HUD Archives: News Releases

ARIZONA
City Of Yuma/Yuma County Joint Land Use Plan - The Joint Land Use Plan (JLUP) is an amendment to the respective City and County General Plans. It is comprised of a land use map to guide planning commissioners and elected officials in their deliberations on development opportunities and zoning actions. This unique governmental partnership addresses multi-agency issues and needs, and showcases opportunities to create sustainable communities in other areas. The JLUP established the growth template for the region's future to preserve agricultural lands, encourages development to ensure the survival of local military bases, and identifies locations for new residential, commercial, and industrial development.

COLORADO
Lowry Redevelopment Project, Denver - When the Lowry Air Force Base was placed on the base closure list in 1991, a community-based effort to plan for Lowry's sustainable reuse was put into action, including replacing 7,000 jobs. Homebuilders participating in the national model Built Green of Colorado program used energy efficient and environmentally sensitive practices, including recycling old runways. They also instituted a system of drainageways to capture surface run-off and are expanding wetlands which serve as teaching tools in local schools. The initiative sparked the emergence of the Lowry Foundation, which funds art, educational, and "quality of life" projects. Other innovative enterprises include the new Lowry Town Center, a combination of residential, retail, commercial and mixed-use development, and the Lowry Redevelopment Project (LRA) which brings the latest in technology to Lowry by linking businesses, homes and schools through a high-speed, fiber-rich, digital broadband network.

PENNSYLVANIA
Lancaster County Growth Management Strategy - Lancaster County's 1993 Growth Management Strategy has been a much-needed response to 30 years of suburban sprawl, traffic congestion, and destruction of cultural resources. The county held hundreds of regional and municipal public meetings to identify problems and form a common vision of regional cooperation and planning, curbed growth, conservation of open spaces and farmland, and improved transportation and water protection. Since the Strategy's inception, the county has implemented community courses on sustainable planning, involved youth in planning activities, and extended its Geographic Information System to its municipalities to track growth. It has also created a number of cooperative coalitions like the County Agriculture Preserve Board, Challenge Grant Programs for public libraries, and the Lancaster Campaign, an alliance of government officials, private companies, citizens and community-based groups that developed a Downtown Action Strategy and a number of competitive grant programs.

TENNESSEE
Eastgate Town Center - Chattanooga and Hamilton County governments have confronted urban sprawl and the deterioration of "first-ring suburbs" through designing a new "Town Center," thus introducing a new economic anchor and cultural center for the Brainerd/Eastgate community located in the four-mile area surrounding it. A coalition of public officials, community members, and developers revitalized a dying mall, taking it from 25 percent occupied to 90 percent reserved. They did this by implementing a plan that emphasizes a sustainable reuse of public and private infrastructure that is not dependent on the provision of new roads, sewers, or utilities.

VIRGINIA
Northampton County Sustainable Development Initiative - The most innovative project within Northampton County's Sustainable Economic Development Strategy is the Port of Cape Charles Sustainable Technologies Industrial Park (STIP), America's first eco-industrial park and a joint venture of Northampton County and the Town of Cape Charles. STIP has lowered unemployment, attracted businesses, created a market for aqua-culture products, and initiated over $11 million of housing projects. The municipality also purchased 55 acres adjacent to the Chesapeake Bay to be the eco-park's natural area preserve.

OTHER WINNERS

ARIZONA
Tempe Rio Salado Project - Aimed at revitalizing the barren Salt River, the City of Tempe and Maricopa County initiated a multi-jurisdictional plan incorporating public meetings, surveys, neighborhood forums, and student projects into what became the Rio Salado Project. For the first time, air-inflated rubber bladders were used for flood control in an urban recreational lake with economic development and environmental revitalization. The communities were successful in returning water to the dry river while providing flood management and creating a new technology. They also drafted a comprehensive management plan for sustainable transportation and infrastructure facilities.

CALIFORNIA
Colton/San Bernardino Regional Tertiary Treatment and Water Reclamation Authority Rapid Infiltration/Extraction (RIX) Wastewater Treatment Facility - The RIX facility is a first-of-its-kind program in California and employs innovative technology that produces recycled water of the highest quality and saves the participating cities over $30 million. Compared to a conventional treatment facility, the water is of such high quality that it may even be sold in the future to enhance traditional water supplies. This project resulted from the efforts of San Bernardino and Colton in partnership with a regional agency composed of five different water districts and the cooperation of regional government offices.

Family Protection Unit - The City of Westminster and Orange County employed innovative partnerships and proactive strategies to meet the three demands of crime reduction - enforcement, intervention, and prevention. To that end, they came together to fight domestic violence through a new joint office called the Family Protection Unit. The unit consists of a multi-disciplinary team including a domestic violence detective, deputy district attorney, senior social worker, and victim services specialist. An additional product of the inter-agency collaboration was a two-day training program aimed at increasing police officers' knowledge about domestic violence and improving evidence recognition. Training significantly increased officers' empathy toward victims and their belief in the importance of their role in domestic violence intervention. It also improved the quality of police reports and officers' ability to recognize child abuse as well as decreased the number of cases rejected by prosecutors.

