Erie Comprehensive Plan

8/18/2019 Erie Comprehensive Plan

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ERIE

REFOCUSEDCity of Erie, PennsylvaniaComprehensive Plan and CommunityDecision-Making Guide

MARCH 2016


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2 CITY OF ERIE, PA: Comprehensive Plan and Community Decision-Making Guide CITY OF ERIE, PA: Comprehensive Plan and Community Decision-Making Guide

OUTCOMES26

12 FINDINGS

8 INTRODUCTION

32 PRINCIPLES

36 AREAS OF WORK

38 STRATEGIES &PROJECTS

4 USING THISCOMPREHENSIVE PLAN

86 APPENDIX

CITY OF ERIE

Honorable Joseph E. SinnottMayor

Kim GreenDirector of Economic andCommunity Development

ERIE CITY COUNCIL

Robert MerskiPresident

Sonya M Arrington

David Brennan

Curtis Jones, Jr.

Casimir Kwitowski

James Winarski

Melvin Witherspoon

ERIE PLANNING COMMISSION

Mark KloeckerChair

Gary Antalek

Thomas Dworzanski

Donald Marinelli

Richard Speicher

ERIE REFOCUSECity of Erie, Pennsylvania

Comprehensive Plan and Community

Decision-Making GuideMEMBERS OF THE STEERING AND TECHNICAL ADVISORYCOMMITTEES

Dr. Parris Baker

Jill Beck

Chief Randy Bowers

David Brennan

Jeff Brinling John Buchna

Barbara Chaffee

Anna Frantz

Rosemari Graham

Kim Green

Michelle Griffith-Aresco

Scott Henry

David Katovich

Don Marinelli

Ray Massing

Doug Mitchell

Amy Murdock

Ben Pratt

Matt Puz

Erika Ramahlo

Chris Rodgers

Brenda Sandberg

Charles Scalise

James Sherrod

Abby Skinner

Mike Tann

Jon TushakPaul Vojtek

Casey Wells

Jake Welsh

Kathy Wyrosdick

Andy Zimmerman

This project was financed in part bya Federal Coastal Zone ManagemenGrant provided by the PennsylvaniaDepartment of EnvironmentalProtection with funds provided by tNational Oceanic and Atmospheric

Administration.

CONSULTANTS

Charles Buki

Karen Beck Pooley, Ph.D.

David Boehlke

Thomas Eddington, AICP, ASLA

Rob Krupicka

Peter Lombardi

Andrea Weinberg

with support from

MJB Consulting

Jeff Winston, Emeritus,MIG

Brenda Stynes

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS


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STEP 5When the

unexpected arisesformulate new

projects/strategiesalways applying th

principles

STEP 4Tackle one projec

at a time asrecommended

STEP 3 Adopt three

strategy zones asrecommended

STEP 2Understand theimportance ofrecommended

outcomes and aimfor them

STEP 1Embrace and com

to terms with thefindings

A GUIDE FORGOOD DECISIONS

USING THIS COMPREHENSIVE PLAN

More than anything else, this Comprehensive Plan is a decision-makingguide for a stronger Erie. It oers an approach to taking action thatnot only diers from traditional practices in the city, but enables Erieto make a signicant and much needed course correction. It has beenendorsed by the Steering Committee with a rm sense of realism, ofachieving what is possible — but also with the aim of pushing the Eriecommunity to do more than it thinks it can.

Although it is true that plans expressan intent to achieve something, it isalso true that intentions and marketconditions can, and often do, changeover time. For that reason, this planhas been designed to be adaptiveso that proposed strategies can beadjusted as circumstances dictate. To

enable exibility while maintainingprogress towards the same vision,this plan contains core principles thatshould guide daily decisions largeand small, made inside or outsideCity Hall.

The announcement in the fall of 2015that General Electric would lay o1,500 employees is a powerful casein point for the need to continuouslyadapt. In the Erie Times-News, a

number of business owners inErie were interviewed — coeeshop proprietors, pet groomers,and tavern operators. Like many businesses in Erie that in largemeasure rely on the discretionaryspending of GE employees, theyindicated that successive threats of

layos have become routine, and theanxiety aroused by such news makesfor an understandable cautiousnessin the community. “What happens ifsome of these jobs are lost for good?”asked the president of Local 506. Intruth, no one knows. What is knownwas articulated succinctly by a local business owner who stated, “I thinkpeople are just sick of being scared.”

In response to decades of suchanxiety, a traditional comprehensiveplan lled with platitudes andwish lists will not do, because atraditional plan would not get to theroot causes of the problems facingErie.

At best, a traditional plan would

gloss over the real work the entireErie community must do: adaptto a Post-Industrial economy inconstructive and sustainable ways.Doing that means jarring the Eriecommunity loose from its cu rrenttrajectory of shedding jobs, walkingaway from crumbling real estate,and “being scared.”

