Boone master plan under construction
Design charrette continues

By Frank Ruggiero
frank@mountaintimes.com

The town of Boone is looking toward the future, as citizens and officials develop a growth strategy leading into

2030.

Instead of a crystal ball, they’re using a charrette, an intensive weeklong planning and design session in which public participation is essential, with the help of the Lawrence Group consulting firm from Davidson.

The public planning design charrette started Oct. 20 and continues through Oct. 24, to resume with a closing presentation on Oct. 28. The Lawrence Group kicked off the project last Wednesday with a presentation and public workshop.

Lawrence Group principal Craig Lewis welcomed about 70 people to the presentation, saying, “This is the beginning of a highly engaged public process. The town really wants your opinions about how to chart the future over the next 22 years.”

Those in attendance, he said, represented constituents, families and households, and he encouraged everyone to be advocates for their recommendations in the planning process.

“There is a responsibility in both ways – for the leadership to recognize your comments and for you all to continue to remind them what your comments are,” Lewis said.

He told how Boone is unique in many different ways, being a center of education, health-care and commerce, “and that’s going to continue over a long period of time. Many communities would give all of their left arms collectively to have the great benefits you have here.”

When the Lawrence Group helped the town complete an award-winning smart growth audit earlier this year, various residents and stakeholders were interviewed about the town’s ordinances and plans to gauge strengths and shortcomings. The next logical step, Lewis said, is a land-use master plan that embraces smart growth practices, like mixed land uses, compact building design, a range of housing opportunities, walkability, a strong sense of place, preservation of open space and natural areas, directing development toward existing communities, a variety of transportation choices, predictable and fair development decisions, and community and stakeholder collaboration.

Lewis said his team was currently in the reconnaissance phase, mapping areas of priority development by means of survey and interviews. Progress would start by building on Boone’s inherent qualities and examining the demand side of the equation, such as market study recommendations – things to do, things to buy, connectivity and circulation, jobs, housing diversification, public space and professional management.

A charrette, he explained, comes from the French word for “cart,” essentially derived from a reference to Paris art schools. When students would be nearing the end of an exam, a charrette would be wheeled around the studio to collect their art work, Lewis said. Students would wait until the last minute to turn in their work, using that time as a final push to finish their piece – some even jumping on the cart and completing their work while being wheeled to the professor.

“Now, it’s a way we can all get together to collectively work and develop that vision or picture and get it completed in a short time period,” he said.

The wheeling began Monday, Oct. 20, as Lawrence Group planners began working with stakeholders, like community members, business people, developers, educators, civic organizations and others.

Interviews are conducted during the daytime, followed by “pin-up” sessions in the evening, where all the information from that day’s work is compiled and pinned up for public display. Members of the public may stop by any time during the day, and activities will continue throughout the evening.

“We want you to all come in and give us that feedback and know that we’re going in the right direction,” Lewis said.He said they’ll tackle issues like transportation from a multi-modal standpoint. “It’s not just about moving cars – we also need to think about bikes and pedestrians, and perhaps other ways to get around the community,” he said.

Key plan components include land development and redevelopment policies, transportation network enhancements and a multi-modal plan, a transect-based framework plan and conceptual/schematic planning in three dimensions for key parcels.People are not assigned to stakeholder groups. Instead, interested parties should examine the schedule and determine which session topics affect them the most.

“We encourage you to come to any or all events … or just to drop in,” Lewis said. “You may be very interested in utilities; please, come to those events. But if you wake up one morning and have some burning idea you absolutely have to share with us, don’t wait or think you have to give it to us in the context of a specific meeting.”

A community survey has been posted online at the charrette Web site (boone2030.blogspot.com), and Lewis said there will be a prize for participation to be announced at the closing presentation.Following the introduction, attendees were divided into small groups, each with a planner and map of Boone, with which they identified what they value about Boone, their vision for the Boone of 2030 and what changes they would most like to see. Groups focused on transportation and connectivity and other areas, like firm properties that should remain unchanged, other areas ripe for change, transportation improvements, appropriate development and other factors.
Through this interaction, Lewis said his design team would assess residents’ priorities for their town and put them to use in next week’s charrette. The results were answers remarkably similar in nature from each group, such as green space, enhancement and preservation of downtown Boone, a prominent greenway system for commuting and not just recreation, limited sprawl, the Daniel Boone Parkway (or Boone bypass), transportation connectivity, cultural activities, landscaping of major corridors, health care, more parks, redevelopment, appearance standards, promoting local business and a strong emphasis on community.

The Lawrence Group will put this information to use during the charrette, which is being held at the Best Western Blue Ridge Plaza, located at 840 E. King St. “We’ll be there all week long,” Lewis said. “If you have an opportunity to stop in...come to stakeholder meetings.”

On Tuesday morning, Oct. 21, the work moved to King Street, where participants assessed the downtown area.

Lewis encouraged people to attend the closing presentation on Tuesday, Oct. 28. Before the presentation closed, he assigned some homework. “Go back to your neighborhoods, social organizations, Facebook friends, whatever it is, and get 10 people that you know to come and join us next week during the charrette, and then get 20 people to come to the closing presentation,” he said.

John Spear, director of Boone Development Services, was pleased with the kickoff meeting, though he would liked to have seen higher attendance. “It’s going great so far, but I would hope it’ll gain more momentum as we move forward,” he said.

“I hope the whole thing isn’t just a rehash of what they’ve already told us,” Boone resident Kimberly Marland said. “If people stick with their ideas, then it’ll be worthwhile.”

For more information, call Boone Development Services at (828) 268-6960. The 2030 Land Use Master Plan development is online at boone2030.blogspot.com and on Facebook (www.facebook.com) as boone2030.

Charrette Schedule

Thursday, Oct. 23
Best Western Blue Ridge Plaza
9 a.m. to 5 p.m. – Open Design Studio
5:30 p.m. – Daily Project Update/Design Pin-Up

Friday, Oct. 24
Best Western Blue Ridge Plaza
9 a.m. to 5 p.m. – Open Design Studio
5:30 p.m. Daily Project Update/Design Pin-Up

Tuesday, Oct. 28
Broyhill Inn & Conference Center
5:30 p.m. – Closing Presentation (The design team will present its set of preliminary recommendations for guiding growth, development and redevelopment over the next 20 years.)