Sprawled Out: The Search for Community in the American Suburb

Franklin's "City Civic Center District": The big sell-out

The document above was recorded without fanfare on 11/21/07 at the Milwaukee County Register's Office: Wyndham Village Retail, LLC (sole member: Mark Carstensen) to Target Corporation: transfer of building and property for $2,664,000 (filing fee of $7992 is derived from 3% of sale price).

These things happen quietly. But they have enormous repercussions.

If you imagine Target is a mere tenant of The Shoppes at Wyndham Village, think again. If you believe that a local developer can represent his community's ongoing needs and interests (as he promised) once he banks the money on the above transaction, dream on.

You're looking at the smoking gun (which I predicted here); the instrument that effectively makes the nascent core of Franklin's "City Civic Center District" answer to ... Minneapolis, Minnesota.

A big box retailer will decide the character of our community (as is happening at Pabst Farms).

Those who bought into developer Mark Carstensen's solemn assurances and the fanciful pictures he showed on October 31st of 2006 will want to tune in to this space Monday to see - specifically -  what Target will and won't allow the city of Franklin do with what we thought was our downtown.

Here's a preview for you: Target has determined that there will be no movie theaters or live performance theaters in Franklin's City Civic Center. Got a problem with that? Take it up with Minneapolis.

You'll also be interested to learn why the attached Sendik's store happens to be the same size as a Target Greatland grocery component.

ABOVE: Shoppes at Wyndham Village Sendik's

BELOW: The shape of things to come? Target Greatland (photographed by John Reed)

Complete the Streets Pt 2: Saner streets for Franklin?

(Illustration courtesy of AARP)

How do you get developers and local governments to create public spaces more hospitable to the entire population, not just those with access to a vehicle?

Complete the Streets is an initiative designed to get cities, regions and states to enact and enforce street engineering and design policies that provide safe access for all - -  including older people, children, and people who who use wheelchairs or have vision impairments. Of course, it also means bicycles and pedestrians are given proper consideration.

In other words, Complete the Streets encourages enforceable policies that make the city and developers do more than the bare minimum; it forces them to look beyond self interest and observe the current and future needs of the community. It enables meaningful (and commercially profitable) public spaces. It means being able to safely walk to school rather than having to take a bus from two blocks away.

(Above) INCOMPLETE STREETS: This is what we consider "safe" neighborhood access to a school in Franklin?

 

But make no mistake: Developers will not do anything that they aren't forced to do, and local governments - - Franklin's most definitely included - - are loath to step on the toes of developers unless there is a clear statute or ordinance in place to cite.

Enter the Complete the Streets movement.

The membership of Complete the Streets is diverse: America Bikes, American Association of Retired Persons (AARP), Smart Growth America, the American Society of Landscape Architects and Paralyzed Veterans of America are just a few of the organizations lending support to the cause.

You may recall that local seniors activist Casper Green mobilized his constituency to support Mark Carstensen's Shoppes at Wyndham Village despite its elderly-unfriendly site plan. Mr. Carstensen's financial contributions and generosity to causes and organizations that Mr. Green champions trumped all other considerations. As a result, the very population that has the most at stake in terms of their loss of freedom and mobility due to a poor, Target-dictated site plan remains silent on the issue - - to raise concerns would seem "ungrateful." Mr. Green - - a genuine community asset and tireless volunteer - -  made it clear to me in my conversation with him that as far as he's concerned, when you criticize the "Shoppes" project, you are "against Mark."

Of course, a few weeks later Mr. Carstensen began to differentiate between "my part of the development, which is the Sendik's and all the outlying buildings" and Target's huge - - and site-plan dominating - - swath of property, which Target owns and wholly controls. Unified site plan? Nope. Target Corporate called all the shots. Well played.

Clearly, if the soon-to-be-reconstructed stretch of Drexel Avenue that fronts "Shoppes" is to be properly designed to allow as much usability as possible given Franklin's current center-less status, the mayor, plan commission and common council are going to have to ignore partisan pressure groups; veiled threats from Target; bluster from blog-wielding conservative mouthpieces ("my good friend the mayor", "my close personal friend the alderman"); and scoldings from the developer.

Don't hold your breath waiting for that to happen.

That's why the Complete the Streets movement is invaluable. The organization works to identify and put in place enforceable guidelines at whatever level possible - - be it local statute, "best practices" rules, regional ordinance, etc. For example, the DuPage County (IL) Healthy Roads Initiative contains this language:

Construct a sidewalk or bicycle path where right-of-way is available; Ensure that the new construction project is safe for both the user and the community; Ensure that the new construction project adds a lasting value to both motorized and non-motorized users; Ensure the project incorporates context sensitive and environmentally sensitive design. Requires public meeting during preliminary engineering design; consensus should be reached.

