August 23, 2004

Adhir Kackar, AICP

U.S. Environmental Protection Agency

EPA West Building – 1417F

1301 Constitution Avenue, NW

Washington, DC 20004

Dear Mr. Kackar,

The Regional Planning Commission of Greater Birmingham, along with numerous partners, has formed the Brownfield Regional Redevelopment Task Force to specifically address the obstacles we must overcome in order to rebuild our communities. Many of our communities feel the obstacles are insurmountable. This Task Force pulls together the resources necessary to overcome the negative aspects involved with the brownfield redevelopment challenge.

We have been building the Task Force over the last 16 months and we are now at a point of strength, range of expertise, and level of knowledge with our partners to begin the real work. We are excited to be able to bring our grant proposal to your attention and know that with EPAs funding we can begin to make a difference in the Birmingham Metropolitan area.

Sincerely,

Larry Watts

Executive Director

Brownfield Regional Redevelopment Task Force:

Tarrant Redevelopment Workshops

Regional Planning Commission of Greater Birmingham

1731 1^st Ave North

Birmingham, AL 35203

205-251-8139

Robert Wilkerson, Senior Planner and Project Manager, Community Planning

Regional Planning Commission of Greater Birmingham

1731 1^st Ave North

Birmingham, AL 35203

205-264-8428

Robert Wilkerson

Local Government

Funding request is for $50,000 with an expected in-kind of $10,000.

The Birmingham Regional Redevelopment Task Force is a partnership formed to assist our communities in overcoming the cumbersome obstacles that prevent redevelopment of our blighted neighborhoods. The Task Force is comprised of professionals from the private and government sectors. This partnership has determined that our work can build on the efforts of the Black Warrior/Cahaba Land Trust’s EPA grant for assessment of brownfields along the Fivemile corridor. Our Task Force will build on their public meetings along that corridor and focus on one community, Tarrant, to bring the community closer to realization of redevelopment by carrying the communities through a series of workshops. These design charettes will focus on smart growth principles and the citizens’ visions for their community to build a new future for Tarrant. The workshops will be published into a manual, and will be carried into other regional communities.

The Brownfield Regional Redevelopment Task Force was established to encourage communities within the seven county Metropolitan Development Board Region to pursue redevelopment of abandoned industrial properties commonly referred to as "Brownfields." In addition to revitalization of the urban core, other objectives of the Task Force include the mitigation of sprawl and reduction of urban blight. The Task Force can accomplish this objective by working to improve the market climate for brownfield development by developing a network for existing programs, build partnerships with the groundwork in place, and then incorporate these programs into a community educational program with a smart growth focus.

We will focus our efforts initially in Tarrant, a community in the heart of the Metropolitan Area, along a waterway with historic environmental concerns and increasing potential for achieving Clean Water Act objectives, an area historically industrial that is struggling towards economic revitalization.

The workshops final products will be design boards and economic development proposals for each of the focused sites, and establish a model to assist in exporting this program to other communities. The manual will document all aspects of this initiative.

Our initial work began 16 months ago with our first meeting, and will be ongoing, and that is to assemble the people necessary for this initiative, creating the Task Force for this work. We have a dedicated membership with regular monthly meetings, and we have continually identified new partners and members that we bring to the table.

As we have been progressed, we have developed our understanding of other projects and initiatives in our region. The Task Force supports the concept of regional thinking and collaborative cooperation among various stakeholder groups as a methodology for eliminating redundancy and maximizing the knowledge, experiences, and skills necessary for a successful regional redevelopment outcome.

Specific to this grant request, our Task Force members are involved with the Fivemile Creek Greenway Partnership, an initiative involving Birmingham, Center Point, Tarrant, Fultondale, Brookside, and Graysville, and we fully support the goals of this coalition to improve and enhance water quality, to improve the physical health of area residents, and provide recreational amenities in economically challenged communities similar to those found in affluent areas of Jefferson County.

Our Task Force will be involved with the Black Warrior/ Cahaba Land Trust’s Fivemile Creek Brownfields Demonstration Project. Our work plan will build on the work their public information meetings by identifying the groups in the Tarrant Public Outreach Meetings held by the Land Trust, building on the educational opportunity by providing a series of workshops, detailed below, which will enhance the efforts of all groups in this watershed, as well as provide a template for continuation of all of these effort throughout the region.