What Erie needs and what this document provides is the planningequivalent of a football playbook that contains a handful of carefullyprepared plays, along with a framework for calling audibles at the line ofscrimmage when circumstances change.

It is organized into five parts:

PRINCIPLES - Filters That Shape Decision-Making

In many respects, this is the most important part of this comprehensive plan.Literally dozens of decisions are made every day in Erie that aect the city’s well-

being. Often, those decisions are made independently, and can work at cross-purposes to each other. What is need ed are core principles that can guide andcoordinate the myriad of daily decisions toward a common vision.

After having carefully evaluated conditions on the ground, recent history ofgovernance, the scal capacity of the city, and the large range of programs andpolicies currently in place we have concluded that four principles stand out and,if observed with a high degree of delity, will serve Erie well going forward: (1)concentrate investments in targeted areas, (2) protect and leverage Erie’s assets, (3)support and build Erie’s “middle,” and (4) reassert Erie’s human scale.

FINDINGS - Current Conditions

Summarizes ndings from the collection and analysis of data and extensive

eld observations — including a comprehensive survey of the city’s residentialconditions. It identies the root issues that are keeping Erie from being a scallystrong city with excellent amenities and healthy levels of demand. One of the keyndings is the observation that the city and its residents have avoided facing realityfor a long time — a habit that can no longer be tolerated if the community’s actionsare to correspond suciently to the nature of its challenges.

OUTCOMES - What to Work Towards and How to Measure Progress

Identies intended outcomes for Erie as well as ways to measure progress toward

those outcomes. Rather than traditional out “puts,” such as how many homes have been rehabbed or how many road miles have been repaved, the plan’s out ”comes”describe a future, measurably healthier condition that can be veried by risingproperty values, a stronger scal position, and location decisions made by mobilehouseholds.

AREAS OF WORK - Geographic Zones

Since Erie is short on resources, long on challenges, and covers nearly 20 squaremiles, where do we start? After analyzing over a dozen planning areas that reectmarket conditions and recognizable physical boundaries, Erie is organized into threestrategy zones. Each zone has a particular role to play — and particular strategies towork with — to realize Erie’s desired outcomes.

STRATEGIES AND PROJECTS - Recommended Steps to Take inSpecific Zones

What specically should we do? The last section takes the three strategy zones andrecommends projects and priorities for each planning area — and includes strategyreference maps to assist on-the-ground decision-making. The section concludes withan outline of “activation” steps that include recommendations for nancing andexecution.

Altogether,the approach

recommended isstraight forward

and step-oriented


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A CITY OFAMBITION

INTRODUCTION

Since its founding more than 200 years ago, Erie has always had its eyeon growth and expansion. A few years after he had surveyed WashingtonDC, Andrew Ellicott was commissioned by the General Assembly ofPennsylvania to survey and plan a settlement at one of the Great Lakes’ best natural harbors with the expectation that a great city would growthere and become the Commonwealth’s connection to North America’sinland seas.

Indeed a great city – Erie – did rise from the simple squares of Ellicott’sgrid. Growth came slowly at rst but later quite rapidly as railroads andindustrialization brought factories, immigrants, and the realization of Erieas a vital and busy port.

Between the end of the Civil War and1900, Erie’s population more thantripled, spurring the city’s Chamber

of Commerce to commission a plan by the great landscape architect JohnNolen. Nolen developed a plan thatwould accommodate growth whiletaking advantage of the region’senviable location and natural beauty,including a recommendation thatPresque Isle be protected as a statepark.

During the rst half of the 20thCentury, Erie grew by another 150

percent, passing Scranton in 1950to become the state’s third largestcity. Then, even as its peers in

Pennsylvania and across the GreatLakes experienced precipitousdeclines after 1950, the City of Erieremained remarkably stable. Itreached a population just short of140,000 in 1960, with developmentreaching the city limits and spillinginto adjacent townships. This periodof mid-century growth brought aboutnew challenges and the city soughtplanning and design guidance from

the well-known French city pland modernist Maurice RotivaRotival’s recommendations fo

arterial highway system (incluwhat became the BayfrontConnector and Parkway) anddowntown modernization chathe face of the city as it soughtshed its sooty, industrial imagone more suited to its next phagrowth and prosperity.


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Interrupted Expectations

Subsequently, however, growthin the Erie region stalled andits population has increasinglydecentralized. The City of Eriewent from housing 42 percent ofErie County’s population in 1980to 35 percent in 2010, and the city’spopulation has now dropped bynearly 30 percent since its 1960 peak.

The response to slowing growthhas primarily been to focus on

large-scale redevelopment projects,especially in downtown Erie andon the Bayfront. Tens of millions ofdollars have been spent on sportsand entertainment complexes, newwaterfront facilities, and upgrades toGannon University, UPMC Hamot,Erie Insurance and other communityanchors – all in hopes of stimulatinga transformative level of investmentand economic activity. True, each ofthese projects has contributed assetsto Erie that have improved the cityand are justiably points of pride.

