The Apostrophe Patrol is not always critical and negative. Occasionally the Patrol highlights excellence in apostrophe usage. This example from a poster in Branson is honored because it displays "its" and "it's" correctly in one small sign.
This provides glimmer of hope in an otherwise dreary punctuational landscape.
This series invites readers to guess the identity of Jefferson City personalities. We post pictures and information from their past or present adventures.
Log your guess, or a candid anecdote about the subject, by selecting "Comments" below.
In the last segment we talked about Sprawl in general - what it is, and its presence in Cole County and Jefferson City. Today we will point out several ways, among many, that Jefferson City has succumbed to the lure of suburbia and actually promoted sprawl.
Some observers point out that Jefferson City seems to drive development outside its borders. Recent policies have moderated this trend, but several old habits and attitudes have historically caused growth to occur outside the older parts of town. And to a great extent, the damage is done.
First, after taking over the bankrupt Gray's Creek Sewer System decades ago, Jefferson City proceeded to provide a major urban amenity, sanitary sewers, to whoever wanted to hook up.This resulted in St. Martin's residents being provided favorable sewer rates while their alderman gleefully annexed down Business 50, almost surrounding Jefferson City's largest park at Binder. This self-defeating generostiy has been halted, most notably with Toas on the East, and wise challenges to further St. Martin's annexations on the West. But the damage of 50 years of encouraging growth outside the city limits by providing cheap sewer rates has taken its toll.
Second, Jefferson City has in the past treated developers like in-laws showing up unexpectedly for a long visit. Sometimes the city council has succumbed to a few people showing up at a council meeting and denied reasonable multi-family or mixed use redevelopment proposals in older parts of town. Entrepreneurs are often met with reasons why they "can't" instead of how they "can." Those investors, and the growth they represent, go elsewhere -- usually in the suburbs where there are fewer regulations, and more complacent politicians and bureaucrats.
Redevelopment of existing neighborhoods is hard. It takes new ordinances and common sense application of general rules. It takes elected officials who understand that if we do not preserve our urban core we will very soon look like a little St. Louis City.
On the positive side, our downtown is looking ok, and the South Side is showing signs of life. But what's really lacking is any substantial regentrification. New owner-occupied residential is still rare in the urban core. MSP Redevelopmemt may some day spur some good trends, but . . . . that subject is for another blog post.
Next: Another Culprit - Cole County
Nice display at a local salon. Sharp sign. Inviting arrangement. Marred by an AP miscue.
Start celebrating Father's Day on Saturday morning at Oak Hlls with 9:00 coffee, 10:00 tee time, great lunch, cash prizes and appropriate beverages courtesy Scheppers and Fechtel. Home well in advance of your own evening festivities and/or 5:00 Mass.
Three person scramble. $80.00 All proceeds go to lour ocal Kiwanis Club Projects for local kids.
Call Bryan 635-3084 or Oak Hills 645-6532 to reserve your slot.
This is a felony caught red handed in a DC airport. It's one thing when signmakers just screw up. It is quite another when they think the apostrophe is some little mark they can insert anywhere they want just to be cool.
Freeman Mortuary has not net announced funeral arrangements for friend and colleague David Woodside. Aside from his professional and personal achievements, David has a place in local history. He won the competition for the design of Jefferson City's flag.
Wikopedia has a thorough discussion of the term. The short definition is "Urban sprawl, also known as suburban sprawl, is a multifaceted concept, which includes the spreading outwards of a city and its suburbs to its outskirts to low-density and auto-dependent development on rural land, high segregation of uses (e.g. stores and residential), and various design features that encourage car dependency."
Larger cities have attempted to slow down sprawl because it creates inefficiencies and additional costs for both the public and private sectors. It also creates unplanned growth adjacent to cities that eventually become socially and economically dysfunctional.
From the public standpoint, it is easier and less costly to provide essential services within smaller geographic areas. Similarly, it is less costly for citizens to commute to work, shopping or recreation within a dense urban setting.
In Central Missouri the availability of raw land at reasonable prices is a strong incentive to live in suburbs and even more remote areas that are primarily agricultural. This, combined with a more Southern or "country" heritage, prompts many of us to view a home in a farm or plantation setting as a mark of success and contentment.
But not everyone can afford "Three Acres and a John Deere." As a result, dense subdivisions have grown up adjacent to the city limits. One of the most densely populated areas in Cole County is not in a city: Westview Heights. This development is our own poster child for sprawl.
As housing stock in Westview Heights ages, and more properties are rented instead of being owner occupied, the area is in desperate need of urban supports like code enforcement, zoning and neighborhood law enforcement. This forces Cole County Government to replicate urban services that could be provided more efficiently and uniformly under Jefferson City's umbrella. Yet, annexation is resisted, not as result of economic considerations, but as a result of an attitude that is at the heart of sprawl -- the idea that if I am sufficiently distant from the urban core I am in "the country" and the pleasures of rural and agricultural life are at my doorstep. Actually, nothing could be further from the truth. Westview Heights has the worst of both worlds: urban density with its problems; and legal separation from the urban resources that could help alleviate the problems.
We have recently seen a slight reversal of this trend, evidenced by the demand for upper tier residential downtown. Younger citizens who stay in Jefferson City to begin careers seem more interested in an urban lifestyle than their parents. But the basic trends persist.
In large part, "Sprawl just happens." Even cities like Portland, a pioneer in utilization of an "urban grownth boundary," has seen only marginal results. Governmental controls are controversial, with critics arguing that an owner's right to use his land as he wishes is a fundamental right with a long tradition in America.
The upcoming posts on this topic will not advocate government controls. They will, however, discuss how Jefferson City and Cole County governments and other local institutions have, over time, created incentives encouraging urban sprawl; and they have, conversely, discouraged reinvestment in the urban core. I will argue that the city, county and school boards can address sprawl, and get more value out of precious tax dollars, by reconsidering fundamental tax, regulatory and planning policies.
Watch for Part 2 : How Jefferson City has encouraged sprawl.
High Street Beat is the personal weblog of John Landwehr, a partner at Cook Vetter Doerhoff & Landwehr and a former Mayor of Jefferson City. Your comments, feedback and suggestions are welcome.