Planner: Delay in process allows more time to get job done right

The planning process is 'on the verge of coming together,' an official said.
& lt;a href=mailto:rgsmith@vindy.com & gt;By ROGER SMITH & lt;/a & gt;
CITY HALL REPORTER
YOUNGSTOWN -- Planners by now wanted to have surveyed the property condition of all city neighborhoods and to be talking with residents about the future.
The surveys are just starting, however, a few weeks shy of a year after release of the Youngstown 2010 vision. Neighborhood discussions leading to a written plan for the future remain a few months away.
But a lag of a couple of months in the 2010 planning process isn't such a bad thing, said Anthony Kobak, the city's chief planner.
For example, property surveys done in the fall will be more complete, he said. Lack of foliage will reveal the ugliest truths of some city properties that may be hidden by the leaves, he said.
Survey training
The city held a training session Thursday on how to conduct the property surveys. Volunteers are expected to be conducting the neighborhood surveys this month and be done in December.
Also, setting neighborhood meetings for late November through December risks missing people busy with the holidays, Kobak said. Those meetings, scheduled for the first quarter of next year, should be better attended in the post-holiday lull, he said.
"Those seasonal issues are a real concern. It's something we have to contend with," he said.
Kobak was to update city council members Thursday on the progress of the 2010 process. Several members either couldn't attend or canceled, however, so the meeting was scrapped for another day.
Kobak acknowledges the 2010 plan is behind but insists the effort is on the cusp of emerging publicly.
The last of four main volunteer committees, which will write different segments of the 2010 plan, met for the first time Thursday. Other committees and subcommittees have met up to a dozen times in the past few months.
Getting noticed
Kobak is confident next year is when 2010 will capture the attention of residents interested in the future. He expects the plan will become the talk of the town because so much will be happening during the year.
"We're on the verge of everything coming together," he said.
The aim is to have a draft of the final 2010 plan done by the end of 2004.
Politics has played at least some role in the planning process moving slower than desired. Council and school board elections soaked up considerable energy from city leaders and residents, Kobak said.
More so, however, is the urge to get it right.
Such a large undertaking doesn't happen often. Planners are being careful to be inclusive, which means being cautions and moving slowly, Kobak said.
"We want it to be quality and of real substance," he said.
& lt;a href=mailto:rgsmith@vindy.com & gt;rgsmith@vindy.com & lt;/a & gt;