But such an approach hasn’tbeen enough — and it won’t beenough — to return the city toa path of sustainable growth. Amore fundamental, decades-longimbalance of supply and demandhas created a dire situation inErie, and it is one that cannot beaddressed by one or even a dozenbig-ticket projects if the communitydoes not a ddress underlying

problems of excess and obsoletehousing supply, a missing middleclass, and a disconnect betweenwhat downtown and the Bayfrontcould be and how they currentlyfunction. In point of fact, Erie cannotbe competitive and healthy again— and it will not grow again —until it addresses these imbalances,shortages, and disconnections in acomprehensive and intentional way.

Investments in recent years haveproven that people from across theregion want to come to a ballgame,want to spend time at the marina, andwant to eat at a downtown restaurant.But the average resident in the Erieregion has not shown a parallelappetite for starting a business in thecity, making downtown patronagepart of their daily or weekly routine,or buying and upgrading a home inErie’s neighborhoods because they lackconfdence that it makes sense to do so.

There are many reasons for this, butdeclining properties in proximity tokey city assets is a major factor. Notonly does it undermine condencein the real estate market, but itcommunicates a lack of safety whichhas become the prevailing narrativein the region. When disinvestment becomes the norm; falling demand,falling prices, and declining taxrevenue are also normalized. Thisis why Erie’s big ticket projects thatindividually have shown promiseremain compromised and, ultimately,disconnected from one another.

To begin restoring condence in Erie,gestures that signal a real turnabouton these and other fronts will benecessary.

Restoring Confidence

Previous plans for the City of Eriehave all dealt with the central

challenges of their time and werefundamentally shaped by theprevailing theories and methodsof their respective periods. WhenErie was merely an idea, Ellicott’s1795 plan provided a survey anda rational grid to spur settlementand guide early expansion. Whenrapid industrialization and growthwere threatening the city’s qualityof life, Nolen’s 1913 plan provideda framework for investing in

public services, facilities, andenvironmental assets to meet theneeds of a growing population.And when the city and its regionwere being choked by traccongestion in a period of Postwarsuburbanization, Rotival’s 1963 planprovided direction — if questionablein hindsight — on modernizing thecity’s highways, downtown, andBayfront.

This 2016 comprehensive plan mustalso address the central challenges of

its time.This plan seeks to restore condenceto a fundamentally weak market.And unlike previous plans that haveshaped the city, this one must denea path for Erie that few cities havetaken or have even acknowledged asan option — never mind a necessity— including numerous cities thatface imbalances far greater thanErie’s.

Restoring condence in Erie entailsthree fundamental tasks: right-sizing, catching up, and keepingup. Right-sizing a city — slimmingdown its surplus elements tostabilize it and position it forfuture competitiveness — is hardwork. Why? Because when supplyis excessive, getting supply anddemand in balance requires choices,and wise choice-making is abouttrading short-term expediencyfor long-term viability. Whenright-sizing is done well, someconstituency will be disappointed.The alternative — ”business-as-usual,” or assuming that demandwill recover if enough time passesor if the right combination of big-ticket projects are built – will notaddress the root of the problem,and therefore will never pull up thewhole city.

Not only must Erie right-size itmust catch up before keeping

up can become feasible. Decades ofdeferred maintenance of infrastructuremean that extensive and costly repairand replacement work is also in order.Finally, once right-sized, and “caughtup,” a system for “keeping up” intothe future must be put in place. Whatis needed is less a to-do list than a wayto make decisions that will spur andmaintain condence in both the privatemarket and the public role in shaping it.

It is estimated that the cost of achievingthese two aims over the next ten years,in a way that revitalizes every sectionof the city, would cost more than$600 million — a level of investmentexceedingly unlikely to materialize.Therefore, this comprehensive planmust also be about priorities — abouthow to invest, where to invest, and atwhat levels to achieve these two centraltasks. It is a plan that is, by necessityand design, about tradeos that reectthe community’s vision, its core values,and the willingness of stakeholders tolive by those values.

This comprehensive plan provides adecision-making framework to guide

public and private sector investments ina direction that will achieve two aims enroute to realizing the outcomes identifiedby this plan:

1. Stabilizing prices and rents by bringingsupply of and demand for privatereal estate and supportive publicinfrastructure into equilibrium.

2. Turning Erie into a community of choice in the region by improving the qualityand appeal of its remaining supplyand by taking advantage of the city’soutstanding assets — making the city’shousing, streets, parks, and economicopportunities highly desirable.

Restoring Community

Of course, restoring condence is aboutmore than right-sizing the housing market,maintaining parkland at a higher level, orprioritizing street repairs. It is also aboutrestoring a sense of community.

