Ash Grove moves on smart growth plans

Part of the resulting Ash Grove Smart Growth Initiative, members of Ash Grove’s Main Street Task Force have been recruited to plan for parks and trails, Main Street, the Highway 160 corridor, streetscapes and sidewalks, residential guidelines and code and infrastructure.

“We have been researching where we could get funding. The Conservation Department provided us with a landscape architect to design a tree plan for east of town. We’ve applied for enhancement funds through (the Missouri Department of Transportation) and that was awarded a month ago,” said Ash Grove Mayor Brenda Ellsworth.

“We also applied for a (Tree Resource Improvement and Maintenance) grant to pay for the trees on public property. That will allow for more trees at the city park and City Hall.”

For educational purposes, those trees will be labeled with identification tags and a newsletter will be available to citizens with advice on caring for their trees.

Plans also include sidewalks on Highway 160 that will connect a walking trail to the park and school. Enhancement funds of $240,000 will pay for the sidewalks, tree planting and landscaping on the north side of the highway.

In addition, the Main Street Task Force has held meetings in Jefferson City, Nevada and Branson to learn how to get started in the Main Street project. Students from Hammons School of Architecture at Drury University will handle the design while MSU professor Diane May will assist with comprehensive plans.

“We have a lot of time to get things done,” Ellsworth said. “Construction is to begin in 2009, but we will try to get things done as quickly as we can. There is tons of paperwork involved because it’s a federal program.”

The three results that the town hopes for, Ellsworth said, are to beautify the Highway 160 corridor through town, to incorporate Main Street into the community in a way that encourages residential growth and complements the historic character of Ash Grove and to include zoning statutes that will also encourage the town’s growth and preserve history.

“Our goal is to make Ash Grove a unique small town, enhance its historic homes and make it a good place to visit,” said Ellsworth regarding the town west of Willard with 1,430 residents. “We want to be considered a destination for day-trip visits for citizens of the area.”

Pilot program

Preserving Ash Grove’s history and character through growth that city leaders think is bound to happen led Mayor Ellsworth to seek assistance from Joe Molinaro, manager of Smart Growth Programs for the National Association of Realtors. That meeting turned Ash Grove into the first city in an NAR pilot program. The Smart Growth Initiative program utilized the design charrette method, a strategy adopted by townspeople that encourages input from all of the citizens, Ellsworth said.

The presentation was created by the National Charrette Institute for NAR to educate people about the features and advantages of a properly orchestrated planning and development approvals process.

A three-day workshop in November 2004 brought together Molinaro and Tony Nelessen of A. Nelesson and Associates of New Jersey with Ash Grove residents. The Greater Springfield Board of Realtors also supported the workshop.

“It was very, very successful,” Ellsworth said. “We had people show up from the area, not just local citizens but those who are stakeholders in the development of the community. Everybody was real excited. It was amazing how much we got accomplished. Mr. Nelessen said it’s very rare he goes to a town and there’s so much agreement on everything.”

Ellsworth estimated 70 percent agreement on points discussed during the three-day event.

“During each planning session, citizens completed a visual preference survey, rating 80 images of development as to their appropriateness for future development in different parts of Ash Grove,” said NAR’s Molinaro.

“Then the participants got involved in hands-on planning, working in small groups to produce maps of their recommendations for land-use plans, open-space plans, road improvements and redevelopment areas.”

After that session, the planners and Ellsworth met with the county planning director, the city’s consulting engineer, the city’s public works director and the local fire chief to coordinate the planning efforts with other plans and projects.

Planning consultants and volunteers produced a plan based on the citizen recommendations.

“We worked all night into early morning the next day,” Ellsworth said.

Next, the consultant presented plan recommendations in another public meeting.

“We were pleased and astounded by the strong turnout – 120 citizens took part in the workshops … in a town of 1,430 people,” said Molinaro. “Sixty of the citizens returned on Saturday morning to see the consultant’s presentation of the plan recommendations.”

Over the subsequent few weeks, the consultant redefined the plan and presented the final plan recommendations to the City of Ash Grove, the NAR and the local board.

No other town has received as much planning assistance from the NAR, Ellsworth said, and that assistance is free to Ash Grove.