Developer balking at creating a walkable site plan? Fear reprisal? Cite the initiative; "Nothing personal, but we have these guidelines to follow....".

And "connected" communities are more valuable communities. As noted in an excellent opinion piece from The Seattle Times:

People tightly wed to the single-passenger-car concept are least likely to accept the complete-streets idea. But 90 percent of us, according to a survey by the National Association of Realtors, believe that new communities should be designed so we can walk more and drive less, and that public transportation should be improved and accessible.

Look around us. Clearly, Franklin is full of "incomplete streets," built for vehicles only, and built for speed regardless of environment.

Hope that's not your small child below, forced into the ditch trying to dodge traffic on the way to school. Simply pathetic.

••••••••••••••••••

From the Complete the Streets web site:

The streets of our cities and towns ought to be for everyone, whether young or old, motorist or bicyclist, walker or wheelchair user, bus rider or shopkeeper. But too many of our streets are designed only for speeding cars, or worse, creeping traffic jams. They’re unsafe for people on foot or bike — and unpleasant for everybody.

Now, in communities across the country, a movement is growing to complete the streets. States, cities and towns are asking their planners, engineers and designers to build road networks that welcome all citizens.

(Click picture below to see Complete Street transformation)

ELEMENTS OF COMPLETE STREETS POLICIES (from the Complete the Street website)

1. The Principle

• Complete streets are designed and operated to enable safe access for all users. Pedestrians, bicyclists, motorists and transit riders of all ages and abilities must be able to safely move along and across a complete street.
• Creating complete streets means changing the policies and practices of transportation agencies.
• A complete streets policy ensures that the entire right of way is routinely designed and operated to enable safe access for all users.
• Transportation agencies must ensure that all road projects result in a complete street appropriate to local context and needs.

2. Elements of a Good Complete Streets Policy

A good complete streets policy:

• Specifies that ‘all users’ includes pedestrians, bicyclists, transit vehicles and users, and motorists, of all ages and abilities.
• Aims to create a comprehensive, integrated, connected network.
• Recognizes the need for flexibility: that all streets are different and user needs will be balanced.
• Is adoptable by all agencies to cover all roads.
• Applies to both new and retrofit projects, including design, planning, maintenance, and operations, for the entire right of way.
• Makes any exceptions specific and sets a clear procedure that requires high-level approval of exceptions.
• Directs the use of the latest and best design standards.
• Directs that complete streets solutions fit in with context of the community.
• Establishes performance standards with measurable outcomes.

2.5 Implementation

An effective complete streets policy should prompt transportation agencies to:

• Restructure their procedures to accommodate all users on every project.
• Re-write their design manuals to encompass the safety of all users.
• Re-train planners and engineers in balancing the needs of diverse users.
• Create new data collection procedures to track how well the streets are serving all users.

See also another article about complete streets from the AARP here

Complete the Streets, part 1; the upcoming Drexel-Shoppes test

This past weekend as I attended my grandfather's funeral, I was inevitably reminded (as was the rest of my extended family) that we're not getting any younger. The day will come when, in terms of our freedom to get around, we'll be at the mercy of whatever conditions prevail for public transit and street design.

With that in mind, take a look around Franklin. Now imagine trying to traverse the many inhospitable portions of our built environment without a vehicle (the bike path, wonderful as it is, does not count - it doesn't go anywhere).

Bleak prospects, indeed.

I bring this up because Franklin faces an important test when reconstructing Drexel Avenue in front of The Shoppes at Wyndham Village, and I confess that I don't have high hopes.

As previously discussed in this space, Franklin is patterned on classic suburban sprawl templates, one of which is the lack of a cohesive, traffic-taming street grid (an ongoing problem; recall developer Mark Carstensen's overt indignation - - "This is the first I've heard of it!" - - at a public hearing when he was reminded that he would need to need to allow space on the eastern edge of the Shoppes site for a future road that would allow some level of connectivity to future developments).

Developers of untamed subdivisions were/are allowed to create spaghetti-strand roadways built for speed and unrelated to  current and future connectivity. The Franklin "plan" appears to be one that leans heavily (almost exclusively) on collector roads that occur in mile-by-mile increments (Rawson, Drexel, Ryan, Puetz, etc.). These roads are designed to simply get busier and busier, and we'll keep widening them in "response."

A city of incomplete streets.

Unfortunately, one of these "roads as sewer" collector roads - - Drexel - -  runs right in front of the Shoppes at Wyndham Village, intersecting with fast-moving Highway 100. Drexel will assuredly get no relief from alternate routes you'd find on a grid system; it's just going to get busier and more congested. Close your eyes and imagine the environment along the street between Loomis and Hwy. 100 a year from now; and remember, the only way to get to "Shoppes" is to drive.

Again, bleak prospects.

