Posted by
Rich on Sunday, February 03, 2008 10:24:58 AM
The City of Sarasota and our local paper the Herald-Tribune are suddenly pushing a process called charrette. Concerning the Herald-Tribune editorial, "
Conversation is the starter; concerted action is the desired goal", we agree that action is louder (and cheaper) than words.
However, the editorial speaks favorably about an effort by a local developer, the city government and a local neighborhood to hold a "charrette".
According the Wikipedia, charrette refers to any collaborative session in which a group of
designers drafts a solution to a design problem. It has come to mean for the anti-growth cabal and NIMBYs (not in my backyard groups), a way to delay growth, make development more complex and make consensus the determining factor for the use of private property not the owner.
All of this flies in the face of markets determining what is built, where and when. It is an affront to capitalism, where the developer evaluates the market, makes an investment (a bet if you will) and builds something that will benefit him (profit), the community (business or housing to meet consumers needs), the economy (create jobs and wealth) and government (broaden the tax base).
We have a situation in Sarasota, Florida where local businessman Ron Burks purchased a 9+ acre property and made a series of development proposals to the City of Sarasota. But he's been unable to proceed because of opposition from nearby neighborhoods, city planners and a sufficient number of city commissioners.
There is nothing new about this three way conversation anytime something is built in Sarasota, Florida or anywhere else in the United States. Actually, this conversation is really a two against one argument with the property owner typically on one side and city planners and neighborhood associations on the other.
Suddenly comes along the idea of let's hold a - charrette. Let's all come together, hold hands and via consensus decide what the design of this development will be.
This takes property rights away from the owner, the decision making process away from the city commission and the needs of the community at large out of the equation.
Planning for growth has become more and more onerous at the local level. More regulations, more permitting, more public hearings, more reviews by city planners, more input by "interested" groups or individuals, more lawyers, more architects, more public relations specialists and of course more time. This all leads to higher costs, slower response to market trends and higher prices for consumers. Time is after all money.
Now we add to this onerous process the "charrette".
There are two definitions for the French word charrette. They both mean cart. One is the cart that carried student architects to class frantically working on their designs at the last minute. The second is the cart that carried the condemned to the guillotine.
Last minute frantic attempts to pull together a design and heading to one's death. Neither are good ideas for local development or city planning. We elected city commissioners to make decisions. Action is needed, not more words.
What do you think?