District 16 is a hub for growth and development. This has been the case for the past two decades and has brought with it an incredible demand for infrastructure and investment. We must require all development proposals to live within the well thought out plans established in not only Cornerstone 2040, but also the many neighborhood and community planning documents that help guide what smart growth should look like. 

As your council-member, I have successfully opposed bad development, changed the ones that needed improvement, and supported those that meet good development standards for transportation, connectivity and drainage.

My plan for addressing Growth

Smart Growth, Rather Than One Size fits all: I will oppose efforts to import policies from San Fransisco and New York. While there are many reasons to look to other cities for ideas, far too often we have politicians offering policies that are employed in other cities will little understanding how this will effect all neighborhoods. Middle Housing is a perfect example of this effort. I have great concerns over the effort to allow the use of backyards of well established neighborhoods as a means for increasing the availability of housing.

Government Must Invest in Infrastructure First: When new housing is proposed, Metro Government should be already on the scene making the road, sewer, and other improvements needed. Metro has no problem collecting the new property taxes on new developments, but has not been a good partner in offering the government resources needed to support both those already living in the area, as well as the future government resource needs that will be created with the development that is being approved.

Communication: I am focused on requiring notification for neighbors, as well as supporting the pre-existing deed restrictions of homeowners associations, suburban cities and other entities. Metro should acknowledge the rules of these groups prior to giving approval for new projects. This failure to notify developers on the front end creates uncertainty and pits groups against each other when it could otherwise be avoided.

Require Investment: Metro has pushed more and more people out to suburban districts, but has failed to support these development with the government programs, parks, TARC and other resources needed to prosper. We must start funding the city that we have today rather than the city that existed 50 years ago. Transit routes, job locations and recreational needs have changed – so much our allocation of resources.