Recent decades of public and privatedisinvestment coincided with a decline in thetight-knit sense of neighborhood that typiedthe city during much of the 20th century —when many people identied parts of Erie bychurch parishes, or by neighborhood business

districts such as 26th & Parade, where PulakosCandies was and remains an institution. Toa large extent, the social fabric of individualresidential blocks has frayed, producingthe increasingly common scenario whereneighbors are strangers to one another — orat the very least lack a sense of common civicdirection. This decit matters because it shapeshow much trust people have in their neighborsand leaders — and how condent or willingpeople feel about investing time and energy ontheir block and in their city.

Restoring an ethic of reinvestment — ofmutual reinvestment — is fundamental to thehealthy functioning of markets but more so tothe social contracts that make markets work,that make neighborhoods work, and that makecities strong.


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SUPPLY DEMAND VS

VACANT HOUSING UNITS

4,700THE STATEOF THE CITY

FINDINGS

Sustained population loss over half a century is adisquieting reality — one that most of Erie’s leaders andresidents are well aware of and wish to see ha lted andreversed.

But population loss is only the outward manifestationof much deeper market and demographic forces thathave bueted Erie for decades. These underlying forceshave created a city that today has thousands of vacanthousing units, a deeply eroded middle class, assets inperil, and municipal nances insucient to make theinvestments needed to transform the city’s competitiveposition.

In order to determine realistic and appropriate strategiesfor Erie at this moment in its history — strategieslikely to spur much-needed investment and marketcondence, and to stabilize the city’s population— much had to be learned about the physical andsocioeconomic state of the city. This resulted in acomprehensive eld survey of over 25,000 residentialstructures, combined with analysis of federal, state,and local datasets describing household characteristics,property sales, crime, tax delinquency, code violations,and many other variables.

The core findings from this research are central to the guidingprinciples, priorities, and strategies of this plan:

Imbalance of supply and demand for all real estate, public and private

19101900 1920 1930 1940 1950 1960 1970 1980 1990 2

0

50,000

100,000

150,000

200,000

250,000

300,000

Cit

Outside o

Count

2

17

1

Source: US Cens

Population Trends, 1900-2010

Starkly uneven quality of the built environment, especially downtown

Uncompetitive position in the region’s residential and r etail markets

1,900 ABANDONED HOUSING UNITS

9,500RESIDENTIAL PROPERTIES WITH SIGNS OF MODERATETO SEVERE DISTRESS

37,000FEWER CITY RESIDENTS THAN

1960 POPULATION

60%GROWTH IN SURROUNDING

POPULATION SINCE 1960

33%FEWER MIDDLE AND UPPER

INCOME HOUSEHOLDS IN CITYCOMPARED TO 1969


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This is the key market issue that Erie grapples with today — one thathas not responded to typical prescriptions for urban revitalization. It isstraightforward and has two closely connected components.

IMBALANCE OFSUPPLY ANDDEMAND

EXCESSIVE SUPPLY

Population loss, suburbanization, a changing economy,and a hollowing of the middle class have weakeneddemand over the past several decades, resulting ina city that has an oversupply on many fronts. Over4,000 housing units sit unoccupied. Miles and milesof arterial roadway are well under capacity. Industrialand commercial properties across the city sit vacant orvastly underutilized. When supply outstrips demand,the result is weak market conditions that inuenceinvestment behavior in every part of Erie and its region.And because buildings and infrastructure may last fordecades in the absence of demand, the excess supplymust be removed to achieve a health ier balance. This istrue for much of Erie’s older residential, commercial, andindustrial buildings and infrastructure – made worse byunappealing new additions to the built environment inErie between 1960 and 2000.

UNAPPEALING OR UNMARKETABLESUPPLY

If it persists over decades, an unappealing supply ofbuildings and other infrastructure sharply inhibits therecovery of demand through the following cycle:

Price Stagnation Property values and rents begin to fall in the weakestparts of the city. It becomes a buyer’s market with toofew buyers.

DisinvestmentProperty owners pull back on reinvesting in theirproperties, sensing that the return on investment justisn’t there. Stagnant or falling rents mean smaller protmargins and fewer improvements.

IMPACT ON ERIE’S NEIGHBORHOOODS

Erie’s residential neighborhoods reect the evolutionof urban America. They include small Federal-style blocks near the center of Andrew Ellicott’s historicgrid; Victorian-era mansions built within a carriageride of the bustling lake port; factory workers’ housinghugging railroad lines and sh adowed by mills wherethousands walked to their daily shifts; small colonialsand bungalows from the dawn of streetcar suburbia;leafy subdivisions with curvilinear streets and parks;and downtown loft apa rtments carved from formercommercial and industrial spaces.

In short, the housing market in the City of Erie hastremendous variety – a real asset at a time when many buyers see value in options and authenticity.

But whatever its strengths, Erie’s housing market andneighborhoods have been dangerously weakened by decades of disinvestment brought about by theimbalance of supply and demand.

