Bethel Director of Economic Development Janice Chrzescijanek said the aim of the BETHEL FORWARD Community Voices meeting was “for the public to identify ideas for downtown regarding strengths and opportunities.” She said, “It’s a fact finding mission” to give the consultants information and ideas.
Report and Photography by Paula Antolini
October 2, 2015 11:02AM EDT
Image above: “BETHEL FORWARD Community Voices” meeting attendees work in small groups at tables in Bethel’s CJH Municipal Center General Purpose Room in Bethel, CT. DPZ architect and urban planner Marina Khoury in center photo third from right, Gianni Longo of Gianni Longo & Associates, in center photo far right, and Director of Land Use/Town Planner Steve Palmer, in center photo second from left. CLICK ON IMAGE ABOVE TO VIEW LARGER.
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First Public Meeting of “BETHEL FORWARD Community Voices” Produced Many Ideas for a Master Plan
The First Public Meeting of “BETHEL FORWARD Community Voices” took place on Thursday night, October 1, 2015, at 6:30, and ran well past the scheduled 8:30 time frame planned. Over 100 people attended and all seemed very enthusiastic to participate.
BETHEL FORWARD is a project funded by a $100,000 grant to the Town of Bethel, for a study to assess the needs of certain geographic areas of Bethel, totaling approximately 130 acres of property. It is a study regarding the Bethel revitalization plan from a regulatory and design standpoint, around the train station and beyond, called Transit Oriented Development (TOD). The goal is for sustainable future growth of Bethel but the area was also extended to help support the existing downtown business area.
The area includes the Greenwood Avenue business district, extending past P.T. Barnum Square east to approximately Maple Avenue, and west to the area near Bethel Cinema near Chestnut Street, north well past CVS, also includes the Grassy Plain Street area, and south a block or two of Greenwood Avenue, see map below. The dotted red line on the map shows the former area to be considered but it was then extended to include areas inside solid red line.
Image above: Map of Transit Oriented Development district including business district and other areas of discussion. CLICK ON IMAGE ABOVE TO VIEW LARGER.
Miami-based consultants Duany, Plater-Zyberk & Company (DPZ & Partners), who also have offices in Washington DC, Portland, OR, and Berlin, Germany, were hired to handle the process of gathering information from the Bethel community and will also be creating a master plan based on the input. The company has done over 300 projects from architecture to regional plans.
DPZ works in a format called a “charrette.” DPZ states,
“The term ‘charrette’ is derived from the French word for ‘little cart’ and refers to the intense work of architects before a deadline. At the nineteenth century Ecole de Beaux Arts in Paris, as carts circulated to collect final drawings, students would jump on the ‘charrette’ to put the final touches on their presentations.”
A “Charette Schedule” chart was one of the items shown during the DPZ slide show presentation. The Charette Schedule provides a timeline information about what would happen during the Charette of the Bethel town study project.
DPZ states,
“The Charrette is the preferred method of planning which DPZ has developed in our traditional planning practice. In a one-to-two-week work session, the charrette assembles key decision-makers to collaborate with the DPZ team in information sharing, iterative design proposals, feedback and revisions, organizing a complex project quickly. Professionals and stakeholders identify options that are rapidly prototyped and judged, enabling informed decisions and saving months of sequential coordination. For projects requiring public participation, the charrette is effective in managing a large audience, encouraging input and producing valuable political and market feedback. The dynamic and inclusive process, with frequent presentations, is a fast method of identifying and overcoming obstacles. The shared experience helps vest interest in the design and build support for the vision. A number of DPZ charrettes have concluded with a final presentation during a city council voting to approve the plan!”
$250,000 was secured by Town officials for this project, along with the $100,000 state grant and money from the Affordable Housing Trust Fund. DPZ was chosen from more than a dozen bids for the project, at a fee of $234,000. Gianni Longo & Associates was hired by DPZ for work on community outreach efforts and to obtain more public input.
Image above: Gianni Longo of Gianni Longo & Associates
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Gianni Longo and Marina Khoury lead the first phase of the BETHEL FORWARD meeting.
DPZ architect, urban designer and planner, Marina Khoury outlined the agenda for the meeting and how the interaction would work during the first public meeting. The format was structured so DPZ could listen to the community and hear about their experience in Bethel, and collect ideas from all.
Bethel Director of Economic Development Janice Chrzescijanek said the aim of the BETHEL FORWARD Community Voices meeting was “for the public to identify ideas for downtown regarding strengths and opportunities.” She said, “It’s a fact finding mission” to give the consultants information and ideas.
The study will include economic and market analysis, a look at water and sewer availability and transportation. Industrial property could be rezoned to include higher density mixed use development of residential and commercial.