Sprawl-induced barriers abound in what is supposed to be Franklin's "City Center," where "Shoppes" is located. For example, standing between the current nominal municipal center (consisting of the Franklin library, city hall, and Legend park) and Shoppes is multi-lane Loomis Road. Park once and walk to multiple destinations? No way - expect people to get back in their car and drive to Target from the library - not even a half-mile apart from one another - rather than brave that crossing on foot.

Speaking of "municipal center": persons from out of town might be asking, "where is the police station?" We don't call it something so benign here in Franklin; no, we have a Law Enforcement Center that sits off on its own, a sprawling, unapologetic monument to the suburban ideals of "give me space" and "connect me to nothing useful."

Pardon the extended digression, but just look at this thing:

Is that lawn mowed for free?

Given the "macro" sprawl characteristics we observe here in Franklin, how can the city address the more "micro" problem of making Drexel less deadly in front of Shoppes at Wyndham Village, as well as accessible to persons without a vehicle? Perhaps they can't, to be honest, but more progressive and forward-looking suburbs are taking steps via a movement called "Complete The Streets" to make their communities safer, less vehicle dependent and more inclusive for persons with mobility issues.

Stay tuned for part two.

The Sendik's triangle

The Balistreris have announced yet another Sendik's location, this time in Greendale Greenfield (oops). Pick-n-Save has got to be back on its heels - - this is pretty aggressive expansion for what was once considered a "boutique grocery."

Freeway proximity is key to why I'm confident two out of three Sendik's locations will thrive. The new Greenfield location is right off the Rock Freeway and en route to and from the popular "Border's-Southridge-Barnes & Noble-Office Depot-Best Buy" strip on 76th Street. With the addition of this Sendik's, expect a retail "boomlet" in an area that already draws most of Franklin's discretionary income.

The Franklin Sendik's on Rawson, while still new and a novelty, seems to have converted a great many "fence-sitters" who may have considered the store too expensive for their tastes and budgets before actually shopping there. Rawson is a main route to and from the freeway, so it couldn't be much easier to get in and out. The parking lot is compact enough to make a quick stop less daunting than the commitment you have to make at a Pick-n-Save.

The Sendik's at Shoppes at Wyndham Village, due to open Summer or Fall '08, faces lack of freeway proximity, potential traffic snags on Drexel, and what I think will be parasitic competition from its neighbor, Target. Its only hope, unfortunately, has been substantially diluted by a very poor site plan; had Carstensen's team spent more time creating a true "village" retail layout rather than retail barnacles surrounding a strip mall-type Target, people would have a reason to venture there even if it's a bit out of their way (i.e. not on the way to or from a freeway).

Still, a single additional top-tier retailer in the Wyndham space could make all the difference - - but, once again, that retailer would have to overlook the dreary site plan.

Fountains of Franklin - - which seems perpetually stuck in neutral ("Announcements forthcoming!") - - would do well to capitalize on that error by doing whatever is necessary to (A) acquire the strip of land that currently (and tragically) bisects its development zone, and (B) generate an outstanding site plan that will bring in some outstanding retailers.

And whoever gets an Apple Retail Store wins instantly - - all bets are off at that point.

From the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel:

New Greenfield Sendik's won't be last, owner says

By TOM DAYKIN
[email protected]

Posted: Nov. 28, 2007

High-end supermarket chain Sendik's is opening a store in Greenfield, continuing the group's expansion beyond its North Shore roots and building an alternative to Pick 'n Save, the Milwaukee area's dominant supermarket chain.

The latest Sendik's Food Market will operate at 7901 W. Layton Ave. in a 60,000-square-foot building previously occupied by a Jewel-Osco store, it was announced Tuesday. The store will open next summer.

The supermarket, with 170 employees, will be part of a shopping center that will be renamed Sendik's Commons.

Sendik's stores throughout the Milwaukee area have various owners, most of them members of the extended Sendik-Balistreri family.

The Greenfield Sendik's will be owned by Ted Balistreri, along with his brothers, Nick and Patrick, and sister, Margaret Harris. They announced plans last week to open a Germantown Sendik's at N112-15800 Mequon Road.

The Germantown store also is to open by summer and will fill another former Jewel-Osco. The Jewel-Osco chain withdrew from southeastern Wisconsin in February.

Ted Balistreri and his siblings earlier this fall opened Sendik's markets in Elm Grove and Franklin. Since 2003, they've also expanded from their store in Whitefish Bay to Mequon, Grafton and Wauwatosa, occupying empty stores formerly operated by Kohl's Food Stores, Jewel-Osco and Sentry Foods.

While declining to provide details, Ted Balistreri said his strategic plan calls for additional Sendik's markets in southeastern Wisconsin.

The departure of Kohl's and Jewel-Osco, coupled with Sentry's decline, have created expansion opportunities for Sendik's, said Dave Livingston, a Pewaukee supermarket industry consultant.