As a follow-up and enhancement to the work of the Black Warrior-Cahaba Rivers Land Trust (the "Land Trust"), The Brownfield Regional Redevelopment Task Force, will provide a continuation of the community involvement initiative through a series of participatory public meetings. Using site specific locations identified by the Land Trust in their site assessment efforts, our workshops will be conducted to achieve the following objectives:

· Engage citizens in redevelopment possibilities through direct involvement with the design process: Charettes provide an opportunity to collect ideas, concepts, and additional input for the community redevelopment process.

· Enlighten and apply the concepts of smart growth through the charettes.

· Involve Task Force members, designers, and developers in the charettes, providing a foundation for collaboration between community and redevelopment professionals.

· Produce a final product deliverable in the form of design boards and economic development proposals for each of the focused sites, providing a showcasing tool for property owners, community/regional economic development efforts, and others interested in the redevelopment potential for specific sites.

· Establish a model for exporting the workshop/charette format to other communities across the region. 

 A series of workshops intended to mirror the design process will be provided to the community. The workshops allow citizens to become engaged and provide conceptual input for the eventual redevelopment of sites identified in the Land Trust work program. Citizens will have the opportunity to become enlightened on smart growth redevelopment, and then apply that enlightenment to their vision for physical redevelopment as an enhancement to economic development and sustainability.  

Review of the Land Trust findings, and explanation of the connection between the two work programs.

Define and then focus on a manageable collection of sites.

Reinforce redevelopment potential/opportunities within the community.

Educate relative to redevelopment through smart growth concepts. Applicable components including: transit oriented development, walkable communities, stormwater management BMPs, mixed use development, openspace preservation, greenways, green buffers.

Identify and then connect existing smart growth initiatives within the community to the redevelopment study sites, providing potential for a high impact smart growth community.

Conduct a site based SWOT analysis: gathering big picture citizen input for redevelopment concepts based on newfound enlightenment through smart growth.

Summarize the macro concepts and desires of the citizen participants.

Following are action items and processes to be applied as a framework and guide producing successful charette experiences and conceptual products: 

Divide participants into small work groups of three to five each. Assign a task force member to assist each group.

Provide each group with a specific site and supporting materials including: appropriate information gathered during the CRLT work program, site photos, aerial photo, topo, parcel map, and drawing materials.

Assign a design professional to float between two or three groups each, providing technical assistance as requested by the charette group.

Provide examples of sketches/working drawings for each of the four processes outlined within the charette.

Conduct four one hour segments covering standard phases of the design process:

#1- Brainstorming, conceptual sketches, and bubble diagrams. Define a program for the redeveloped site: its function, purpose, and use and economic development potential.

#2- Evaluate the program against a legend of smart growth objectives developed in work session #1, then begin to incorporate ideas and concepts into a pragmatic, site plan: still a rough draft with scribble, sketches, and ideas noted across the composition.

#3-Produce a final site plan, by transferring on trace medium the working drawings to reveal a coherent discernable plan, with annotations as needed.

#4- Presentations: Each group will share their plans and ideas with the entire work session group.

 

As an act of community service, design professionals from within the local practicing community, and/or design students at Auburn University, will be recruited to produce a conceptual design board for a selected site: the design to be based upon the conceptual master plan derived from citizen designs produced during workshop.

Citizen ideas synthesized into professional design graphics are presented to the community at workshop #3 including analysis of smart growth components within each design solution and discussion of economic development impacts through the specific redevelopment plan for each site.

Final thoughts and input will be taken from the reviewing public, including evaluation of the workshop’s effectiveness and suggestions for program improvements.

Following completion of the pilot workshop/charette sessions, a workshop and charette manual will be composed to assist the exporting of the program to other communities. The manual will document all aspects of the initiative, including pre-planning and contacts, timelines, notification and promotion, execution of work sessions including: location, equipment, facilities, and materials, follow-ups, and distribution of concepts and vision as an ongoing effort to encourage redevelopment.   

