JULY DRAFT BOOK 2: BUILDING COMMUNITY A COMPREHENSIVE PLAN FOR THE CITY OF THOMASVILLE WAS CREATED BY: CITY COUNCIL DOVER, KOHL & PARTNERS Mayor Greg Hobbs Town Planning Mayor Pro Tem Terry Scott Victor Dover, FAICP, LEED-AP, CNU-A, Principal Councilmember Jay Flowers Jason King, AICP, CNU-A, Principal Councilmember David Hufstetler James Dougherty, AICP, CNU-A, Director of Design, Principal Councilmember Todd Mobley Pamela King, CNU-A Adam Bonosky, NCARB, CNU-A Luiza Liete, Assoc. AIA CITY MANAGER Robert Piatkowski, AICP Kha McDonald, Interim City Manager / Human Resources & Marco Zuniga (University of Miami Intern) Community Relations Vicky Bryson, Executive Assistant DAEDALUS ADVISORY SERVICES Keith Bass, Utilities Superintendent Economic Development Lynn Williams, Asst. City Manager - Communications & Shaun Bourgeois, Principal Marketing Amit Dalal CITY STAFF HALL PLANNING & ENGINEERING Brian Herrmann, City Planner Transportation & Mobility Kenny Thompson, Urban Designer Richard Hall, P.E., Principal Martha Reynolds, Neighborhood Planner BRUCE TOLAR ARCHITECT Sheryl Sealy, Director of Marketing Lauren Radford, Director of Community Engagement Local Development & Architecture Bruce Tolar, P.A., Principal Kim Morrison, Marketing Associate GALLINAR PLANNING & DEVELOPMENT COMPREHENSIVE PLAN Housing & Health STEERING COMMITTEE Carlos Gallinar, Principal Tom Berry Rosemary Boykins LINKSCAPE 360 Katie Chastain Public Participation Stephen Cheney Elaine Armster, Managing Partner Marvin Dawson Neil Fleckenstein URBAN ADVANTAGE Jay Flowers Visualizations Wiley Grady Steve Price, Principal Haile McCollum Reverend Jeremy Rich FONTAINE MAURY Terry Scott Branding Gary Tucker Haile McCollum, Principal Stephan Thompson Alston Watt ... AND HUNDREDS OF THOMASVILLE RESIDENTS TABLE OF CONTENTS BOOK 1: BUILDING PLACE BOOK 2: BUILDING COMMUNITY 1: INTRODUCTION & 6: HOUSING COMMUNITY GOALS EXISTING C ONDITIONS 6.1 P RE F A C E 1.1 C OMMUNITY C ON C ERNS 6.3 H OW T O U SE T H E P LAN 1.2 S TRATEGIES F OR A DDRESSING 6.7 C OMMUNITY C ON C ERNS C OMMUNITY G OALS 1.6 E XISTING P LANS 1.16 G OALS & P OLI C IES 6.16 T H OMASVILLE ’ S H ISTORY 1.18 7: NATURAL & CULTURAL C ITY P RO F ILE 1.20 RESOURCES 2: LAND USE E XISTING C ONDITIONS 7.1 E XISTING C ONDITIONS 2.1 C OMMUNITY C ON C ERNS 7.6 C OMMUNITY C ON C ERNS 2.6 S TRATEGIES F OR A DDRESSING 7.8 OMMUNITY ON C ERNS S TRATEGIES F OR A DDRESSING 2.7 C C C OMMUNITY C ON C ERNS G OALS & P OLI C IES 7.14 G OALS & P OLI C IES 2.41 8: COMMUNITY FACILITIES 3: COMMUNITY DESIGN & E XISTING C ONDITIONS 8.1 HISTORIC PRESERVATION C OMMUNITY C ON C ERNS 8.11 TRATEGIES OR DDRESSING E XISTING C ONDITIONS 3.1 S F A 8.13 C OMMUNITY C ON C ERNS C OMMUNITY C ON C ERNS 3.5 G OALS & P OLI C IES 8.22 S TRATEGIES F OR A DDRESSING 3.8 C OMMUNITY C ON C ERNS 9: ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT G OALS & P OLI C IES 3.44 E XISTING C ONDITIONS 9.1 4: MOBILITY C OMMUNITY C ON C ERNS 9.11 TRATEGIES OR DDRESSING E XISTING C ONDITIONS 4.1 S F A 9.12 C OMMUNITY C ON C ERNS C OMMUNITY C ON C ERNS 4.12 G OALS & P OLI C IES 9.24 S TRATEGIES F OR A DDRESSING 4.15 C OMMUNITY C ON C ERNS G OALS & P OLI C IES 4.46 10: HEALTH E XISTING C ONDITIONS 10.1 5: TACTICAL THOMASVILLE C OMMUNITY C ON C ERNS 10.3 O VERVIEW 5.1 S TRATEGIES F OR A DDRESSING 10.7 C OMMUNITY C ON C ERNS P RO C ESS 5.2 G OALS & P OLI C IES 10.12 T A C TI C AL I NSTALLATION O VERVIEW 5.5 T A C TI C AL I NTERVENTIONS 5.8 TABLE OF CONTENTS BOOK 3: MAKING IT HAPPEN LIST OF KEY MAPS 11: COMMUNITY WORK BOOK 1: BUILDING PLACE PROGRAM E XISTING L AND U SE M A P 2.4 I NTRODU C TION 11.1 E XISTING Z ONING 2.5 C OMMUNITY W ORK P ROGRAM M ATRIX 11.2 F UTURE C H ARA C TER A REAS M A P 2.10 12: CAPITAL F UTURE C H ARA C TER A REA : D OWNTOWN 2.12 F UTURE C H ARA C TER A REA : IMPROVEMENTS 2.16 T RADITIONAL N EIG H BOR H OOD C A P ITAL I M P ROVEMENTS P LAN 12.1 F UTURE C H ARA C TER A REA : S AM P LE P ROGRAM M ATRIX 12.2 2.20 S UBURBAN N EIG H BOR H OOD 13: PROCESS F UTURE C H