Livingston expects Sendik's to eventually become the No. 3 competitor in the Milwaukee-area market, behind Pick 'n Save, which is run by Roundy's Supermarkets Inc., and Wal-Mart Stores Inc., which is opening combined supermarket-discount stores known as supercenters.

"They're already a credible alternative to Pick 'n Save," Livingston said.

Sendik's, known for its delis, bakeries, produce and meat, is "more of a category unto ourselves, rather than an alternative," Balistreri said.

Sendik's is benefiting from a growing demand for supermarkets with a lot of amenities and a high level of customer service, Livingston said.

Other high-end grocers have expanded in the Milwaukee area recently, including Whole Foods Market, which opened last year on the city's east side; Trader Joe's, which opened last year in Glendale; and The Fresh Market, which opened a Brookfield store earlier this year.

The Milwaukee area has five Sendik's stores that are not owned by Ted Balistreri and his siblings. The operators of a Sendik's at 18985 W. Capitol Drive in Brookfield plan to develop a Franklin store at The Shoppes of Wyndham Village.

The 90,000-square-foot shopping center that will house the Greenfield Sendik's was purchased last week by Devo Properties.

Greg Devorkin, Devo Properties principal, said he expects the Sendik's announcement to generate strong interest from retailers in the shopping center's 7,500 square feet of vacant space.

"It's wonderful that Sendik's is putting its trust and faith in Greenfield," Greenfield Mayor Mike Neitzke said in a statement. "I think the new Sendik's will be the cornerstone of a renaissance along Layton Ave. and 76th St."

Shoppes at Wyndham Village: Carstensen pays tiny settlement to avoid federal lawsuit

You won't hear much about this beyond the story posted below. Very cost-effective for Mark Carstensen Construction and Development - - the equivalent of a $5 speeding ticket.

$46,000 for wetlands allows Franklin shops' construction

By ANNYSA JOHNSON
[email protected]

Franklin - Developer Mark Carstensen has agreed to pay $46,000 to avoid a federal lawsuit over the destruction of wetlands at the site of a shopping center he is building at state Highway 100 and W. Drexel Ave.

Under the terms of the agreement, signed late last month, the planned Shoppes at Wyndham Village can move ahead with the destruction of 2.6 acres of wetlands.

But Mark E. Carstensen Construction and Development Co. will contribute $46,000 to the Milwaukee Area Land Conservancy to be used to restore and enhance other natural features in the Root River watershed, including a rare prairie remnant discovered in 2003, a Franklin savannah that's been designated a state natural area, and Legend Creek.

In addition to Carstensen's payment, the state Department of Natural Resources has agreed not to allow developers in the future to move ahead on work that adversely affects wetlands while the merits of their water quality permits are being litigated.

"From the department's perspective, we thought this was a good settlement," said DNR attorney Michael Cain, whose agency, like Carstensen, did not concede wrongdoing as part of the agreement. "This will ensure that a number of additional parcels in the vicinity of this project will be protected."

But Land Conservancy Vice President Kristen Wilhelm dismissed it as inadequate.

"It's not very much money for what he took - trees close to 200 years old in a secondary environmental corridor. You can't replace that in several generations," she said.

"All for a storm water basin to do what the trees were already doing."

Carstensen did not return a telephone call, and his attorney declined to comment.

The agreement settles a complaint brought by a coalition of environmental groups and citizens, including a Milwaukee Area Land Conservancy board member, challenging the DNR's permits allowing Carstensen to move ahead on the project and threatening to sue the developer under the federal Clean Water Act.

The coalition withdrew its threat to sue as part of the settlement.

Racing the snow

The Shoppes at Wyndham Village begin to take shape.

Whither the Environmental Commission? Or, I think Mayor Taylor is a closet environmentalist

• 10/26 UPDATE •

According to Franklinnow.com, Mayor Taylor has decided against dissolving the Environmental and Economic Commissions:
"I had a discussion with some people in the community and city staff, and what I found out is the amount of staff time needed for both commissions can be rolled back considerably," he said. "If the staff can get their routine duties done, then we'll provide staff to those two commissions. In other words, we don't need to dissolve them."
______

To anyone tracking the depleted influence afforded Franklin's Environmental Commission, the eventual proposal to simply eliminate the volunteer body comes as no surprise. Developers trying to consummate deals in Franklin - - which is dotted with wetlands - - are no fans of the Commission, a group that threatens to lengthen the time it takes for them to deposit checks in their bank accounts.