Timetable

October – November

Public Meetings held – Fivemile Creek Brownfield Demonstration Project

December – April

Workshop/Charettes held in Tarrant

April – May

Production of Model

During this visioning and educational development component, the community will become aware of the principles of smart growth and how these concepts can rebuild their community. Tarrant is full of opportunities: The Downtown is being designated as a historical district (TRUE?), the Greenway Master Plan will bring new recreational opportunities, Proposed Brownfield assessment by the Land Trust will bring development possibilities, Metropolitan Planning Organization/ALDOT working on the Hwy 79 crosswalks, Regional Planning Commission is producing the comprehensive plan, along with a recent "Walkable Communities" Workshop. All of these initiatives are further enhanced by an engaged community. Interest has been rising with these various workshops and initiatives. Our educational components will bring additional education to the community and we propose to address all of the Smart Growth principles in our workshops, including:

Mix land uses

Compact building design

create a range of housing opportunities and choices

create walkable neighborhoods

foster distinctive, attractive communities with a strong sense of place

preserve open space, farm land, natural beauty, and critical environmental areas

strengthen and direct development towards existing communities

provide a variety of transportation choices

make development decision predictable, fair and cost-effective

Encourage community and stakeholder collaboration in development decisions.

Our charettes will be designed to build knowledge, expand ideas, formulate possibilities, extend new knowledge, build consensus, and engage the community in learning and growing. In an area with a negative past, we hope to build anticipation for a positive future by bringing design elements with known economic and environmental benefits forward for their unique adaptation. We will distribute information continually on all initiatives and reach into neighborhoods on all levels by working with our partners.

Current efforts at remediation are sporadic, poorly coordinated (with other initiatives) and generally lack publ9ic understanding and support. There is also a great gap in knowledge between those advocating for Brownfield remediation and the property owners and the neighbors. The efforts being proposed will be result in a better inventory of the existing opportunities, Better understanding of the causal factor, better knowledge of the extend that an individual site impacts the greater community and better community support for remediation and redevelopment all while engendering less fear and trepidation from the current landowners. An added benefit is the prioritization of sites. Which are affordable, which will yield the greatest ecological, social, and economical impact for the community as a whole? We will not longer see independent efforts to fix isolated problems, especially when those efforts end at the fence line or the bottom of the cash allotment.

The Brownfield Regional Redevelopment Task Force was established to encourage communities within the seven county Metropolitan Development Board Region to pursue redevelopment of abandoned industrial properties commonly referred to as "Brownfields." In addition to revitalization of the urban core, other objectives of the Task Force include the mitigation of sprawl and reduction of urban blight.

The Task Force supports the concept of regional thinking and collaborative cooperation among various stakeholder groups as a methodology for eliminating redundancy and maximizing the knowledge, experiences, and skills necessary for a successful regional redevelopment outcome. Accordingly, the task force incorporates within its mission the discovery of harmonies and economies of scale realized through connecting brownfield redevelopment to existing agendas related to social, economic, ecological, and aesthetic improvement initiatives.

The Task Force expects that this project will bring revitalization to neglected urban core areas due to suburban sprawl. By demonstrating to the community that they can rebuild and grow anew, the community will be able to attract new businesses, build community spirit, achieve increased health from the connectivity features of walkable communities, enjoy economic benefits of mixed use for vitalized and vibrant neighborhood areas and business districts with less smog and better water quality.

A survey is underway involving the Land Trust to inventory all brownfield and underutilized properties in the Fivemile Corridor. Their work is scheduled to begin in October of 2004, working with grant funds from EPA. Once complete, this project will have all of the properties mapped with ownership and property values. Many properties will have assessments completed. Our Task Force will work with this group to take this project to the next level, to bring in the community for education, workshops and visioning exercises. This will take the community forward as work is completed, it will become community knowledge. Using this information, we will build the next steps with all partners and the community stakeholders to bring this knowledge of what is, to what can be. Our charettes are designed to build on what is being accomplished in Tarrant and provide the framework for the stakeholders to apply this opportunity to their community within the framework of their personal style, goals and needs.

We are partnering with the Black Warrior/Cahaba Land Trust for this part of the grant. They are beginning their assessment work in the Fivemile Creek area. As they progress with their work, this part of the plan will become available.

