Mayor Riley and the Downtown Partnership Dinner - I'm starting this post with a comment that was left at the end of a very long thread, so that the discussion isn't lost. The question was as follows:
"Interesting comment made last night by Charleston Mayor Joe Riley about Porte Cocheres- don't you think?"
My answer is most definitely. Mayor Riley made many interesting comments, that a Porte Cochere is not a great thing in the middle of a retail/pedestrian street was one of them, and few will disagree, myself included. He also pointed out how some in Charleston obsessed over the horrors of narrowing lane-width (he mentioned as narrow as 7 1/2 to nine feet) when it was necessary to provide space for better retail frontage (I believe he used the word arcade, but can't swear to it, and that was not the form I recall in that specific picture) and how successful that had been in spite of those ojections. Somehow that sounded eerily familiar to me...
He also talked about the sacredness of their waterfront park, and how they don't allow events there, which is something we've argued for here as well. He talked about the importance of their master plan, the importance of defining the form they want, of maintianing a quality retail frontage and relationship to the street, and a number of other things which are precisely what our master plan calls for and our planners have been fighting to preserve. I sat with a number of them, and I can't count the number of times Mayor Riley made a point and they all said YES!! because they were things that are part of our plan and that we are doing and trying to accomplish in the city.
What I enjoyed most, and hope to learn from, was his ability to articulate the large-scale policy issues on a very human scale, down to the individual. I saw that as the man's gift, and probably a big reason he's been in office so long.
Yes, it was an interesting presentation, and as with most things I'm sure many people took away different things depending on their perspective. In the beginning Mayor Riley said he was there to provide reinforcement, and I can certainly say that the members of the planning and engineering staff that were in attendance without question walked away feeling that their efforts had been validated and reinforced, as did I. Who doesn't appreciate that?!
"Interesting comment made last night by Charleston Mayor Joe Riley about Porte Cocheres- don't you think?"
My answer is most definitely. Mayor Riley made many interesting comments, that a Porte Cochere is not a great thing in the middle of a retail/pedestrian street was one of them, and few will disagree, myself included. He also pointed out how some in Charleston obsessed over the horrors of narrowing lane-width (he mentioned as narrow as 7 1/2 to nine feet) when it was necessary to provide space for better retail frontage (I believe he used the word arcade, but can't swear to it, and that was not the form I recall in that specific picture) and how successful that had been in spite of those ojections. Somehow that sounded eerily familiar to me...
He also talked about the sacredness of their waterfront park, and how they don't allow events there, which is something we've argued for here as well. He talked about the importance of their master plan, the importance of defining the form they want, of maintianing a quality retail frontage and relationship to the street, and a number of other things which are precisely what our master plan calls for and our planners have been fighting to preserve. I sat with a number of them, and I can't count the number of times Mayor Riley made a point and they all said YES!! because they were things that are part of our plan and that we are doing and trying to accomplish in the city.
What I enjoyed most, and hope to learn from, was his ability to articulate the large-scale policy issues on a very human scale, down to the individual. I saw that as the man's gift, and probably a big reason he's been in office so long.
Yes, it was an interesting presentation, and as with most things I'm sure many people took away different things depending on their perspective. In the beginning Mayor Riley said he was there to provide reinforcement, and I can certainly say that the members of the planning and engineering staff that were in attendance without question walked away feeling that their efforts had been validated and reinforced, as did I. Who doesn't appreciate that?!
posted by Michael McNees at 11:43 AM
5 Comments:
What I was most impressed about last evening was he voiced many issues we are tackling here in the city. I hope the part the city, especially the commissioners since they are the decision makers, took at out the talk was the importance of details and providing parking that does not have to be ugly. I really feel this is the direction the city is going with things like the Whole Foods project and redoing Lemon Avenue. I hope the city continues to do more improvements like those.
I think what struck me most about Mr. Riley's presentation was his use several times of the words humanity and democratic. Being familiar with Charleston and the Mayor's reputation I must say that he always keeps the democratic whole of the City in mind when making decisions that will shape Charleston instead of allowing special interests to place undue influence in the decison making process. It is through his unabashed ability to decline the offers of some that would have otherwise placed their bottom line in front of the City's ideals that has set him apart and endeared him to Charlestonians. In his actions and approach, he has won the confidence of his constituency who believe that he holds their interests as the highest ideals guiding Charleston's development. Unfortunately, I don't believe this has been the case in the rapid development here in Sarasota. From what I've witnessed, the City has allowed the Developers to set the conditions and schedules for the decison making process. Often the City has truncated, or expedited these deals with limited input from the public to comment on prior to the leaders approving- as we see what this has now wrought. I think this has alienated and estranged the public to the degree that many do not believe the City is actually considering there opinions equally against the Developer's. It is my hope that this will change and the City leaders that heard the presentaion last night begin to understand it takes the "buy in" of its citizens to create the synergy that has made Charleston what it is today.
I find truth in what you say, but in a much more general way. Mayor Riley talked about small constituencies that stand in the way of doing the "right thing", and in many of his examples he certainly wasn't referring to the development community, the people who were opposed to narrowing the street he talked about for example. The real issue is that the "citizens" are far from a homogeneous group that is all of like mind. In fact, most things that one group of citizen's loves another group of citzens hates. It has become more and more difficult in the 20 years I have been involved in local government to accomplish things that ANY group of citizens is adamantly opposed to, regardless of what a large majority might want.
It is easy to be a beloved leader when all of the citizenry backs your proposals. The art, and what I believe Mr. Riley exhibited, is the ability to keep things moving forward even when some, or at times even many disagree with what the right course of action is. That is our challenge, at least as I see it.
Mr. McNees,
Mayor Riley was not referring to arcades in his mentioning of the narrow street. It's too bad that the decision to grant the developer the porte cochere AND the narrowing of the street were done for all the wrong reasons. The street wasn't narrowed because of better retail, it was narrowed because of the porte cochere's massive presence.
i am a resident in sarasota .homeowner 10 years.employed.
iwant you to help with info
on how to help the homeless.i
i just watched an item on cnn.
sarasota is listed as the # 1
"meanest city "to homeless.
what can be done,to whom should we address?
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