But I really smelled something fishy when Alderman Steve Olson, who was originally elected on a pro-development platform, made the motion recommending 20 year-old Greg Kowalski to the Commission (the nomination was made by Mayor Taylor). Kowalski had been blogging for a while by that time and had already exhibited a degree of... youthful exuberance, let's call it... that gets him routinely excoriated by conservative franklinnow.com bloggers and publicly scolded (which was pretty over the top, I might add) by area activist Casper Green. The conspiracy theorist in me says that Olson saw Kowalski's outspokenness and "flaming youth" as a way to draw unflattering attention to the Environmental Commission, a group for which he has no great regard.

That theory crumbles a bit when you consider that Olson has said he's in favor of keeping the present Environmental Commission intact - - and why not? They aren't allowed to do much of anything in their current incarnation, so why not maintain the illusion for Franklin citizens - - rather inexpensively, I might add - - that someone is looking out for issues beyond fattening the wallets of developers?

This is why I think Mayor Taylor is a closet environmentalist.

In publicly proposing the end to the Environmental Commission, he's brought the discussion to the forefront. Who, other than impatient developers, was talking about the EC before? Now formerly ambivalent citizens are starting to wonder how the EC  - - the members of which are paid nothing - - could be allowed to slip into a state of uselessness and then disappear.

The story below also strongly implies that developer Mark Carstensen (he of Shoppes at Wyndham Village, etc.) was singularly instrumental in getting the eminently qualified Kevin Haley (who has been praised in this blog on many occasions) removed from the Environmental Commission. What the story does not mention is that Mayor Taylor then installed Kevin Haley on the Plan Commission, a much more influential body where Haley has been doing an excellent job, speaking truth to power regularly.

I perceive a silver lining here, to say the least. Hats off to Mayor Taylor for what may turn out to be a very savvy - - and surprisingly eco-friendly - - move.

Also, kudos to Annysa Johnson for closing her piece with this precious, revealing quote from Council President Lyle Sohns regarding his rather quaint vision of the EC's mission:

"If they [the EC] had some worthy project - how to get people to recycle more or how to get people to compost. But they don't want to do that."

••••

From the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel:

Environmental panel fights dissolution

Franklin mayor wants to disband watchdog group

By ANNYSA JOHNSON
[email protected]

Posted: Oct. 24, 2007

Franklin - The city's independent-minded Environmental Commission has been going toe-to-toe with officials and developers in this fast-growing community almost since the commission was established in the early 1990s.

Its success can be seen around the city, in tougher development standards; stronger monitoring of quarries; and the preservation of high-quality green space, from the 40-acre Fitzsimmons Woods to a virgin prairie remnant in the midst of a luxury subdivision.

But commission members may have picked one fight too many.

Mayor Tom Taylor is proposing to disband the board as part of his 2008 budget, replacing it with a conservation committee with what he calls a more focused agenda.

Taylor said he's eliminating the panel, along with the Economic Development Commission, to lessen the burden on city planning staff assigned to support them.

But Environmental Commission members say they're being targeted for speaking out against projects favored by the Common Council, most recently developer Mark Carstensen's Shoppes at Wyndham Village, whose state permits are being contested before an administrative law judge.

"It's not just (Wyndham) but development in general," said Gregory Kowalski, a new Environmental Commission member who's been criticized by aldermen for comments he's made on a blog. "This council wants to rubber-stamp these projects, and they see the Environmental Commission as the only obstacle to getting developments pushed through as quickly as possible."

Kowalski and a group of current and former members and supporters will launch a petition drive this week to urge Taylor to not only retain, but also to strengthen, the Environmental Commission. [Online petition is here.]

Taylor, who notes a study three years ago recommended axing the two committees as a way to streamline government, said he's open to public input.

"But I still have staff concerns," he said. "There's only so many hours in a day."

Supporters of the petition drive include Taylor's predecessor, former mayor-turned-municipal judge Fred Klimetz, who established the commission.

"I'm not saying they're always right about every issue. But they have a viewpoint that should be listened to," Klimetz said.

"If there's not enough public interest, then that would be a sign that people don't feel a watchdog group like the Environmental Commission is necessary, which I think would be a real shame," he said.

Developers have long complained that Franklin's Environmental Commission, with its strict interpretation of the city's natural resources ordinances, has made it difficult to do business there.

The city has taken steps to diminish its role in recent years, including turning over the environmental review of new projects to outside consultants, which some argue have the potential for conflict of interest because they also do work for developers. But the constraints have grown tighter since members began raising questions about the Wyndham project in April, Chairman Kristen Wilhelm said.

"The mayor sets our agendas now, and he has them going through the city attorney's office," Wilhelm said. "We have no input."

Taylor said he's running agendas for both the Environmental Commission and the Economic Development Commission through legal channels to ensure they comply with notice requirements.

Taylor denies being pressured by developers or other officials to rein in the commission, though he said Carstensen raised concerns about former commission member Kevin Haley shortly before Taylor decided against reappointing him to another term earlier this year.

