Community Organizing

Members of Redevelopment Advisory to Be Selected

By Ed Stout

October 1975

The approval of a plan by the SDCC Board to form the Redevelopment Advisory Committee has opened up to all interested residents opportunities to become involved with Pantheon Corporation in its efforts to redevelop our community and the surrounding area (see map & accompanying article by Jean Eberle).

In May, 1975, Pantheon purchased the redevelopment rights for the “Triangle Area” from the Kingsbury Redevelopment Corporation, a whollyowned subsidiary of SDCC, formed in 1971. In connection with the formulation and prosecution of development plans for the Kingsbury Redevelopment Area, Pantheon agreed, in purchasing the rights, to consult with an advisory committee to be established by SDCC.

After the sale of the redevelopment rights, SDCC established a committee to make recommendations on the process of forming and organizing the Redevelopment Advisory Committee (RAC), plus its scope and function. Members of the committee appointed by SDCC Chairman Virgil Wright were Jean Eberle (Parkview), Council Smith (Washington Heights), and Ed Stout (Rosedale).

At the regular September SDCC Board Meeting, the committee made its report and the following plan was adopted: PRINCIPLES

1. The Redevelopment Advisory Committee (RAC) should be composed of persons committed to work towards the best possible redevelopment and towards representing the interests and welfare of their constituents with the Developer.

2. Persons serving on the RAC should have a direct tie with their respective neighborhood organizations (Washington Heights, Rosedale, Parkview, SDCC).

3. The process of forming the RAC should include an open, democratic election to both broaden opportunities for resident participation in the election of their representatives, to begin building a process of representation in the redevelopment effort, and to serve as an informational and educational tool in informing the community about the redevelopment, its effect on the community and the community’s role.

The RAC should composed of eleven (11) persons:

WASHINGTON HEIGHTS: four (4) representatives; one to be appointed from the Washington Heights Executive Committee, plus three to be elected in an open, • publicized democratic election.

ROSEDALE: three (3) representatives; one to be appointed from the Rosedale Executive Committee, plus two (2) to be elected in an open, publicized democratic election.

PARKVIEW: two (2) representatives; one to be appointed from the Parkview Executive Committee, plus one (1) to be elected in an open, publicized, democratic election.

SDCC: two (2) representatives; with one being the SDCC Executive Director and one being elected by the SDCC Board. The SDCC Executive Director shall be an ex-officio member, with voting rights only in cases of ties.

SCOPE AND FUNCTION

The RAC shall serve as a standing committee of the SDCC Board, and shall operate under the auspices of the SDCC Board for its duration. It shall meet regularly and establish whatever

committees it deems necessary to investigate issues and to make recommendations to the total RAC, in its effort to advise the Developer on the total redevelopment project and in its effort to represent the thinking and welfare of its constituents. The Developer shall provide the RAC with a regular report, with a frequency acceptable to the SDCC, outlining information necessary for the RAC to render periodic informational reports to the SDCC and its constituent community.

The RAC shall hold regular open community—wide hearings, not less than annually, to both inform the community on progress and problems relative to the development, and to seek our questions, problems, suggestions, etc. The RAC shall use every available means (The PAPER, church bulletins, flyers, neighborhood association meetings, community workshops, etc.) to keep its constituents informed. RAC members shall serve one year terms, except for the initial appointed members who shall serve for two years.

Each Neighborhood Association shall establish its own democratic election process. The SDCC Board of Directors encourages any person interested in becoming a candidate for a seat on the Redevelopment Advisory Committee to immediately contact his/her neighborhood association chairman or to call the SDCC office (VO. 2-5122). “The success of the total redevelopment effort,” said Ed Stout, Chairman of the RAC Planning Committee, “will depend heavily on the involvement of the community through the Advisory Committee, and on the persons selected by the community to represent us. This is not just ‘another committee.”

Each Neighborhood Association shall establish its own , democratic election process. The SDCC Board of Directors encourages any person interested in becoming a candidate for a seat on the Redevelopment Advisory Committee to immediately contact his/her neighborhood association chairman or to call the SDCC Office (V0.2-5122).