master plan - City of Central

GOALS DEVELOPMENT PROCESS
Three key themes continued to rise to the surface during community
visioning. The themes seem to capture the essence of what the
community values and wishes to preserve as it moves forward,
The goals development process provides several important
functions:
Identifi es key issues important to the community
Allows for community expression of identity and character
Provides the framework around which planning decisions are made
This process has spanned four years and has required countless hours of
community meetings, interviews, and workshops. Citizen participants included
State and local elected leaders, State and Parish offi cials, business owners,
business and social organizations, professionals, and high school students.
Additionally, these efforts were enhanced by community participation in three
parallel efforts with overlapping themes and issues:
Sustainability Design Assessment Team
Market Feasibility Study
Economic Development Assessment
The results of each of these visioning and goals efforts were analyzed and
distilled into a set of clearly defi ned goals that were used to guide the planning
process. The following pages summarize the fi ndings and conclusions.
RURAL CHARACTER - Central continues to be one of the most rural
parts of East Baton Rouge Parish. Horses roam freely over open
pasture land. Deep wooded areas weave throughout the City
following freshwater creeks and bayous. Narrow country roads
meander through long undeveloped stretches. Long-time residents
have developed a great appreciation for these and many other
attributes and fear that they are being lost to unbridled development.
Preserving the essence of the rural feeling will be an important
consideration.
CITY LIVING IN THE COUNTRY - While most residents enjoy living in
“the country”, they also appreciate access to the amenities that
cities have to offer - fi ne dining, entertainment options, health and
medical care, etc. At present, the problem is that they must leave
the “country” to enjoy the “city”. In addition to the inconvenience,
residents also realize that this practice represents a net loss to their
own community in terms of business development, job creation and
sales taxes. They would like to have some of the niceties of the city in
their own community, but only if it can be done without wrecking the
country feeling.
SANCTUARY - Baton Rouge is the most populous city in the State. As
such it offers access to many very important assets. However, along
with the good things it also provides a heaping helping of unpleasant
things - traffi c congestion, violent crime, concrete and asphalt, noise,
pollution, etc. In an eloquent statement at one of the community
meetings a Central citizen described how when she crosses the
bridge across the Comite River into Central, her heart rate decreases
and her breathing relaxes. She feels like she has entered a sanctuary
of trees and wildlife - of a peaceful community that provides for
spiritual re-creation. There was unanimous agreement. Preserving this
sense of “sanctuary” will be an important priority for the planning.
SDAT
MARKET
FEASIBILITY
STUDY
ECONOMIC
DEVELOPMENT
ASSESSMENT
COMMUNITY INVENTORY & ANALYSIS
COMMUNITY
PLANNING
PROCESS
ELEMENTS
OF
COMMUNITY
SUSTANIBILITY
COMMUNITY
VISION
&
GOALS
CITY OF
Central
a community that cares