Building a strong community starts with pride

Coming off the mural dedication and inaugural Wekiwa Springs Easter Egg Hunt, I’m again sharpening my skills on building character areas. I can mostly build character corridors in unincorporated areas of the district, but the principles in Bill Kercher’s books for designing a character town are one and the same.

Mr. Kercher says start with pride. The prize is to find, understand, and leverage the area’s pride to reinforce common values. Community pride builds confidence in people to trust their leaders to envision a future, enact strategies, and make progress. Character reflected by pride in the citizenry, the community, and municipal leaders must build as an asset, trust in one in other to enable the small city to be resilient and take advantage of opportunities.

Orange County Commissioner District 2 Christine Moore

Secondly, Kercher recommends developing common principles, rules, and guidance to provide direction, set boundaries, and help guide decision-makers. These principles must be discussed and debated by the citizenry and municipality. In my case, with the unincorporated areas at my January Leader’s Meeting, we generally measured progress and revised the area’s strategic plan. We wrote plans for Lockhart, North Pine Hills, Southern Apopka, and Wekiwa Springs. I’m praying for more folks from North Apopka to attend my April 20th meeting so we may create a strategic plan. My plans are about the health of the neighborhoods and corridors. I leave the municipal issues to the city council.

Kercher recommends these principles as a starting point for setting locally based, non-partisan principles to guide communities wishing to improve:

1. Make diversity a hallmark of the town (area)
2. Leverage everything, insist on multiple benefits and co-location of facilities
3. Value entrepreneurs and innovators
4. Enhance a city’s capacity for self-reliance and resilience
5. Celebrate shared tradition and community success
6. Promote a common interest in fun and beauty

Kercher describes the aspiration of all as to build a city or area of character which will endure. It should be a place which will withstand the test of time - a place truly committed to the community’s vision, values, principles, and purposes. He recommends developing actions directed by a vision-driven strategy.

He says a town’s framework has six dimensions which are all inextricably linked. 

• Envision a pleasant and prosperous small city of character.

Kercher believes every small city can become a town of character. It should be a friendly and inviting physical setting with an active business community. It should be a place which appeals to high-tech businesses, a place which protects its neighborhoods, celebrates its heritage, and commits to everyone’s success.

• Design the strategy to build a character town attractive to residents, visitors, and businesses.

A community’s vision, or lack thereof, drives everything. It is vital that the vision belongs to the entire community and not just one leader. No plan can be sustained with the entire community’s commitment to a common-held view for the future. The continuum of thought from vision to strategy to action requires a common vision.

• Build partnerships.

Kercher recommends building partnerships with other like-minded cities and towns. He says to build direct connections and relationships, agreements, and commercial interactions. Believe that towns are great locations for entrepreneurs, business, and their employees.

• Implement Action Plans each year consistent with the people’s vision.

Kercher says it is vital to institute fair and purposeful regulations, programs, and policies to undergird the city’s vision. Build a traditional infrastructure which will support a new and innovative economy. Prepare and adopt plans which include a social infrastructure plan, economic development plan, and a physical development plan for neighborhoods, downtown, corridors, schools, open spaces, infrastructure, and mobility.

Orange County is voting to transmit Vision 2050, all 500 pages of it, to the State of Florida. The county commission and staff have been working on the plan for about two years. If you don’t get the vision right, nothing after that will go right either. It takes time to build consensus with the elected leaders and community at-large. These are vital conversations as buy in must be achieved for any lasting success.

• Take “branding” seriously.

Tell the town’s story to existing and future residents, visitors, and businesses. 

• Design, build, and manage a sustainable character town.

Do this through interactive social infrastructure, connected economic programs, policies, and plans. Engage physical development through great neighborhoods, vibrant downtowns, productive corridors, and respected historic and natural resources 

• Remember that holistic thinking and balance are the keys to building character.

Simultaneous work on every dimension is challenging to the strategic approach. Character towns must decide how to progress on each level without neglecting or overwhelming the other areas. 

My challenge in the unincorporated areas has never been my neglect. I hope my community understands when I push them, it is simply to get things accomplished. I’m also always trying to engage more leaders in the Southern and Northern Apopka areas, as I have seen large numbers of people join me in Wekiwa Springs, North Pine Hills, and Lockhart. Apopka can be successful on the neighborhood and corridor levels by joining me, their county commissioner.