INTRODUCTION
Background
The phrase "urban sprawl" has acquired significant public prominence over the course of
the last few years. Initially the concern of a relatively small group of academic theorists, the growth of metropolitan regions is now perhaps the most prominent topic on the public agenda in many cities and states.
The media covers "sprawl" in its headlines and front pages; "experts" have written scores of books and made thousands of speeches to civic groups and organizations offering prepackaged answers to
a very complex series of urban problems. Meanwhile, community leaders and elected officials struggle to find solutions or to assign blame.
In the St. Louis region, large and diverse regional coalitions have been forming and meeting on
this topic. During the last year the level of activity has greatly intensified. Groups as such as St. Louis 2004, the St. Louis County Municipal League, the St. Charles County Municipal League, the Metropolitan Congregations United for St. Louis,
the EastWest Gateway Coordinating Council, the Regional Commerce and Growth Association, and even the Republican Party have identified the topic as a serious regional concern. Polarization is occurring as organizations coalesce around specific positions. For example, the Smart Growth Alliance advocates changes in the way that local and regional development decisions are made while the Urban Choice Coalition regards today's development patterns as the manifestations of natural market forces and consumer preferences. A few suburban jurisdictions like Wildwood, Chesterfield, and Bellefontaine Neighbors are also questioning the sensibility and ultimate sustainability of recent suburban growth patterns.
The fact that so many individuals and groups are beginning to think about this region's future is
in itself an historic achievement. Like other metropolitan regions around the country, we must learn to think and act as a unified region, or a metropolitan community, if the St. Louis area is to grow and prosper.
Doing so will require honest, common sense, factbased discussions at all levels in our community.
If the region is to become a metropolitan community, our discussions must have three qualities.
First, discussions must be forwardoriented. Knowing where we have been and how we got there, the historical perspective, is valuable so we can "learn from our mistakes". Yet, the affixing of blame is
selfdestructive. Second, it is essential that we approach the issue in a consciously logical, informed and reasonable manner. The emotion attached to answers which are only "right" or "wrong"
will not serve us well. Instead, we should strive for rational decisionmaking supported by sensible analysis and data. Third, the region needs leadership from its elected officials, working with a creative and
collaborative spirit to identify and implement innovative solutions to problems of a metropolitan magnitude.
Project Description
The Initiative for a Metropolitan Community is a learningbased, multiparty problem solving process. It is a dynamic process focused on interaction among key community leaders and others with important roles in the region. It is not a static planning study; rather, it is ultimately focused on action. The overall concept is that community leaders will act through informed and technically supported dialogue to identify key issues and strategic solutions to be implemented through future actions. Five principles have been identified which provide a philosophical foundation for this effort. These are:
- Healthy, sustainable development can take place in all areas of our region, urban, suburban
and rural. The converse is also true.
- The orderly development of the St. Louis region can be best accomplished by coordinating the
efforts of cities and counties. It is through coordination of the locally based decisionmaking authority that rests with cities and counties, now and in the future, that sustainable regional growth patterns can
be established and reinforced.
- Local elected officials representing the citizens of the St. Louis region should exercise the
leadership and have the primary responsibility for dealing with those problems which require action on an areawide basis.
- Discussions concerning the growth of the region and regional public investments affecting
such growth should include meaningful representation from across the St. Louis region. Those discussions should include opportunities for all citizens, businesses and interest groups to participate.
- Decisions affecting the growth of the region should consider all costs and benefits, direct and indirect, short and longterm.
The project is designed to reinforce the abovementioned principles. The process is organized
around working groups representing five topical areas and cochaired by Board members: Regional Planning & Community Design, Community Services & Infrastructure, Strategic Intergovernmental Relationships
, Resource Conservation, and Wealth, Taxation & Finance. Each of the"working groups will be represented on the steering committee. The purpose of the steering committee is to
provide a conduit for communication between the working groups and for accountability to the EastWest Gateway Coordinating Council's Board of Directors. The working groups, working in cooperation with the Board, the
steering committee, and the staff, will be responsible for conducting public outreach activities, formulating problem statements, and developing draft action strategies. The steering committee will be charged with
compiling a draft action plan. The final draft action plan will be presented to the Board of Directors and Regional Congress of Governments for approval and ratification. Throughout the process ample time will be
dedicated to informed dialogue, focused and facilitated discussions supported by relevant information and analysis provided through staff and outside experts representing a balancing of perspectives.
SCOPE OF WORK
Process
1. Situation Assessment:
Staff will conduct an assessment of current issues and activities as a means of identifying primary stakeholders and affected interest groups. The emphasis of this activity will be to identify potential partners and establish alliances to facilitate this process. The product of this effort will be brief paper outlining the issues/interests of various groups and providing a recommendation regarding participation on "working groups".
2. Designation of Steering Committee:
Based on staff input, the Board will appoint the members of the steering committee. This group will be charged with the responsibility of reporting progress to the Board, working with the staff to conduct the process, and development of the final draft action plan. Membership on the steering committee will be multidisciplinary, multijurisdictional, and will reflect a hubandspoke structure with the five working groups (i.e., Regional Planning & Community Design, Community
Services & Infrastructure, Strategic Intergovernmental Relationships, Resource Conservation, and Wealth, Taxation & Finance).
