by Tony Palmeri
May 6, 2001
Oshkosh Northwestern Executive Editor Stew Rieckman, when he is not using his weekly column to lambast politicians and pundits he does not like as panderers, conspiracy theorists, demagogues, or frauds, often has something interesting to say. Take today, for example. Near the end of a nicely written nostalgic piece about dowtown Oshkosh circa 1969, Riekman argued that opinions about Oshkosh's contemporary Main St. generally fall into 4 camps:
*A small number who think Main St. can return to the retail center it was in 1969, complete with department stores.
*Those who want to do nothing and let downtown die.
*Those who support revitalization but disagree with some components of the plan and want to slow down.
*Those who believe in the vision created by the community in conjunction with consultants and want it on a fast track.
There is a fifth opinion on Main St., an opinion that is suggested by the LDR International, Inc. Downtown Design and Development plan and also advocated by newly elected Common Councilor Shirley Brabender Mattox. That opinion is the "Smart Growth" approach to downtown revitalization.
Smart Growth initiatives rest on some common sense principles about urban renewal, most notably that "suburban solutions" will not work in downtown areas. If a downtown area has a historic character, for example, smart growth policies suggest that an enhancement of that character should guide virtually all development projects. LaCrosse provides an excellent example of a city that about a decade ago started to reverse its strategy of ignoring--or worse--destroying its historic character. Today, the city actively markets historic downtown LaCrosse and has managed to turn what was a bleak and blighted area into one of the most enjoyable parts of Wisconsin to visit.
Or take Sheboygan, Wisconsin. Throughout much of the 1960s, 70s, and 80s, the city engaged in the same kind of haphazard suburban sprawl development that has plagued Oshkosh and a plethora of similarly sized as well as larger and smaller cities. Starting in 1990, Sheboygan began downtown redevelopment with historic renovation as the theme. The city's Harbor Centre is now a role model for historic renovation:
To date, nearly $40 million in private funds has been invested in the
Harbor Centre area and 20 historic renovations or expansions are in
progress or completed. Among these are the recently complete $15
million expansion of the John Michael Kohler Arts Center; the $2 million
renovation of a historic building now housing the Above and Beyond
Children's Museum; and the $7 million restoration of the old Sheboygan
Theater, in progress now. (from the Harbor Centre Web Site)
The Northeast Midwest Institute also provides numerous examples of successful, smart growth downtown revitalization initiatives.
The LDR International Report, while not explicitly endorsing smart growth initiatives, suggests such initiatives strongly. For example, in the section about "Design Guidelines" for development, the report advises that "Other jurisdiction's design guidelines should be consulted for examples of regulations that aim at preventing 'suburban' solutions that are inappropriate to 'urban' environments." Similarly, the report advises for the 100 block of North Main St. a development that enhances the historic character of the street.
Perhaps because most Oshkosh politicians, city planners, and the dominant local media are either unwilling or unable to understand and incorporate smart growth principles in the city's long-term planning, it is left to private developers like Terry Laib--usually at great personal expense--to try and restore downtown's historic character. In LaCrosse and Sheboygan, Laib-like developers were recruited to help in the revitalization effort. Politicians and planners helped educate the citizenry as to the benefits of historic redevelopment for the city's economic growth and overall quality of life.
In Oshkosh, by contrast, we are about to witness the spectacle of the construction of a "modern" mixed-use office complex on the 100 block of North Main St. No matter that the development was negotiated under questionable closed-session meetings by the Common Council. No matter that the building's design has literally nothing to do with the historic character of North Main St. No matter that there is an "office space available sign" across the street. No matter that former Common Councilor Kevin McGee aptly referred to the development as an example of a "Koeller St. solution" to downtown. No matter that the city has not even explored in any serious way any development for the block beyond office-space development (the Tom Masters 800 seat restaurant proposal for the block--which the Council aproved and which Mr. Masters eventually withdrew, was negotiated before the LDR report came into existence). No matter that the Council and local press conveniently ignore those parts of the LDR report that would urge a serious reconsideration of such developments on historic Main St.
Ms. Mattox will have her work cut out for her as the lone representative of Smart Growth on the Oshkosh Common Council. If Mattox stands for Smart Growth initiatives, will she be supported by the local press? Or will she find herself labeled a demagogue or something worse? I suppose we will have to keep reading Mr. Rieckman's columns to find out.