A comprehensive analysis of the city’sdwellings in the spring of 2 015 revealed justhow deeply disinvestment is inuencing thecourse of Erie’s neighborhoods. Key ndingsthis analysis include:

Disinvestment is pervasive: 45% of

residential properties are located on or a djacto blocks where one or more properties arevisibly distressed; 39% of residential propertare located on or adjacent to blocks where atleast 10% of properties are visibly distressed

Disinvestment is contagious: Each year, estimated $96 million1 is being withheld fromhousing and home improvement expenditur by Erie households because of poor marketsignals. This is money that would be spent onhousing if Erie households behaved like typiAmerican households in well-functioninghousing markets.

Disinvestment is costly: The averagesale price of a house in very good c onditionis $157,000 when the house is surrounded by similar properties. That price drops to$91,000 when the house is on a block wheremaintenance standards are in the middle – wnumerous properties showing at least smallsigns of disinvestment. And the price falls to$52,000 when that very good house is on a blthat is noticeably distressed – a scenario thatcosts the city approximately $1,200 2 in propetax revenue each year as a result of stunted

property values.

Deterioration

As more and more properties become visibly distressed,the most marginal properties become too costly torehabilitate.

Declining Revenue and Rising NeedAs sales prices stagnate or fall, so do taxableassessments and municipal revenues, leaving fewerresources to maintain an aging infrastructure andto keep up with greater demands on police and reservices. Parks, streets, and other basic infrastructure become noticeably tired looking, sending additionaldistress signals into the market. As tax rates rise tomake up for lost value — but not by enough to catchup on deferred maintenance - the city places itself at acompetitive disadvantage with suburban jurisdictions.

Plummeting ConfidenceCondence – a vital currency in any market – becomesseverely shaken. Perceptions of negativity surroundthe market, leading to further price stagnation,disinvestment, and deterioration.

Correcting the supply/demand imbalance andinterrupting this vicious cycle of disinvestment requiresan intervention that confronts the imbalance directly:reduce components of supply and boost demand.Bringing the city’s housing stock into balance is

critical and particularly challenging given the range ofneighborhood types in the city and wide variations inphysical condition and market strength.

KEY FINDINGS

DISINVESTMENTIN ERIE

1,2 See Appendix J. Data Notes, pg 105.


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Although disinvestment inuences the housing marketcitywide, Erie’s neighborhoods vary considerably bydegree of distress. Some are deeply dysfunctional whileothers remain among the Erie region’s most desirableplaces to live.

For example, the 2015 eld survey found that theFrontier planning area in the city’s far northwest cornerhad the most marketable housing stock in Erie. There,

70% of homes were in excellent or good condition(receiving scores of 1 or 2). That contrasted sharply withthe Trinity Park, East Bayfront , and Little Italy planningareas where at least two-thirds of properties showedsigns of moderate-to-severe disinvestment. In betweenare several areas where the typical home exhibits amoderate level of upkeep – and where the next fewyears will be critical in determining whether th at home’sfuture is one of reinvestment or drawn-out neg lect.

The geographic patterns revealed by the eld survey ofexterior conditions are reinforced by data on vacancyand abandonment. Data from the U.S. Census Bureaushow that ve planning areas exceeded the city’saverage vacancy rate of 10% in 2013. In East Bayfrontand Trinity Park, nearly 1 in 5 housing units were vacant– a large portion of which were not actively on themarket for rent or sale (an indication of abandonment).At the same time, areas with vacancy rates near or just

above the city average experienced a spike in vacancyover the previous decade – with the notable exception ofWest Bayfront and Little Italy. In areas with lower thanaverage vacancies, the general trend since 2000 has beenone of expanding vacancy. High levels of disinvestmentand distress in neighborhoods close to downtown Erie– but present to some extent throughout the city – arefurther reinforced by an examination of concentrationsof code violations and ta x delinquent properties.

FRONTIERWEST

BAYFRONT

EAST

BAYFRONT

DOWNTOWN

12TH STREET CORRIDOR

GREENGARDEN

LITTLE ITALY

TRINITY PARK

ARBOR HEIGHTS ACADEMY- MARVINTOWN

EAST GRANDVIEW

FAIRMONT-McCLELLAND

MERCYHURST

GLENWOOD

PULASKI

LIGHTHOUSE

LAKESIDE

BAYFRONT

FRONTIER

70% of homes were in excellentor good condition.

TRINITY PARK,EAST BAYFRONT,

AND LITTLE ITALY

2/3 of homesshow signs ofmoderate to severedisinvestment.

Erie’s 17 Planning AreasMIXEDCONDITIONS ACROSS AREAS

MEASURING THE HEALTH OF NEIGHBORHOODS INERIE’S PLANNING AREAS

VERY HEALTHY

VUNHEA

Best in class;ready to sell;top of the Eriemarket

Modestinvestmentneeded forproperty tomove into the“best in class”category

Good, solidhome but tiredand needingupgrades

Troubledproperty withsignificantissues andtrendingdownward; stillrecoverable.

Blightedproperty wihigh risk ofabandonme

Can generally be counted on to hold value, attract buyers, and generatepositive cash flow if a rentalproperty.