And in May and June, Ald. Steve Olson and Council President Lyle Sohns complained to Taylor in e-mails about commission members expressing personal opinions and weighing in on matters outside purview.

Sohns threatened to withhold approval of mayoral appointments until Taylor addressed their concerns.

Sohns said this week that he's "ambivalent" about disbanding the commission but sees no point in it continuing if it won't stick to the mission set out for it by the council.

"If they had some worthy project - how to get people to recycle more or how to get people to compost," he said.

"But they don't want to do that."

The center-less town center

The following is an opinion column written for a North Texas newspaper, but it contains important principles of community, connectivity and the creation of effective public space that are very relevant right here.

These principles are also routinely IGNORED here, specifically at the Fountains of Franklin Sendik's location and the underachieving Shoppes at Wyndham Village. We live in a collection of unconnected subdivisions (despite whimsically wishful proclamations to the contrary) where planning is determined by the whims of developers.

Do you doubt it? Ask anyone who routinely travels 51st street how the lack of a east-west, north-south grid - - due to developers building subdivisions without regard to proper traffic-relieving thru-ways - - has added an extra MILE or so to their commute.

Franklin's planning staff (aka "how can we grow in a smart and sustainable manner?") literally reports to the office of economic development (aka "how can we  grow RIGHT NOW"), which is simply illogical - - but explains quite a lot of what we see happening around us.

I've added boldface below to the concepts that apply best locally, and followed the article with some expansion on the relevant items.

From the Dallas Morning News:

The center-less town center

By Russ Sikes

Urban centers are sprouting in North Texas suburbs that until now seemed centerless. Southlake Town Center, Legacy Town Center and Addison Circle are three fine examples to date, and more will surely follow as the nation's fourth-largest metro area matures.

The new design motif is to build large-scale mixed-use centers to urban form on a grid of walkable blocks. Hide the parking and add a park, place a fountain or gazebo in the center, recruit a large hotel, some upscale clothiers and dining, the obligatory Starbucks or three, and a new Towne Centre is born.

I laud this development and view these urban islands as a boon to those of us otherwise adrift in a homogenous suburban sea. But herein lies a critique. The "islands" metaphor is a bit too apt, for these urban oases are entirely isolated from surrounding suburban fabric.

Because these places are bounded by major highways and wide arterial roads, virtually everyone who doesn't live on-site arrives by car. Even where connected by transit (Addison Circle), non-vehicular links connecting these centers with their surrounding environs scarcely exist. That diminishes them, because the presence of civic buildings notwithstanding (Southlake, Frisco), "destination shopping" is not the substantive equal of a genuine town center. To live up to their names, and their vast potential, town centers must serve as actual centers of what they connect to, not what they distinguish themselves from.

The potential for a normal walk to form a rich experience is a great reward of city life. The variety that makes this possible is delivered by accessible transitions in the urban landscape; for example, an ability to walk within few minutes from a quiet residential setting through a mixed-use zone of increasing density into an urban core of great activity. And porous, connected urban fabric is a prerequisite.

As an extreme example, Andres Duany points out that what makes Central Park in New York so stunning is the adjacency of this seeming wilderness to the densest urban life. I would add that accessibility is equally crucial. It is because no physical barrier separates these disparate realms that one's walk through blocks of intensely urban form can mutate within 60 seconds into a hike through the woods. If we want authentic urban variety in our region, this is a lesson cities throughout this area would be well-advised to heed.

In the context of suburban North Texas, better connection can result from two key changes: taming the high-speed arterials that currently function as barriers, and increasing the number and variety of linkages with adjoining neighborhoods.

Traffic calming on arterials is a discipline in its own right, but great results are often achieved by removing or narrowing lanes, adding on-street parking, planting parkway and median trees, and applying textured pavements near pedestrian crossings.

Enhancing connections with adjoining neighborhoods requires a tailored approach, since each case is unique. Pending support from the city and the neighborhood involved, additional roads can be added by converting cul-de-sacs into through streets. Perhaps an alley or service entrance can be converted into a one-lane entryway.

A simpler measure is to cut a gap in the brick wall that separates most subdivisions from the arterial behind them. The resulting narrow passageway is a gift to bicyclists and pedestrians, to young and old alike; that rare haven where people can pass, but cars can't. Through attention to form as well as function, such pedestrian portals, enhanced alleyways and single-lane connectors can even be artistically adorned to add the kind of quirky variety that contributes to a unique sense of place.

At traditional commercial intersections, proper infill can take the form a street-like matrix that mediates the connection between residential neighborhoods on one side and an urban enclave on the other.

However it is achieved, the resulting connection grid integrates the island into its surrounding community, augmenting commercial splendor with real civic value.

This is of course all novel to us here, where our new centers are still under construction.How will we know when an urban island has evolved into a true town center? When a walk to it is as normal and pleasant as a walk in it.