These brownfield properties have significant redevelopment potential for the City of Tarrant, the surrounding communities and the region as a whole. The redevelopment of these properties would make a cornerstone piece of smart growth and sustainable development planning efforts for the City. The City currently has an abundance of environmental and sustainable development projects and pursuits. These include some that are completed, some that are ongoing and others are still in the planning stage. Included are the over 600 acres acquired by the Land Trust (The Land Trust was established to implement the Jefferson County Greenways project, a $30 million program designed to create a county-wide greenways system for the benefit and improvement of overall water quality) between Fivemile creek and State Highway 79. These acres have been acquired in the Tarrant City area that is slated for use as a park and starting point for the hiking trail. Many of the brownfield properties that will be slated for smart growth redevelopment are between the Fivemile Creek watershed and Highway 79 which has 65,000 cars per day passing through the City of Tarrant. Redeveloping these priorities into smart growth projects can maximize the environmental and economic potential of the Greenways Project and the massive influx of cars. Due to the close proximity of the watershed and the downtown, the pursuit of eco-tourism projects appears ideal. By connecting the residents of Tarrant and the thousands of people who pass through within blocks of multiple outdoor and recreational opportunities, eco-tourism appears to be a viable avenue for reuse of the existing brownfield properties. Additionally, these brownfield properties are located within 5 minutes of Birmingham, the South’s second largest banking center with over $93 billion in assets trailing Charlotte, North Carolina, and 4^th largest in the United States. Plus, Tarrant is ideally located within miles of the Birmingham International Airport.

Currently there are several initiatives at work in Tarrant. We have members of our Task Force currently involved in these initiatives, or will be partnering with them as our work plan progresses. The sheer numbers of people involved and supporting the idea and the actuality of "fixing it up and getting some jobs back in there" is excitement enough to accelerate the word of mouth advertising. It is well know that 80% of the job creation comes from existing businesses expanding or spinning off new related efforts. With the real opportunities, fiscal advantages, and public support to locate or expand next to phenomenal infrastructure, the local Chamber, MDB, and elected officials will have a valuable set of marketing tools from this work.

There are several developing projects that influence the Fivemile Creek Greenway. There is a greenway plan in development for an eight-mile section of the creek; there is also a master plan/assessment for the entire corridor that will be accomplished in a parallel effort with the City of Tarrant TCSP project; the consent decree acquisitions; the impacts of the developing Jefferson County plan for flood mitigation. Additionally, the future development plans of the private sector within the corridor. These are all important elements that will take time to assess and develop a plan for coordination.  A brief synopsis of some of these initiatives:

The City of Tarrant has just finished the development of a park on a property that formerly housed a trailer park which would flood a few times a year. Now, the property has been turned into an environmental amenity by providing critical streamside buffers that will serve as a filter for non-point pollution and sediment control. Additional due to its proximity to the road it serves as an institutional reminder of what the problem was and how the partnership came together to help the victims and created a popular open space. If that were not enough, this property also serves as the "gateway" to a 600 acre preserve acquired by Tarrant’s partner – the Black Warrior Cahaba Rivers Land Trust. This are will be maintained in perpetuity as a natural are to offset flooding and the impacts of up stream development. It will create new opportunities for recreation, eco-business, and address critical habitat needs for Fivemile Creek.

Continued diversification of commerce, a general decline in industrial activity, and a continued pattern of outward migration from central core of the region has created a time of change and opportunity for the City of Tarrant. While major industries such as ABC Coke and Vulcan Rivets still comprise an important part of the community’s livelihood, Tarrant must look at the whole picture and make sure elements for both residential and a variety of commercial success are fostered and maintained.  This comprehensive plan for the City must address the critical issue of improving the quality of life for residents, while keeping the special character of the community intact.

Maintaining and improving the historical character of Tarrant’s downtown and neighborhoods is a primary focus of the Plan-responded to strongly throughout the process by residents and stakeholders.  This objective can be achieved by protecting and celebrating Tarrant’s distinct architectural and walkable environment while building opportunities for economic development, and further benefit to the City’s residents.

The city is very compact. Tarrant ranks 43^rd out of 494 cities in Alabama with a population of 1,105 people per square mile of land area. Plus, the adjacent neighborhoods are connected with a network of sidewalks which are accented by numerous overhanging mature hardwood trees. Due to this attraction Tarrant has implemented a walkable communities program helping to reduce fuel consumption and vehicular air emissions while improving the health of the community by increased activities.

A right-of-way has been located along an aquaduct through the city that can greatly enhance the walkability of the community. Plans for its development are in progress.

A comprehensive trail locational plan will be created for the Fivemile Creek Corridor.  The plan boundaries include a quarter mile swath along the entire extent of the main stem of the creek, from its eastern origination in the City of Clay 44 miles westward to its confluence with Locust Fork. 