Middle markethouses thatoften representgood “buy low”opportunitiesthat — with

sweat equity andcreative financing— can turn arounda market.

Properties tend to have negativeequity and are often too expensirecover in a weak market.

STRONG MIDDLE WEAK

Little to no imminent risk of decline,but risk that owners may move iffrustrated by nearby decline.

Major risk ofdecline

Exerts a major drag on the marke

MARKETSTRENGTH

RISK

SCORE

Staying on topof the details

1 2 3 4 5

Doing well Could goeither way

Several redflags

Red flagsoverwhelm

TRANSLATINGSCORES INTOIMPACTS FOR THECOMMUNITY

How each Erie home was surveyed and scored in 2015


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HIGHLYDISTRESSED

DISTRESSED TRANSITIONAL, AT-RISK

STABLE, AT-RISK

HEALTHY

POPULATION

% MINORITY

The most deeply destabilizingparts of the city’s housing marketdue to the sheer number ofvacant and obsolete housingunits and their proximity todowntown Erie and transitionalneighborhoods. Having suchdysfunctional markets so closeto downtown blunts the impactof recent and future downtowninvestments and lowers levels ofconfidence and reinvestment inall surrounding neighborhoods.

% POVERTY

STRATEGICCONCERNS

% ADULTS WITHACHELOR’S OR HIGHER

OCIODEMOGRAPHIC

HOUSING

OMEOWNERSHIP RATE

% OF HOMESGOOD OR EXCELLENT

MODERATE OR SEVEREDISTRESS

TAX DELINQUENT

% OF RESIDENTIALPROPERTIES WITHCODE VIOLATIONS

VACANCY

25,035

30%

43%

10%

Have a considerable influence ondowntown investments or onthe health of other major assets.Although vacancy levels are atthe city average, they are stilltoo high and are dampeningreinvestment in the older homesin these areas — as expressedby half or more of the homesshowing very visible signs ofdistress.

25%

6%

78%

ERIE

Still have many well-maintainedhomes, but they are rapidly being

joined by distressed properties.Without significant intervention,these neighborhoods will continueto lose ground over the nextten years and may fall into the“Distressed” category — due toneighborhood conditions or thelack of marketable features such asfirst-floor bathrooms and updatedkitchens.

East Bayfront

Trinity Park

West Bayfront

Little Italy

Pulaski-Lighthouse

Lakeside

Fairmont-McClelland

Academy-Marvintown

Arbor Heights

Greengarden

East Grandview

Mercyhurst

Frontier

Glenwood

Solid maintenance regimesprevail although there is room forimprovement. Boosting marketconfidence in these areas couldspur investments that increasemaintenance levels on many “3”properties to a “2.”

A threat in these neighborhoodswill be the generational changesin property ownership taking placeover the next ten years. If well-maintained homes fail to find solid,owner-occupant buyers, levels ofdistress could rapidly increase.

For buyers looking for solid areasof well-maintained properties.Keeping it healthy and making iteven more appealing is importantfor the city’s competitiveness andoverall market strength.

7%

60%

21%

39% 39%

14%

66%

6%

26% 37%

16,398

57%

37%

19%

22,948

33%

25%

18%

28,919

14%

16%

24%

6,796

7%

5%

47%

14%

47%

This typology of planninin Erie describes more tthe wide variation in coby housing distress and It also demonstrates a vcorrelation between raceducation, and residentof life. Nearly 60% of Eriand Hispanic residents, example, live in planninclassified as distressed odistressed, while only 10the city’s black residenthealthy or stable planniSimilarly, while 27% of Eresidents live in povertythose in poverty are conin the five planning areaclassified as highly distrdistressed.

While class and raciallines have been blurringmany neighborhoods, Eremains highly stratifiethese sociodemographcharacteristics.

101,786*

28%

27%

21%

22% 7% 5% 2% 14%

13%19% 8% 5% 7% 10%

31% 31% 60% 71% 77% 51%

10% 5% 3% 10%

COMPARINGRESIDENTIALPLANNINGAREAS

*Downtown Erie was nocategorized into any of thtypologies due to its relasmall population and respatterns that differ consifrom the city’s traditionaresidential patterns. Tapopulation is, however, iin the far right column trepresents citywide base


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UNEVENQUALITY OFTHE BUILTENVIRONMENT

ASSETS AND SHORTCOMINGS

The unappealing condition of properties and infrastructureacross the city is a key damper on demand and reinvestment.Nowhere is this more apparent than in downtown Erie. For acity of Erie’s size, the downtown has an enviable collection ofassets – all of which serve as a strong foundation for makingone of the best downtowns in America and all of whichrepresent sizable investments of public and private resources.And yet, these assets are juxtaposed with conditions that sendvery mixed signals to potential visitors and investors and bluntthe economic impact of Erie’s treasures.

