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E-Mail Forum – 2013 |
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LGC Reports - July 2013
August 5, 2013 |
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Vol. 34 No.7, July 2013   |
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 Judy Corbett To Become Executive Director Emeritus: After 30 years as the founding Executive Director of the Local Government Commission, Judy will be cutting back on her crowded schedule to spend more time with her family and young grandson. Next January, after a sabbatical, she will become the Local Government Commission's Executive Director Emeritus, and will provide assistance and support to a new ED. The Board of Directors is currently interviewing candidates to fill the position of Executive Director and is expected to select a candidate in August.
"While I will actually miss the many hours a day (and night) I spend thinking about and working on LGC projects, the chance to be a part of my little grandchild's daily life is something I don't want to miss. I'm grateful to be able to enjoy the best of both worlds - continuing to serve the LGC while still having plenty of time left over for my family and friends. Working for California's forward-thinking local elected leaders has been an extreme honor and a pleasure - an experience for which I continue to feel very, very grateful." |
Roundtable Recap--Discussion Series on Crime Prevention Through Community Design: Since the development of the Ahwahnee Principles in 1991, the LGC has emphasized that creating walkable, mixed-use, vibrant places will not only help make our communities more livable but also much safer. The idea that how we build our communities can help reduce crime is well established in the field of Crime Prevention Through Environmental Design, or CPTED, and is an issue the LGC has highlighted over the years through our workshops, conferences and publications. In recent months we had the opportunity to work on this issue again.
In June and July, the Local Government Commission - in partnership with the California Department of Public Health, the Public Health Institute, the Institute for Local Government, and the Prevention Institute - hosted a series of roundtable discussions on crime prevention through community design. Attendees included planners, law enforcement officers, community leaders, and others with expertise on how to better incorporate crime prevention strategies into the planning and development process. Roundtables were held in Fresno, Oakland, Sacramento, Los Angeles, and Riverside. Additional discussions were held with Community Transformation Grant Safe Routes to School site leads and Health in All Policies Task Force members.
Each region examined distinct challenges and offered unique insights; however, there were several common themes that emerged from the discussions, which are listed below:
- Inter-departmental and cross-jurisdictional coordination supports successful prevention efforts, in terms of planning, as well as policy development. Crime prevention training can foster a better understanding of shared goals and can catalyze efforts to leverage expertise and resources.
- As resources for planning and law enforcement become more limited, community-based crime prevention is becoming more important. This requires coordination and trust between local governments, the police, and the public.
- Community engagement is a key component of successful prevention efforts. Local businesses, schools, neighborhood associations, and other groups in the community should be involved in the planning process early and often.
- The maintenance and programming of a space is just as important as design in preventing crime, especially in communities that are built-out.
LGC and its program partners will use findings from the roundtable discussions to inform the development of a guidance document for local governments and community based organizations on how to incorporate crime prevention practices into the planning process. The guidance document will also be informed by best practices research that identifies examples of successful use of crime prevention through community design in California.
The guidance document will discuss crime prevention as a key element of sustainable development. Much of LGC's work to help create compact, diverse, and connected places supports crime prevention principles. For example, compact communities include destinations that are close to one another, which encourages walking and biking, and more "eyes on the street". Likewise, mixed uses provide watchfulness day and night. A connected street and sidewalk network in high activity places will foster effective surveillance. The guidance document will examine how these and other strategies intersect to create a community that is, as author Derek Paulsen describes, "sustainable not only in its impact on the environment, but also in its impact on people."
Funding for this project is provided by The California Endowment to support Designing Safe California Community Environments for Health. Funding is administered by the California Department of Public Health. For more information, contact Aatisha Singh at asingh@lgc.org. |
City of Livingston, CA Participates In Successful 6-day Charrette: How can a small San Joaquin Valley town like Livingston ever afford to conduct a community-intensive, multi-day charrette? With the help of the Local Government Commission (LGC) and the California Chapter of the Congress for the New Urbanism (CCNU) volunteers this struggling Central Valley town did just that. Last month, LGC and 18 planners, architects, engineers from across the state, participated in a 6-day charrette to draft a Downtown Plan, a Form-Based Code and Citywide Growth Strategies for this city of just over 13,200 people. High school students and local union carpenters constructed several "tactical urbanism" demonstration projects during the charrette, including a roundabout and a pop-up cafe.
LGC partnered with the City to secure a Caltrans Transportation Planning Grant that helped pay for the effort. CCNU volunteer professionals provided their talents and labor pro-bono. Download a copy of one plan resulting from the charrette prepared by CCNU here.
A detailed plan for improving Main Street and B Street, a key gateway corridor into downtown Livingston will be ready in a few months. For more information, contact Josh Meyer at jmeyer@lgc.org. |
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LGC STAFF WATCH - News from the Field
Patrick Stoner, Local Government Energy Efficiency
Best Practices Statewide Coordinator |
This month marks Patrick Stoner's 20th year as an LGC staff member. His current title is California's Statewide Local Government Energy Efficiency Best Practices Coordinator, a position created by the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC), funded by the investor-owned utilities, and overseen by ICLEI, the Institute for Local Government and the Local Government Commission.
As Statewide Coordinator, Pat develops fact sheets on local government programs to reduce energy use and greenhouse gas emissions, and tracks local government progress toward meeting the goals of the California Long-term Energy Efficiency Strategic Plan. The Coordinator website (www.EECoordinator.info) houses the fact sheets and annual tracking reports. Pat also served as the host for LGC's Statewide Energy Efficiency Forum for the last four years. This year, Pat will be assisting the CPUC in updating the local government chapter of the PUC's Strategic Plan.
Prior to his position as the Statewide Coordinator, Pat oversaw LGC's Resource Conservation programs, including energy, water and waste reduction. Some of the projects overseen by Pat include:
Pat also created a local government energy network in California that includes quarterly networking meetings and a listserv with weekly energy updates. Pat has a Master's Degree in Resource Development from Michigan State University. He plans to retire at the end of this year, after which he will be living full time in Port Townsend, WA with his husband, Sam, and dog, Hannah.
Contact Pat at (916) 448-1198, ext. 309, or pstoner@lgc.org. |
Safe Routes To School National Conference
August 13-15, 2013
It's Not Too Late to Register!
The 4th Safe Routes to School National Conference is making its way to California's state capital August 13 - 15, 2013!
Register Now!
Join us for this not-to-be-missed national conference focused on providing safe, convenient and fun opportunities for children to bike and walk to school! The program will include a dynamic mix of plenaries, breakouts, and workshops. There will also be special events including a charitable bike build, mobile bike mural, kidical mass ride, and some other fun and exciting events infused throughout the 3-day program. It will also feature exciting tours of local model projects in and around the greater Sacramento region. Secure your seat at the conference and register today!
Follow the event:
Facebook @saferoutesconf
Twitter @srtsconf
Pinterest: http://pinterest.com/saferoutesconf/
Conference website: www.saferoutesconference.com |
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A membership service of the Local Government Commission.
For questions or comments, contact lgc@lgc.org or 916-448-1198.
www.lgc.org |
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