3. KickOff Conference:
The process will be initiated with a conference (approximately one day in length) that will focus on regional development issues. The primary purposes of this conference will be to provide information on topical issues (representing national, regional and local trends), to provide an opportunity to interact with potential participants, and to raise local awareness of issues and the Initiative process.
4. Establish Working Groups:
The steering committee, working in conjunction with the staff, will establish the membership of the working groups. Each working group will be cochaired by Board members, one each from Illinois and Missouri. The working groups will meet as necessary to accomplish their objectives. The working groups, representing the general topic areas of Regional Planning & Community Design, Community
Services & Infrastructure, Strategic Intergovernmental Relationships, Resource Conservation, and Wealth, Taxation & Finance will be responsible for the following activities:
!Development of a basic mission statement and work plan (i.e., how they intend to organize and
carryout their responsibilities);
!Development of preliminary problem statements pertaining to their respective topical areas;
!Development of measurable goals, objectives, and strategies culminating in the preliminary
components of the draft action plan organized into a concluding report; and
!abTo work with the staff to conduct various public meetings and work sessions.
5. Develop Draft Action Plan:
The Steering Committee, working in collaboration with the staff, will prepare the draft action plan for presentation to the Board of Directors. The action plan should identify specific actions, be organized to represent a specific time frame, and address responsible and lead parties to initiate the actions. The action plan should also include a statement outlining the "principles of a metropolitan community" (see #7, below).
6. Board Action:
The EastWest Gateway Board of Directors would be requested to review and grant formal approval to the action plan.
7. Congress of Governments:
In conjunction with other outreach efforts, the approved action plan would be presented at the Regional Congress of Governments (early in 1999). Local government participants would be asked to ratify the "principles of a metropolitan community" and present them to their own community decisionmaking bodies for adoption. Copies of the action plan would be distributed to each municipality.
8. Implementation & Feedback:
The appropriate parties would be encouraged to implement the specific strategies/activities identified in the action plan. The staff would implement a monitoring system, providing timely reports on progress to the Board.
Products and Activities
A number of specific products and activities are anticipated. In addition, given the dynamic
nature of the process, there will undoubtedly be additional products and/or activities. A general outline includes:
!Situation Assessment:
A factual analysis of urban growth issues to assist the Board in the development of the steering committee and working groups.
!Working Group Work Plans:
These should include a basic mission statement to guide the activities of the working group and a problem statement identifying and outlining the general issues they intend to address.
!Preliminary Action Plans:
The working groups will be responsible for providing preliminary components of the action plan in the form of measurable goals, objectives and strategies.
!Draft Action Plan:
The steering committee will be responsible for combining and, where necessary, reconciling the preliminary action plans into a draft action plan. This will be presented to the Board for approval.
!Principles of a Metropolitan Community:
As part of the draft action plan, the steering committee will provide a statement of the principles of a metropolitan community. These principles, once approved by the Board, will be presented to the Regional Congress of Governments for ratification.
!KickOff Conference:
Intended to provide the opportunity for attendees to learn from exposure to issues and potential solutions based on the experience of other metropolitan regions and local governments.
!MidProcess Conference:
An event intended to provide "working groups" with the opportunity to interact and for the public to provide additional comments on midprocess activities.
!Regional Congress of Governments:
The final large public event, held early in 1999, will be highlighted by ratification of the principles of a metropolitan community.
!Town Hall Meetings:
Hosted by various communities, Board members and Working Group members would be asked to participate in approximately 20 meetings throughout the region. Meetings may be planned in a variety of styles, including workshops, roundtables, or utilize other techniques appropriate to the community and desired outcome of the meeting.
Organizational Structure
The organizational structure for the Initiative for a Metropolitan Community is based on a
"hubandspoke" arrangement. The hub is the steering committee, its members appointed by the Board. The spokes lead to each of five working groups. Under this model, it is the role of the steering committee
to reconcile crossfunctional issues in the final action plan, as well as to provide a general mechanism for coordination between the five working groups.
The working groups provide specialized technical knowledge to the process based on topical
organization. The five working groups are defined as follows:
Regional Planning & Community Design:
This group will focus on topics associated with physical planning and community design. Examples of topic areas may include: creation of regional planning and project review mechanisms, improvements to local planning and zoning processes, or community planning coordination.
Community Services & Infrastructure:
This group will focus topics associated with the provision of necessary urban services. Examples of topic areas may include: sewer and water treatment and distribution, roadway construction and maintenance, public transit service, and public safety (police and fire protection) services.
Strategic Intergovernmental Relationships:
This group will focus on using the relationships between units of local, state and federal government to deal with urban growth issues. Examples of topic areas may include: intergovernmental service agreements, joint project ventures, regulatory reform, funding, or creation of collaborative relationships with state and/or federal agencies.
Resource Conservation:
This group will focus on issues related to the efficient use and/or conservation of natural resources. Examples of topic areas may include: preservation of agricultural land, open space, or environmentally sensitive areas, improvements to air quality, or management of water resources.
Wealth, Taxation & Finance:
This group will focus on issues related to the economics of the region's urban areas. Examples of topic areas may include: residential property stabilization, economic development systems, or taxsharing mechanisms.
The following diagram represents the relationship between the working groups, the steering
committee, and the Board of Directors.
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