Streets that are too wideDowntown streets were redesigned in the mid-20thCentury to handle automobile volumes that either nevermaterialized or that no longer exist due to the end ofdowntown as the region’s retail hub. As a result, manydowntown streets are too wide for the volume of tracthey handle and their emptiness further reinforces theperceived lack of business activity.

Streets that are unattractiveOver-wide downtown streets don’t look good,especially if they haven’t been paved in a while. Andthis appearance is compounded by street xtures andfurnishings (lights, crossing signals, benches, receptacles,trees) that are missing, damaged, and poo rly coordinated– a problem recognized by the city’s 2010 DowntownStreetscape Master Plan.

Walking distances that feel dauntingDowntown Erie is very linear, with almost all of itsmajor assets and activity generators located within two blocks of State Street. A walk on State Street from 14thto the Bayfront Connector — generally recognized asthe north and south limits of downtown — covers onemile. Depending on one’s walking speed and time spentwaiting at intersections, it can take 20 to 30 minutes. Thatwouldn’t necessarily be a problem if every block alongthe way were vibrant and pleasant. But they’re not thereyet. If they were, it would help make a stronger senseof transition, progression, and interest from one part ofdowntown to another.

Deteriorated, cluttered-looking, or poorlydesigned building stockDowntown has many outstanding landmarks in greatcondition. But many, if not most, of the buildings in between show signs of deterioration when it comesto storefronts, signage, windows, and architecturaldetails; present a cluttered or sloppy appearance; orwere designed in ways that repel or resist pedestrians.This is made worse in front of the institutional andmedical facilities at the northern end of State Street

where the traditional downtown development pattern isinterrupted by lawns, parking lots, or blank surfaces.

Empty or underutilized spacesIn a vicious cy cle, lower standards lead to lower demand,which leads to lower rents, which leads to weaker businesses. Eventually this can lead to either marginalusers that do not insist on quality maintenance, or worse,empty buildings and properties.

The result is a lack of demand and a lack of capital

borrowing power to upgrade space to attract usesstronger demand.

One issue that must be addressed, however sensitiit may be, is downtown’s high concentration ofhuman service providers and subsidized housing.Always seeking lower cost facilities, these uses ha vconveniently lled empty buildings and lots durinextended period of weak market conditions. But mof these uses are incompatible with the downtownthat Erie is trying to b uild. Prime locations for privinvestments that pay taxes and draw income intothe city are being forfeited. If this does not change,downtown Erie will have diculty becoming th e sof nancial stability that Erie needs and it won’t atthe number of new residents, businesses, and custo

that downtown needs to be a best-in-class city cent

NUMEROUS ASSETS BLUNTED BY POOR QUALITY SURROUNDINGS

Overly wide andunattractive streets

Empty orunderutilizedstorefronts

Poorly maintainedbuilding stockUPMC Hamot

Gannon University

Perry Square

Erie Insurance Office

Warner Theater Erie Arena


12/54


UNCOMPETITIVEIN THEREGION’SRESIDENTIALAND RETAILMARKETS

Source: czb analysis of 1970 Census and 20American Community Survey, ination ad

An obvious but little recognized reality is that just asbusinesses compete, so too do cities compete — witheach other. They compete for strong bu sinesses andhouseholds.

The City of Erie has competed poorly for householdsin the Erie region for decades. Between 1960 and 2010,a period when the city shed over 36,000 residents, theremainder of Erie County actually added over 66,000residents.

But Erie’s diculty competing for households has beenmore problematic than a simple look at population canexpress. An examination of household income brac ketsand how they changed in the city between 1969 and2013 versus how they changed in the remainder of ErieCounty over the same period (adjusted for ination)shows that households with discretionary income in ErieCounty — who have the means to invest and reinvestin homes and neighborhoods — have overwhelminglychosen to live outside of the city.

For example, in 1969 the 42,313 households in ErieCounty that made the modern equivalent of more than

$50,000 were almost evenly split between city andsuburbs: 19,998 lived in the City of Erie and 22,325 livedin the remainder of Erie County. By 2013 , the numberof households making more than $50,000 had risen to50,148, but they overwhelmingly chose to live outsidethe city, with 36,864 (or 74%) living in the suburban andrural towns of the county.

The shrinking of the middle and upper income bracketsin the city has happened while the number of lowincome households has increased. The result: lessdemand stemming from fewer people and households

2,000

4,000

6,000

8,000

10,000

12,000

# o f H o u s e h o l d s

12,000

14,000

10,000

8,000

6,000

4,000

2,000

CITY

COUNTY(WITH CITY SUBTRACTED)

1969 2013

> $ 2 0 K

$ 2 0 - $ 3 0 K

$ 3 0 - $ 5 0 K

$ 5 0 - $ 7 5 K

$ 7 5 - $ 1 0 0 K

$ 1 0 0 - $ 1 5 0 K

$ 1 5 0 K +

> $ 2 0 K

$ 2 0 - $ 3 0 K

$ 3 0 - $ 5 0 K

$ 5 0 - $ 7 5 K

$ 7 5 - $ 1 0 0 K

$ 1 0 0 - $ 1 5 0 K

$ 1 5 0 K +

ERIE COUNTY

CITY OF ERIE

Middle and upper income households were equallydistributed betweethe city and suburb1969…

…but by 2013, thesuburbs had a 3-to-advantage.

