Liveblog from the MICD Santa Rosa Technical Assistance Team Session

In early 2008, the Mayors' Institute on City Design received a generous gift from the Edward W. Rose III Family Fund, directed through the National Endowment for the Arts, to support technical assistance teams going into the communities of alumni mayors who have already attended one of our traditional Mayors' Institute sessions. The four cities that we selected for the pilot phase of this work were Santa Rosa, CA, Lincoln, NE, Cincinnati, OH, and Tulsa, OK.

3 minute read

July 18, 2008, 2:40 PM PDT

By Jess Zimbabwe @jzimbabwe


In early 2008, the Mayors' Institute on City Design received a generous gift from the Edward W. Rose III Family Fund, directed through the National Endowment for the Arts, to support technical assistance teams going into the communities of alumni mayors who have already attended one of our traditional Mayors' Institute sessions. The four cities that we selected for the pilot phase of this work were Santa Rosa, CA, Lincoln, NE, Cincinnati, OH, and Tulsa, OK.

I am writing from the front of the City Council Chambers in Santa Rosa, where our team is presently presenting its recommendations to city officials and other stakeholders. Santa Rosa was selected as our first pilot phase city based on the enthusiastic participation of Mayor Bob Blanchard (MICD 39, 2007), who recently passed away. It's an honor for us to be here continuing the vision of such a great leader.

The meeting is also being broadcast live on local cable television, if you happen to be in the area.

These are the recommendations of the MICD Resource Team:

  1. Focus on the downtown core and concentrate investments there (the blocks immediately around Courthouse Square)
  2. Extend the connectivity of 4th street's pedestrian character through the Santa Rosa Plaza mall
  3. Increase walkability through street trees, curbside parking, and retail that animates dead edges
  4. Use the arts, nature, fountains, and other activity to make downtown into the city's living room
  5. Celebrate nature by increasing the richness of the Prince Greenway by adding cafes, activity, and access points to the river walk
  6. Embrace the arts as a catalyst for downtown development
  7. Create a world-class planning cultutre and capacity with public sector leadership

And here are some recommended strategies for implementation:

  1. Increase the hotel bed tax and use the increment to enhance downtown
  2. Create a restaurant tax
  3. Fight for Tax Increment Financing enabling legislation at the state level
  4. Dispel the notion that parking should be free (or even cheap); downtown parking should generate income for downtown
  5. Tax motor vehicles
  6. Build increased trust among stakeholders
  7. Integrate the various diverse visions for downtown
  8. Invite (or compel!) absentee landlords to come to the table
  9. Stop the buck somewhere; empower your leadership

Many thanks to the following folks:

Your thoughts or questions would be valued, as this dimension of our program is very much still in its infancy.

 

MICD team presenting in Santa Rosa

 

Here are my photographs of this event.

And here's a tribute to Mayor Blanchard.

Update (7/20): The Santa Rosa Press Democrat covered the event today.


Jess Zimbabwe

Jess Zimbabwe is the Principal of Plot Strategies. She served until recently for ten years as the founding Director of the Daniel Rose Center for Public Leadership—a partnership the National League of Cities (NLC) and the Urban Land Institute (ULI). The Center’s flagship program was the Daniel Rose Fellowship, which brought the mayors and senior leadership teams of 4 cities together for a year-long program of learning from land use experts, technical assistance, study tours, leadership development, and peer-to-peer exchange.

portrait of professional woman

I love the variety of courses, many practical, and all richly illustrated. They have inspired many ideas that I've applied in practice, and in my own teaching. Mary G., Urban Planner

I love the variety of courses, many practical, and all richly illustrated. They have inspired many ideas that I've applied in practice, and in my own teaching.

Mary G., Urban Planner

Get top-rated, practical training

Logo for Planetizen Federal Action Tracker with black and white image of U.S. Capitol with water ripple overlay.

Planetizen Federal Action Tracker

A weekly monitor of how Trump’s orders and actions are impacting planners and planning in America.

April 23, 2025 - Diana Ionescu

Close-up of "Apartment for rent" sign in red text on black background in front of blurred building

Trump Administration Could Effectively End Housing Voucher Program

Federal officials are eyeing major cuts to the Section 8 program that helps millions of low-income households pay rent.

April 21, 2025 - Housing Wire

Black and white photos of camp made up of small 'earthquake shacks' in Dolores Park in 1906 after the San Francisco earthquake.

The 120 Year Old Tiny Home Villages That Sheltered San Francisco’s Earthquake Refugees

More than a century ago, San Francisco mobilized to house thousands of residents displaced by the 1906 earthquake. Could their strategy offer a model for the present?

April 15, 2025 - Charles F. Bloszies

Missouri state capitol dome in Jefferson City, MO.

Missouri Law Would Ban Protections for Housing Voucher Users

A state law seeks to overturn source-of-income discrimination bans passed by several Missouri cities.

28 minutes ago - Missouri Independent

Los Angeles, California

Op-Ed: Looking for Efficiency? Fund Intercity Buses

Much less expensive than rail, intercity buses serve millions of Americans every year, but public subsidies are lacking.

1 hour ago - Smart Cities Dive

A bus stop in Philadelphia, where people wait under a glass shelter for a bus as it arrives.

Philadelphia Councilmember Proposes Transit Access Fund

The plan would allocate 0.5 percent of the general fund toward mobility subsidies for low-income households.

2 hours ago - Streetsblog USA

Urban Design for Planners 1: Software Tools

This six-course series explores essential urban design concepts using open source software and equips planners with the tools they need to participate fully in the urban design process.

Planning for Universal Design

Learn the tools for implementing Universal Design in planning regulations.

Write for Planetizen