The plan will be the strategic guide for project implementation by the various entities that compose the Partnership, and other related initiatives.

The completed plan will include the integrated analysis and corridor level recommendations that will include recreational areas (existing and proposed), and connections among the various communities along the banks of the creek.

The Fivemile Creek Partnership will advise and provide oversight of the iterative planning process. The process will be community driven and represent the interests of a cross-section of the community; stakeholders, residents, involved government agencies and non-profit institutions and other interested parties. Of special significance will be the integration of separate and related initiatives that are currently or will be underway within the corridor.

The purpose of the GAC is to provide advice and to make recommendations to Sloss regarding the development, management, and implementation of the Fivemile Creek Greenway Master Plan, upon ADEMs approval of the Detailed Work Plan. The GAC will review and comment of the drat Greenway Master Plan.

On December 9, 1996 the U.S. District Court entered into a Consent Decree (CD) between the Jefferson County Commission and the federal government. The CD required Jefferson County to eliminate sewer overflows and meet all Clean Water Act (CWA) requirements by 2007. Furthermore Jefferson County agreed to assume responsibility for a consolidated sewer system serving 21 municipalities countywide. In addition, the CD required that the County set aside $30M for greenspace preservation. The Black Warrior-Cahaba Rivers Land Trust—a 501c(3) non-profit organization—was established to oversee and administer the expenditure of funds for the acquisition of priority stream segments identified by a number of stakeholders including the County and EPA. In August of 1998 a Jefferson County Greenway Master Plan was developed with goals and objectives of the project, a proposed a greenway system including priority stream segments, proposed restoration projects, design criteria, land management guidelines, an implementation plan, etc.

The park site was purchased with FEMA grant funds to provide disaster relief and move people out of harms way.  The proposed use of this property is to construct a multi-use municipal facility.

 The property will provide an access point to a 588 acre natural area recently acquired by the Black Warrior/Cahaba Land Trust.  The property will contain a beautifully landscaped recreational area with a round walking track and multiple use active and passive areas.  In conjunction with the park area, the property is bordered by a section of Fivemile creek that is a tributary to the Black Warrior River.  The creeks' utilization into a linear park-greenway project from Tarrant's limits east to west will offer many positive enhancements to the stressed Highway 79 corridor.  The intended use is to build safe bicycle and walking paths to enhance the health of our citizens and also allow them to enjoy the natural beauty of the greenway. 

A large brownfield site located in the heart of Tarrant will be considered for a future pilot redevelopment project. The site, owned by a major corporate entity, is adjacent to a number of smart growth initiatives underway in Tarrant including the greenway project, trails project, land preserve, and city center redevelopment plans. The site is and suitable for mixed use development including residential.

Municipalities such as Tarrant, Fultondale, and Brookside have already directly used FEMA grants to buyout flood damaged properties along Fivemile Creek. In addition to these federal funds, Jefferson County Land Development has developed a Flood Mitigation Strategy Plan which outlines the County’s methodology for flood mitigation efforts throughout Jefferson County. The County Commission has agreed to appropriate $2M per year into a special County sponsored flood buyout program in which municipalities throughout Jefferson County are allowed to participate as long as they comply with the program requirements (e.g. adopt a floodplain protection ordinance presently being developed). Land Development recently received approximately 2,000 citizen responses to a survey regarding flooding problems. The problem areas and parcels are presently being mapped and assessed with site visits.

Highway 79

Cross walks and lights are being installed by the Dept of Transportation.

In addition to the multiple sustainable development initiatives ongoing in Tarrant, the layout of the City is also appropriate for various smart growth initiatives. The downtown has many historic properties (approximately 62 percent of Tarrant’s structures were built before 1959 and eligible for "historic" distinction). These historic features are commonly being recognized nationally as an economic development tool for communities. One possible revitalization effort proposed would be to use this designation and subsequent incentives as part of the smart design efforts introduced at the charettes.