ARA C TER A REA : H IG H WAY 2.24 E STABLIS H ING A C OMMON V ISION 13.1 F UTURE C H ARA C TER A REA : N ATURAL 2.30 T RAVELING WORKS H O P S 13.2 I NVESTMENT S E C TOR S TRATEGIES 2.36 S UMMER P ARTI C I P ATION 13.9 P RO P OSED H ISTORI C AND C ONSERVATION P UBLI C P ARTI C I P ATION C H ARRETTE 13.10 3.9 D ISTRI C TS M A P 14: REPORT OF A RTERIAL AND H IG H WAY N ETWORK 4.4 M A P O F M OBILITY C ON C ERNS AND ACCOMPLISHMENTS 4.13 P OSSIBLE I M P ROVEMENTS T RAIL M A P M ASTER P LAN F OR T H E 15: GLOSSARY 4.21 T H OMASVILLE C OMMUNITY T RAIL T A C TI C AL T H OMASVILLE C REATIVE D ISTRI C T I NSTALLATION I LLUSTRATIVE 5.6 M A P T A C TI C AL T H OMASVILLE P OTENTIAL 5.7 I NSTALLATION M A P BOOK 2: BUILDING COMMUNITY M A P O F D ISTRESSED P RO P ERTIES 6.5 T O P OGRA ph Y M A P 7.3 100 Y EAR F LOOD P LAIN M A P 7.4 E XISTING P ARKS AND P LANNED T RAIL 8.5 P RO P OSED P ARKS AND T RAIL E XTENSION 8.19 P OTENTIAL F UTURE P ARK N ETWORK 8.20 S ch OOL AND Y OUT H A C TIVITY W ALK S H ED 10.5 E XTENDED S ch OOL AND Y OUT H A C TIVITY 10.8 W ALK S H ED H OUSING 6 CURRENT CONDITIONS Demographics Housing Data Thomasville has a population of 18,826, according to the U.S. Based on housing data, Thomasville’s housing market is in Census as of July 1, 2016. It has relatively small population decline. According to Data USA, a web-based data center, growth, at an average rate of 1.5% over the last five years the median property value for Thomasville in 2015 was compared with 6.4% for the whole state of Georgia. $125,200 - a 4% decrease from the previous year. The median age in Thomasville is 39.1 years, which is slightly United States higher than the state average of 36.4. The city has a higher rate of people over the age of 65, at approximately 15% compared to the state’s 10%. Georgia In terms of economic development, Thomasville is a lower- income community. The poverty rate in Thomasville is Thomas County 28%, compared with the state average of 17% and 14.7% for the nation. Thomasville has twice the poverty rate of the country at large. It also has a lower median household City of Thomasville income than Georgia and the United States at $31,679 compared to just under $50,000 for the state and $55,755 Median Property Value Median for the country. $0 $20K $40K $60K $80K $100K $120K $140K $160K The City had approximately 9,000 housing units in 2010; given the relatively low number of housing starts in the last eight years, this number hasn’t change substantially. There are also many more renters in the city than the state and United States national averages. The ownership rate at the national level has stayed steady at about 65%; in Georgia, the ownership Georgia rate is slightly lower at about 62%. In Thomasville, the ownership rate is just under fifty percent at 49.7%. Thomas County Research shows that generally, communities with higher homeownership rates are more stable and have higher rates of positive socioeconomic indicators such as lower City of Thomasville crime, higher rates of civic participation, and higher educational achievement, among others; it appears that Thomasville—where half the population rents—holds true to Median Household Income $0 $5K $10K $15K $20K $25K $30K $35K $40K $45K $50K these indicators. This also indicates that there may be a lack of affordable housing options, and may explain why many It is important to highlight that Thomasville is a minority- single-family homes are being converted into apartments. majority city in which African Americans make up more than 50% of the population. The city is 42% White and other smaller populations make up the remainder. There is a wide United States discrepancy in income between the largest populations: Whites have a higher average salary than the African American population, at $42,253 and $24,332, respectively. Georgia Thomasville is a community with an aging population and higher-than-average poverty rates and income disparities Thomas County primarily affecting people of color.