Russ Sikes is a founding member of the North Texas chapter of the Congress for the New Urbanism, which advocates principles of good place-making as a key to improving our quality of life. His e-mail address is [email protected].

_________________

• "Because these places are bounded by major highways and wide arterial roads, virtually everyone who doesn't live on-site arrives by car."

Franklin relies to an alarming extent on a one mile-by-one mile grid of COLLECTOR ROADS (see illustration below) to connect the city in a way that is useful only to vehicles. (Even our local walk/bike path requires a parking lot as it is not connected to any useful destination!) Traffic on these roads simply gets denser and denser, faster and faster, with no relief from logical internal grid roads; developers have been allowed to build subdivisions with no Comprehensive Master Plan-mandated provisions for thru-streets. These busy  collector roads are virtually impassible and uncrossable by pedestrians, and the "I can see it but can't get to it" phenomena is depressingly common here.

As luck would have it, Shoppes at Wyndham Village sits at the intersection of two busy (and soon to get much busier) collector roads that will be very, very daunting to anyone not encased in metal.

• "To live up to their names, and their vast potential, town centers must serve as actual centers of what they connect to, not what they distinguish themselves from."

Both Fountains of Franklin and Shoppes at Wyndham Village suffer a lack of pedestrian connectivity; in fact, both developments feel the need to further obscure themselves from surrounding neighborhoods because of their poor initial site design (see below). They serve vehicles, pure and simple, and ignore their immediate surroundings.

Note also how Franklin's civic buildings - - library, post office, "Law Enforcement Taj Majal Center," city hall - - are sprawled out from one another to the extent that visiting any combination of them requires a separate drive-and-park for each (bringing to mind the absurd sight last Halloween when a change of venue for a Plan Commission meeting on Shoppes meant that everyone present had to relocate from the "Law Enforcement Center" to the library - - and everyone hopped in their cars and drove en masse from one place to the other). Each building and facility is an island unto itself.

• "Better connection can result from two key changes: taming the high-speed arterials that currently function as barriers, and increasing the number and variety of linkages with adjoining neighborhoods."

Linking neighborhoods? Not in Franklin, home of the ubiquitous orange-striped "don't look over here" sign.

Do you know what that sign says? It says "we gave up and we gave in; live with it." And they are all over the place in Franklin, where developers are welcome to build a 300 yard road-to-nowhere, slam up some houses on either side of it, and flee the scene.

Do you think the developer of the road below often returns to point with pride at his/her handiwork - - the crooked and decrepit orange-stripe sign, non-landscaped street edge (virtually no planted trees), wide-open retention pond, constantly flipping houses, and complete lack of connection to a cul-de-sac mere yards away?

At one point during a Plan Commission meeting concerning Shoppes at Wyndham Village, developer Mark Carstensen expressed surprise and obvious annoyance when he was reminded that he would need to include space on the east side of the site plan for a future road. Connectivity is an alien concept to developers.

• "Enhancing connections with adjoining neighborhoods requires a tailored approach, since each case is unique. Pending support from the city and the neighborhood involved, additional roads can be added by converting cul-de-sacs into through streets. Perhaps an alley or service entrance can be converted into a one-lane entryway."

The Fountains of Franklin Sendik's site plan failure has been discussed here before. Now that the building is nearly complete, the missed opportunity is all the more obvious. To Rawson and 51st, Sendik's presents a nice facade. To the nearby neighborhood, it bears its unadorned rear end and a busy loading dock (see depressing pictures below). The building was designed to exclusively serve vehicles, without regard to the HUMAN FACTOR - - i.e., the inhabitants of the nearby neighborhood.

What should have been a great neighborhood amenity is now effectively sealed off from a neighborhood that will nonetheless have to endure the extra noise and traffic without enjoying the benefits of a neighborhood grocer, cafe, and public space within easy walking and biking distance.

• "A simpler measure is to cut a gap in the brick wall that separates most subdivisions from the arterial behind them. The resulting narrow passageway is a gift to bicyclists and pedestrians, to young and old alike; that rare haven where people can pass, but cars can't. Through attention to form as well as function, such pedestrian portals, enhanced alleyways and single-lane connectors can even be artistically adorned to add the kind of quirky variety that contributes to a unique sense of place."

In the Franklin tradition of "you can see it, but you can't walk to it," behold the Great Wall of Sendik's that stands between the store and its nearest human-scale neighbors. Want to get anywhere in Franklin? Better hop in the car.

Bottom line: It's not enough to have a nice Sendik's or "Shoppes" center simply appear in town. Great care has to be exercised in making sure that each new development, commercial or otherwise, integrates into and enhances its surroundings. Then Franklin can stop being a collection of disconnected islands -- and disconnected people! - - and become instead a vibrant community attractive to further highly desirable - and profitable - development. 