As has been demonstrated in redevelopment efforts of Brownfield properties across the nation, the most successful redevelopment efforts are tied to important trends and assets of a City. This is the strategy we are pursuing with tying smart growth redevelopment to brownfields because of current smart growth and environmental promotion that is currently ongoing in Tarrant

In January of 2003, RPC staff convened a new multi-stakeholder group called the Bicycle and Pedestrian Advisory Committee to participate and oversee the Transportation Planning process. RPC staff and committee members developed a vision statement, as well as a set of comprehensive goals and supporting strategies for implementation of a new plan, as well as identifying existing and potential corridors for on and off-road non-motorized provisions (e.g. sidewalks, bike lanes, paved shoulders, greenways with multi-use trails, etc.) in the context of a two-county interconnected regional system. These routes have been compiled in a Geographic Information System (GIS) and geocoded for future analysis and development of a base map for public comment. Ongoing work also includes a new Bicycle and Pedestrian Safety Program, Walkable Community Workshops, trail and street design workshops, research, field inventories, the development of a website, and a draft content outline for the Plan. The goal is to have a final Plan ready for MPO adoption before year end 2004. Once finalized and officially adopted by the MPO, the Plan will be amended to the 2025 Long Range Transportation Plan.

There will be many benefits to the revitalization of the Tarrant brownfields that run along Fivemile creek and State Highway 79. First, the redevelopment of these sites will protect both human health and the environment by preventing the spread of contaminants. Fivemile Creek is one of the heaviest polluted tributaries in the State. It has at times been called "the worst of the worst" due to it being the receptor of industrial discharge of cyanide and heavy metals from current functioning industries. The poor reputation of Fivemile Creek has a negative impact on Tarrant while also raising major health concerns for local citizens. Recently the Alabama Department of Environmental Management (ADEM) upgraded Fivemile to a designation of fish & wildlife. A once ‘condemned’ waterway can now help lead the community to new life. Fivemile Creek will be used for recreational activities, including swimming, canoeing, and fishing. Improvements to industrial waste lands near this river will help to alleviate any hazardous substances in the water and will help protect those users of the creek.

Additionally, this creek is known for frequent massive flooding due the uncontrolled development and subsequent polluted runoff of abandoned industrial and manufacturing facilities which reside between the creek and the highway. Any efforts to remediate and revitalize these properties will help ameliorate the destructive conditions that keep the creek from being a viable improvement to quality of life for surrounding communities. Additionally, by incorporating smart growth designs for potential brownfield sites into the already environmental and pedestrian friendly infrastructure and configuration of the City not only limits automobile use, but bolsters the opportunity for an increased sense of place and civic pride and involvement for the community.

The redevelopment of these properties offers significant potential increases for business development and the local tax base. Tarrant has been substantially hurt by the fall of the industrial economy and the rise of the information age and the global economy which caused substantial blue collar industrial and manufacturing companies to relocate overseas. These properties have been an economic drain and an environmental eyesore which offer little economic promise in terms of jobs and quality of life improvements unless significant revitalization efforts are undertaken. Not only would these properties stand to gain from the current environmental improvements ongoing in Tarrant, the replacement or re-modernization of these abandoned and or dilapidated buildings and services offer ideal sustainable development mixed use opportunities.

Since the location of many of the brownfield properties are within blocks of both the watershed and planned greenway belt, in addition to downtown Tarrant and the highway, the opportunities for developers are abundant for various mixed uses. Implementation of the ideals and designs of New Urbanism, a growing desire of young professionals with and without families would seem opportune due to many of the aspects of this development (e.g., open space, walkable communities, recreational opportunities, etc.) are already prevalent within Tarrant. Revitalization of these brownfield properties using smart growth techniques would provide the catalyst for this type of development which is ripe for pursuing in Tarrant.

To ensure the brownfield redevelopment process will be beneficial across all racial and demographic lines, all public participation and community planning components and charettes will be all-encompassing and promote social, economic and environmental justice. Our charge is to seek perfection in the quest for full racial and socio-economic inclusion and participation to local brownfield redevelopment efforts, realizing that we will be unable to obtain it, but hoping to achieve excellence in our efforts. Our employed smart growth development strategies will ensure that individuals and families in all communities can participate and benefit from economic growth and environmental enhancements.

During these charettes we hope to promote equitable sharing of the benefits and burdens of the redevelopment process. Priority will be placed on development that is dense, integrates various uses, conserves land and fosters a sense of place; all in the hopes of providing a greater quality of life to all the citizenry of the surrounding communities. Site design conceptualizations developed during the charettes will hold as a priority to ensure that current community residents are not displaced by those wanting to move into the area that is offering the smart growth amenities. It will be proffered at the charettes and community involvement meetings that this development is not necessarily about bringing in the "the best people and top businesses", but about bringing in the self-chosen attributes of a higher quality of life for the current residents. This is priority one.

