Alachua public charrette generates community vision

Facilitator Sandy Burgess reports on her group’s ideas, which were generated during one of the visioning exercises conducted at Saturday’s 2020 Vision for the City of Alachua public charrette.

A walkable community, affordable housing, a strong downtown, a performing arts center and increased services for seniors were only a few of the visions shared Saturday at the City of Alachua’s public charrette.

The Public Charrette on the 2020 Vision for the City of Alachua Comprehensive Plan took place at the Santa Fe College Perry Center for Emerging Technologies in Alachua from 9 a.m. to nearly 2 p.m.

Residents, business owners , community leaders and elected officials joined forces in bouncing ideas off each other and engaging in shaping the future of Alachua. Representing the Alachua City Commission were Mayor Gib Coerper, Vice Mayor Ben Boukari, Jr. and commissioners Orien Hills and Robert Wilford, each participating in a different group.

Alachua City Manager Traci Cain offered a brief welcome address and introduced Charles Clemons, Sr., Vice President for Development at Santa Fe College, who delivered remarks about Alachua’s past and its evolution to the city it is today.  Clemons pointed out that visioning sessions are more than mere exercises, but can lead to tangible outcomes.  Saying “Whatever you can conceive and believe, you can achieve,” he illustrated his point by explaining that during the city’s previous charrette in 2002, at the top of the list of shared visions was higher education in Alachua.  And that vision progressed and resulted in the Santa Fe College Perry Center for emerging Technologies, the host site of the day’s activities.

Leading the charrette was Gail Easley, Adjunct Lecturer and Senior Fellow at the University of Florida Center for Building Better Communities, Department of Urban and Regional Planning in the College of Design, Construction and Planning.  Easley was assisted by group facilitators who led discussions and kept participants on task.  Serving as facilitators were Jim Brandenburg, Sandy Burgess, Jean Calderwood, Bob Page and Wilma Rogers.

Tasked with establishing a shared community vision, groups worked together in several exercises, brainstorming ideas that were presented by the facilitators to the entire group. The groups’ final task was to envision the contents of a magazine cover about the city of Alachua in 2020, providing an opportunity for participants to share their top vision in a focused visual format.  Strong among top visions were more sidewalks, an economically sound downtown, recreation and cultural events, affordable housing and senior services.

Mayor Coerper closed out the visioning charrette thanking those who participated.

In the coming weeks, city staff will be formalizing documentation of the participants’ findings and recommendations, and will prepare a presentation for delivery to the public.