map to look more like the general plan map).

2. begin a review of the comprehensive plan. The current plan was completed several years ago and needs to be updated. There are several aspects that need addressing including libraries, pedestrian walkways, and a real town center.

3. the envirornment. Do we care? This area has long been associated with the petroleum industry, which has the reputation for not being the most environmentally friendly of industries... Is this a necessary evil? What if we made our City so green that it becomes a model for small town green growth? Is environmental awareness only for big cities? Or is there something we can do?

4. transportation. It is only a matter of time before the word gets out about Mont Belvieu. Do we want to burden our roads with big SUV's making many trips on our roads? Or can we implement a system of busses and mass transit hubs that will connect our City with Houston and points beyond? There are many steps that can and should be taken...

5. community involvement. None of us is as smart as all of us. This blog is one of the first steps along these lines, so please comment. Otherwise, how can I know what you all are thinking?

George Bernard Shaw put it this way: Some people look at things as they are and ask why. I dream of things as they never were and wonder why not?