Chrzescijanek said invitations were previously sent to residents in the affected areas and they met with some of those residents for input.
Bonnie Brown and Steve DeMoura are co-chairs of the 2015 TOD Steering Committee, now known as the BETHEL FORWARD Steering Committee.
Image above: Steve De-Moura speaking.
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At the Oct. 1st meeting Bethel resident Billy Michael, of the Bethel Action Committee, asked a question at the beginning of the session as to whether or not the residents and business owners of Bethel will ultimately be able to vote on the final project and will there be a town meeting or referendum, as he believed the area included in the study was too large an area to be decided without a vote from residents. Bethel Director of Land Use/Town Planner Steve Palmer said no, there would be no vote from residents. Selectman Richard Straiton said there would be Bethel Planning & Zoning Commission public hearings “all run by Planning & Zoning” and that “P&Z will tweak the program.”
After the meeting, First Selectman Matt Knickerbocker said the project “is not being run out of my office” and confirmed that the Bethel Planning & Zoning Commission (P&Z) would be handing matters.
First Selectman Knickerbocker said once all the facts are in, the final decision will be decided by the P&Z. He said, “This process goes to Planning & Zoning and will be like any other planning process, so there will likely be public hearings, probably multiple public hearings, you know, opportunities for more input, opportunities to see what is being proposed, and then Planning & Zoning will decide.”
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THE FIRST PHASE OF THE BETHEL FORWARD CHARRETTE
The October 1, 2015 is one of several meetings that will take pace regarding this Charrette project.
At the meeting on Thursday night, groups of about 8-10 individuals chose seats around individual tables with one person serving as the facilitator. Large maps of the Bethel Transit Oriented Development (TOD) areas were placed in the center of each table. Individuals then placed red or green circular stickers on the map to indicate favorite areas in town, or STRONG points, and problem areas, or WEAK points, and were asked to state why they felt that way. Circles were then drawn around areas that had the most of either color, to indicate where most people felt the positive areas were, or areas that needed attention. A tally was also taken of what OPPORTUNITIES could be possible in Bethel, a basic wish list.
Ideas were written in list form on large poster-sized paper. A final summary of ideas from people at each table was read to the meeting attendees by each of the group’s facilitator, as they stood in the front of the room to talk about the findings.
There was not a shortage of ideas, here are just some (not all) of the ideas the community mentioned:
STRONG
–downtown area
–there’s a lot of coming and going
–Bethel downtown is visual heart of Bethel where everything happens, gem of town
–Byrd’s Books, Toy Room, English Apothecary, Library, good attractions
–Library centrally located and has good parking
–Famous Pizza and many good restaurants, it’s why people come to town
–Caraluzzi is an attraction that brings people downtown
–downtown is walkable
–the town has its own train station to connect to other places
–P.T. Barnum is attractive and brings people downtown
–old train station, attractive business in it own right, and provides more parking
–Grand street, beautiful houses, historic, walkable sidewalks where people gather, shade trees, great architecture
–Library, quiet with benches, green, trees, lawn, historic architecture, lots of community activities, visible, like New England, good parking
–sense of communtiy
–clock and P.T.Barnum central focus
–many people come from out of town to record store
WEAK
–Diamond Avenue industrial area is a lake
–Bethel is boring, we roll up the sidewalks at night and there is a night parking ban so there is nowhere to park
–kids move away there are no jobs, nothing of interest, nothing to do, rent too high
–Burger King area, overgrown lots, an eyesore, and same for bus station
–no signage to show visitors additional parking
–ugly industrial area between cvs and new train station
–underdeveloped lots across from the municipal center, could be additional parking, not a god visual nw
–some retail areas looking run down, facades of downtown buildings could use a facelift
–a little too much litter that blows around downtown, need more trash bins and more frequent pick up, to encourage people to recycle
–bus storage on Durant full of buses, and building next door is eyesore, an eyesore on Grant St., traffic an issue, potholes, sidewalk ends before train station, no pedestrian crossover from across tracks, property not maintained
–abandoned houses on Greenwood at Blackman and High Street, pulls down everything around it, tree has disrupted the pavement on High Street, is hazard
–nothing draws you to area near bus station, ugly
–south side of School Street, parking lots and backs of buildings, more sidewalks are needed
OPPORTUNITIES
–senor housing downtown, affordable but not the affordable housing just affordable senior housing
–fixed income taxes
–develop industrial and commercial, Chicos, Talbots
–need to be mindful of additional students with additional housing
–School street should be closed to just pedestrian traffic
–PR campaign to make people realize Bethel is a good destination
-small window in fall where people come to Blue Jay Orchards has events but then people do not realize there is shopping nearby
–bus shelters for people to stand in at bus stops
–emphasis the safe aspect of Bethel and make it a destination
–no place to stay in Bethel when people come to visit, need places to stay