Sonoma Green Business Program - The Sonoma Green Business Program came to life because of citizens' concern that pollutants going into the sewer system exceeded discharge limits and were becoming a noticeable problem. Rather than focus on penalties, the program centers on offering incentives by recognizing facilities that have complied with environmental standards and awards them the Sonoma Green Business certification. The Sonoma Environmental Quality Assurance Committee, a team of multi-media state and local regulatory agencies, has been especially successful in reducing environmental program fees to businesses as well as environmental hazards. As a result, businesses and regulatory agencies have established long-term partnerships through trust-based, mutually respectful relationships.

IDAHO
Treasure Valley Partnership - Responding to a surge in population growth, neighborhood leaders have joined together to create this cooperative approach to planning and strategic initiatives at a regional and local level. The Treasure Valley Partnership first established an agreement of principles including promoting collaboration, providing community and cultural opportunities for residents, and strengthening cooperative activities in transportation, public safety, disaster mitigation, and environmental quality. Now, in the second phase of the agreement, the communities are putting these plans into action. Current projects underway include coordinated zoning plans, joint emergency crew efforts, and shared water treatment responsibilities. The collaboration has also enabled the local communities to bring national speakers to headline programs on drug enforcement, education, and rehabilitation, construct a regional trail network to preserve open spaces, and develop a commuter rail demonstration to aid in regional transportation efforts.

MARYLAND
Port Towns Revitalization Initiative - A partnership between the three municipalities of Bladensburg, Colmar Manor, and Cottage City, Maryland, launched a revitalization initiative that has created a new identity for the area and sparked the Neighborhood Revitalization Division and the Port Towns Revitalization Action Plan. These initiatives involved planning, development, and implementation of both short- and long-term strategies to improve quality of life in the towns including the business, residential, physical, and social environments. Major accomplishments include convening "Three Towns Council" meetings, installation of commercial streetscape and infrastructure, business attraction and retention, "Jobs for Youth program," joint community celebrations, environmental education programs, and reconstruction of a waterfront park/marina.

OHIO
Port Authority for Brownfields Redevelopment - Serving 21 cities, 16 villages, and 12 townships, this project is an independent economic development authority that has instituted remediation and reuse of municipal land, buildings, and infrastructure. This first formal brownfield initiative in the county is also on its way to becoming a self-sustaining program. Supported by a volunteer planning committee, the Port Authority has enhanced intergovernmental relationships and saved political subdivisions time and money by providing the structure and voice for a coalition of communities. It has also inspired broad-based stakeholder involvement and, through its outreach program, created job opportunities, a more informed public, and a cleaner environment.

Make a Difference in Hills and Dales Park - Three cities - Kettering, Oakwood, and Dayton - banded together with hundreds of volunteers in a cooperative effort to reclaim a community park from years of neglect and abuse. Springboarding off a multi-jurisdictional committee plan, volunteers donated over 1,200 hours in the first all-day clean-up. The coordination of subsequent park events led to the establishment of a corps of 300 citizens who regularly organize activities like clearing trails, picking up litter, cutting honeysuckle, planting flowers, and producing wood chips.

Mahoning River Corridor of Opportunity: A Public/Private Team Approach to the Responsible Redevelopment of a 900-acre Industrial Brownfield Site - The Mahoning River Corridor of Opportunity (MRCO) team has breathed new life into a 900-acre brownfield through a comprehensive clean-up and redevelopment plan that is sustainable, economically viable, and environmentally responsible. Community officials effected cooperation that transcended political boundaries through public meetings and efficient use of land and existing infrastructure. The brownfield has been redeveloped into two industrial parks, built from the pre-existing buildings, for half the cost of normal construction. The parks, which have a significant amount of acreage between them, are economically self-sufficient and support the community with their own real estate taxes as well as state, municipal, and school taxes.

OREGON
The Oregon Way to a World-Class Workforce - Regional leaders recognized the need to integrate the needs of employers and the workforce in order to forge a workforce system that will enhance the skills of the region's current and future workforce. Toward that end, they integrated several existing Boards and dismantled the former Private Industry Council in favor of an employer-driven regional policy board, called the Workforce Development Board. Hallmarks of the program are an ongoing community planning process and a One-Stop workforce development system accessible to employers, job seekers, and career advancers. Innovative partnerships like JobNet link the Workforce Development Board and the Portland Development Commission through the First Source Agreement in which companies partner with the municipality in recruiting, interviewing, and training area residents for jobs. Training programs for youth and adults, as well as assistance to companies for business retention and expansion, go hand-in-hand in programs at the new Outer Southeast Manufacturing and Technology Learning Center.

Content Archived: January 20, 2009