 

A tale of two Sendik's stores

At his Franklinnow.com blog (the blogs there now have comments enabled) Kevin Fischer expresses his confidence in the viability of two Sendik's grocery stores in Franklin.

While I join Kevin in rooting for Sendik's to succeed at both locations (I predict huge success at 51st and Rawson), I think it's a mistake to underestimate the effect of TARGET on Sendik's AND the outlying non-restaurant businesses in the "Shoppes" complex (Drexel and Hwy. 100).

This is a fact: Sendik's and Target will be competing to a great extent. While Target may not stock meat or produce, they will carry the other staples that bring shoppers into a store like Sendik's, the sorts of high-margin incidentals that keep a store like Sendik's afloat. 

While they may be a charitable company, the Target business model makes no concession for integration into a community of retailers. They are set up for one-stop shopping.

For instance, Target will have a Starbucks right in their store. You don't do that when you are supporting a larger commercial area or attempting to energize a public space (i.e. a locally owned coffee shop in one of the outlying buildings).

This is part of the reason people look askance at developer Mark Carstensen's attempt to have his cake and eat it, too; he claims to be building a "high end commercial center," but he has made Target the ultimate arbiter of the site plan (which is very poor as a result). This is lucrative for Carstensen, but the high end commercial center concept is effectively sacrificed in service to "The Deal."

Target is absolutely fine in its place, but it does not "play well with others" in close quarters; in an area as key to Franklin's future vitality as the City Civic Center district, we should have found a way to make SENDIK'S the main anchor - - or, Target should have been limited to a LEASE arrangement so the site plan could be locally determined.

If you were to sit down with the Balestraris, I wager that in an unguarded moment they would reveal more than a little apprehension at being put into this situation. They are sitting next to a shark waiting to gobble them up, and they have NO recourse if Target becomes predatory; developer Mark Carstensen - - with whom they made their arrangements - -  now refers to "their part of the development" when referring to Target.

Also, no one has yet factored in the WOODMAN'S being built in Oak Creek. I used to shop at Woodman's near Madison about 15 years ago. It is a truly awe-inspiring experience - - - different from anything you're used to - - - that will bring over a huge number of mainstream Franklin shoppers who have little or no interest in a "high-end" meat department but love the idea of having 46 varieties of peanut butter from which to choose.

It would be great for Franklin if both Sendik's stores can thrive. However, I fear that poor planning at Shoppes at Wyndham Village has lowered that location's chances significantly.

Developer: "This is the right development, in the right place, for all the right reasons for this community"

Something different today, and hopefully a way to further illuminate the city planning process for those who cannot attend meetings on a regular basis.

This past Thursday, the Common Council voted  to allow a development agreement with  Mark Carstensen, the developer of Shoppes at Wyndham Village. There was, frankly, little or no doubt that the vote would be unanimous in favor of the development, but - - as in almost all steps of this troubled development - - that did not mean there wasn't a fair amount of acrimony.

A bit of background: Wyndham Ridge Homeowners (WRHA) spokesman Jaime Maliszewski spoke during the citizen's comment period about their concerns regarding exactly how many trees Mark Carstensen would plant, as well as when they would go in and how long they'd be cared for. After a bit of discussion about how adamantly Cartensen refused to have "tree language" put into the Development Agreement (the council and city engineer did not want another misunderstanding like the one at Fountains of Franklin), Mark Carstensen addressed the council.

I thought it would be instructive to offer actual audio from some of these meetings to convey in a much more immediate manner the interaction that occurs over the stretch of the process. In theory, you should be able to click the link below to hear MP3 audio, or right-click it to save it to your computer. Heck, put it on your iPod.

Mark Carstensen comments to Franklin Common Council (7:50).mp3

"I hear untruths, misfacts - - nobody calls me." Though Mr. Carstensen seems to be mainly addressing the issues brought up by Mr. Maliszewski related to his subdivision (issues which do not concern me or the community-at-large to any great extent), this is a good opportunity for me to note, for the record, that my calls and emails to Mr. Carstensen - - which began when the development was announced - - have all gone unanswered. (My only contact with Mr. Carstensen up to now has been when I sat next to him during the public comment period at the 9/6 Plan Commission meeting to mumble about the importance of a well thought-out site plan, etc.)

While this blog is occasionally critical of the specific points of execution in the Shoppes development, I'm personally rooting for it to succeed. If Mr. Carstensen or a member of his organization sees a statement here that is untrue, distorted, or just plain off the mark, I hope they'll take time to address their concerns directly to me via email or phone.

And I'll repeat in public the request I made many months ago (and to which I received no reply): I would appreciate a 45-minute-or-so conversation with Mark Carstensen regarding Shoppes at Wyndham Village specifically as well as the general challenges and rewards of being a developer in his hometown. It would be a great opportunity for him to set me straight.