–strong arts but people are unaware of all the live music that goes on
–strong bicycle and pedestrian element
–autos and bikes could share road in safer environment
–expanded parking at train station
–doing something with wetlands, pedestrian raised boardwalks, connect to major points
–a beer garden that is open all summer instead of one weekend
–historical signage as you enter Bethel, highlight Bethel’s historic nature
–improve benches downtown, add places to sit
–developing Overlook park (dark, undeveloped)
–keep the quaintness and New England charm, consistent with what we have
–move the police station to Durant Avenue and get rid of the bus parking
–make dog/people park on Greenwood and Chestnut
–creative ideas for rush hour congestion
–civic center, recreation center
–create a well-designed and intuitive website
–better communication for community events
–enforce ordinances especially snow and ice removal and blight ordinance
–condemn/tear down abandoned buildings
–protect the wetlands
-pedestrian bridge from Grant Street t train station
–need more green areas
–make area from Caraluzzi to library car free
–develop more areas to live downtown
-do not draw attention away from downtown via Stony Hill area
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DPZ consultant Marina Khoury said, “Tonight kicks off the public first part … I was very encouraged about what I heard tonight … you heard me try and summarize the complexities of the issues we heard tonight, but there was a very strong desire to retain the character, some very specific suggestions in terms of areas that can be improved, opportunity sites for new development, and we certainly tried some concepts here already, and I loved, particularly, the idea to connecting School Street opposite to Greenwood.”
“The next part of the process is presenting to you the summary of what we heard today. So we’re going to really sit down and give thought to trying to interpret what we heard, and layer it in, as in a technical way, so take all the maps and show where the greens are very predominant, where the reds are most predominant, it will set a list of priorities, let’s put it that way. And that, then again, once we present it, and it came back from the community, ‘yes this is sort of what we told you, no you forgot this, we want to emphasize this,’ then we will have a charrette in November, which is this intensive planning workshop, in which we will spend five days here … getting into the very detailed master planning effort.” Khoury said.
Khoury continued, “We’ll have our transportation people here and the civil engineers here, and the local architects here, and the facilitators here, and the outreach people here, but it will all come together in a beautiful plan that will be very implementable. And we’ll be working on a very specific part of this, including, ‘How do you translate this vision into regulations?’ We’ll be looking at existing properties too, as I said, we are not starting from scratch, we have to work with what is already on the ground, with your history, what you love about your community, so we’re going to try and built on up.”
“We’ll have lots of beautiful drawings, we hope that will inspire you, and the tools to implement it,” Khoury stated. “And I forgot to mention we will have the market analysis person here, which she’s off doing the market analysis as we speak, which it’s going to really help identify and target how much retail is needed here, how much commercial can be sustained, where should it be, how can it reinforce positively, the existing businesses that are already here, and not compete. How do we bring multi-family back in town, how much multi-family, what’s the absorption rate, all of that. That will help to form a plan.”
“There’s the social part of it and the public perception of it, and the public desire, but there’s also the reality on the ground. What the developers do, what are property lines and what will the market take.
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The next session, “BETHEL FORWARD Community Choices,” is scheduled for October 29, 2015. “Community Choices” is the second public meeting of BETHEL FORWARD. You will review findings from the first meeting and evaluate how they measure up against current land use and economic conditions. Working in small groups, you will refine and prioritize a shared vision of downtown Bethel that will become the foundation of the BETHEL FORWARD plan.
VIDEO OF BETHEL FORWARD FIRST PUBLIC MEETING AND MORE PHOTOS, COMING SOON!…CHECK BACK!
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More about DPZ:
Planning and Urban Design
Duany Plater-Zyberk & Company has been a leader in the practice of planning and urban design for over 30 years. Our philosophy is the platform of New Urbanism, a movement promoting mixed-use, traditional neighborhood planning over the segregated-use suburban sprawl seen worldwide. Co-founders of the Congress for New Urbanism (CNU), DPZ’s principals have been longtime advocates of urban growth through compact, pedestrian-oriented, transit-friendly communities that continue to shape policy and have recently influenced new sustainability codes.
DPZ’s wide range of planning services fall into three basic categories: urban revitalization, new towns, and design initiatives. Urban infill plans comprise the majority of our projects, often accompanied by form-based codes or other regulations to ease their long-term implementation. New town projects come with regulatory documents and phasing strategies, in which value is incrementally added over time. Our design initiatives, including Sprawl Repair, Agrarian Urbanism, and Light Imprint strategies, relate to both under-served sectors and intrinsic environmental resilience.
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