The City of Tarrant is a product of a once vibrant industrial community. Since the fall of the steel industry and the movement towards a service and information driven economy Tarrant has been burdened by its past and for many years was unable to cut itself loose or reenergize itself from its previous industrial and manufacturing ties. That has changed. The City of Tarrant is undergoing a massive change by improving the quality of life for its residents by building on the environmental and physical amenities it has to its disposal due to geography and history. Much of the catalyst for this life improvement is due to the smart growth development approach.

The population of Tarrant is 7,022 according to the 2000 Census. Not only has the industrial and manufacturing sector that has provided the economic base for Tarrant for 50 years aged, the population has also. Those individuals that are 65 years old and older make up 17.3% of the overall population in Tarrant compared to 12.4% for the United States. 18.7% of the population Tarrant is African American compared to 12.3% of the United States. Of people 25 years old or older, 8.3% of Tarrant’s citizens have a Bachelor’s degree of higher compared to 24.4% of the nation. 54.0 percent of the population is currently in the labor force compared to 63.9% of the country as a whole. Median household income is $29,380 compared to the US which is $41,994. The median home value if $52,800 compared to $119,600 for the United States.

Tarrant needs a mixing of the past with the future. Tarrant needs to build on its industrial past that was once a detriment to the natural environmental amenities by incorporating much of what was good about its history (e.g., compact neighborhoods, sidewalks, architecturally proud buildings, location) and intertwining development philosophies for the present and future. The components exist to develop a true smart growth inspired community and Tarrant has realized that with many of its current efforts. We hope to build the momentum by offering sustainable development opportunities for the current underutilized properties in existence within the City

The task force is comprised of approximately 20 active members with an ancillary group of approximately 30 who participate as desired. The group meets on a standard monthly meeting schedule for reporting, discussion, and approval of action items. Collectively the membership group represents a broad range of government, non-profit, academic, and private sector interests providing a strong base of input, guidance, and manpower toward project initiatives.

Member organizations:

Jefferson County Land Development, Black Warrior Riverkeepers, University of Alabama at Birmingham, Center for Urban Affairs, Jefferson County Economic and Industrial Development Association, Metropolitan Development Board, Regional Planning Commission of Greater Birmingham, Cahaba Warrior Coosa Resource Conservation & Development, Alabama Cooperative Extension, City of Tarrant, 4 Site Ice, Huntsville, AL, GIS, USDA-NRCS, Alabama Gas Corporation, City of Birmingham, Applied Research of Central Alabama.

All members of the Task Force have indicated their desire to proceed with this grant process and all members have indicated that they will assist as needed with all elements of the workshops.

The budget reflects the anticipated expenses that cannot reasonable be expected to be donated to this effort by the partners and their associates. We do expect that a significant portion of the expenses related to this project will be covered by donated goods and services, In-Kind contributions of products, services, and skills. The Task Force has already received initial indications that local firms, agencies, and individuals will contribute or significantly discount their services to assist in the design and conduction of the charettes. We will be tapping into a cadre of professional facilitators that were convened in the metro area to assist locally led stakeholder processes like this. While room rental is included in the budget, we will strive to find suitable venues that can be donated to the program from churches, civic facilities, and private professional office. Any funds that we do not have to expend on budgeted items will be brought back to the grantor’s project manager for reallocation to unmet needs of the project or used for enhancing the final report and product. The end result of this effort will be a community process and plan arriving at a common vision with a road map for implementing Smarter Growth. The final products in addition to the actuation of one community is the development and dissemination of a pattern and process for all similar communities in Alabama and the southeast to apply in their area.

Includes the cost for an RPC employee or contractor to manage the daily operations of this project to attend to all reporting needs and to track the tasks and scope of the projector

Includes fringe for employee

Travel for speakers, volunteers, and some for the Project Manager to attend off site functions supporting this effort

Equipment rental for stakeholder events, digital imagery, and assorted hardware / software for tracking databases, interpreting data, storage, and presentation

Includes materials like flip chart pads, markers, and name tags.

To defray expense for outside professional with specific skills that we cannot get donated. E.g. GIS analysis, facilitators to guide small groups through the charettes, marketing and media assistance.

Rental fees associated with large facilities for the charette process.

Printing invitations, flyers for distribution, meeting materials and final report.

Direct mail and general postage and report needs.