HouseholdIncomeDistributionin Erie Cityand County,1969 and 2013

19,998earningmorethan$50K

22,325earning

morethan$50K



Households gained bythe suburbs

Householdslost by the city

and fewer resources on the part of the remaininghouseholds to invest in a rapidly aging, maintenance-deferred housing stock.

The problems caused by a shrinkin g middle class impactthe market for retail space as well. With the medianannual household income around the greater downtownarea at $24,000, the types of goods, restaurants, andservices desired by this nearby market is of lower cost.This in turn generates lower prots an d lower taxes tothe city to pay for maintenance and services.

Sometimes this can be oset by the expenditures ofdowntown employees. However, with 70% of thepopulation near downtown having no more than ahigh school diploma, it is not likely that businesseswith higher paying jobs will be attracted to the area.Therefore, downtown’s retail outlook will be bleakuntil the nearby surrounding areas are improved anddiversied — and it is unrealistic to expect regionaldemand from people driving in to shop and eat to osetthis problem.

This of course is a doub le-edged sword. Currently,

downtown-area households shop outside of thedowntown at Family Dollar and Wal-Mart. Capturingthis “leaked” spending with new discount retailers inand near downtown would bring goods and servicesto low-income households in the East Bayfrontneighborhood and would somewhat increase revenues tothe city, but would not reposition downtown to succeed.Addressing the fundamentally weak demographic proleof the city is the key to unlocking commercial potential.


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SCHOOLS, SAFETY AND A HEALTHIER CITYThere are many reasons why stable households ch oose to live outside thecity limits, but chief among them are the deeply interconnected challenges ofschool quality, public safety, taxes, and property values.

Most households with sucient income to be able to choose where they liveare not willing to abide the prevailing sense of disorder and concerns aboutpublic safety in the city. When they choose the townships (i.e. outside thecity), their choice adds to demand in the county while exacerbating excesssupply and depressed property values in the city. On their departure, publicnances in the townships improve while those in the city worsen. The city’scapacity to maintain infrastructure, patrol streets, and operate public schoolsis weakened. City taxes, forced to c ounter these weaknesses, must rise and become another dissuading factor.

For young families willing to make a go of it in the city, better educational

opportunities in the county are a persuasive reason to leave Erie whentheir children reach schooling age. They too depart, becoming part of thedecades-long exodus.

Lower school performance and higher crime rates are both causal andsymptomatic. The cumulative eect of decisions by middle- and upper-income households to locate outside the city created a socioeconomic prolefor Erie that virtually guarantees a gap between city and suburb. Almostany community with a poverty rate approaching 30% will have schools andpolice departments ghting an uphill battle against social ills that they arenot equipped to cure.

Despite falling enrollment, tight resources, and evolving state and nationalstandards, the Erie School District’s data-driven optimization plan toright-size and adaptively reuse its facilities is a model for responsibleand innovative governance of urban schools. Likewise, the Erie PoliceDepartment is no stranger to the challenge of having to make tough choicesthat deploy limited resources.

Both the Erie Schools and the Erie Police Department have much to show fortheir disciplined approach to tradeos. Nevertheless, neither will be ableto achieve conditions on par with the suburbs until the city’s demographicprole changes — until poverty becomes much less concentrated and thecity has a more equitable share of the county’s middle and upper incomeresidents.

Erie can do much, but regional cooperation is essential. This planestablishes guiding principles and recommends strategies that are intended

to close the demographic gap between the city and its suburbs. Making thecity and its neighborhoods hig hly desirable to households with resourcesand options is the key to this. But surrounding communities must also play arole by eliminating the policy barriers — such as exclusionary zoning — thatconstrict the housing options of low income households.

Harding School, one of the city’shigh-performing schools $0

0%

Property values could be stable andgrowing or weak

Poverty rates at a tipping point orgrowing close to tipping point

Fiscal capacity exists, but might bethreatened

Housing is still affordable but upperend of spectrum must be vigilant

Fertile ground for strategicrevitalization efforts that takeadvantage of existing communitycapacity

Direction of trends is criticallyimportant

Generally, finite resources should befocused on economic sustainabilitybefore housing affordability

Property values are low relative toregion

Poverty rates are unacceptably high,often beyond a tipping point

Fiscal capacity is low Lack of housing affordability is morelikely a function of very low incomes,not high property values; furtheraffordable housing developmentcould undermine an already weakmarket

May not be ready for manyrevitalization strategies until drasticchanges take place (right-sizing ofbuilding stock, deconcentration ofpoverty, public safety initiatives)

$200K

Conneauttown.

Wattsburgbor.

Mill Village bor.

Cranesville bor.

Albion bor.

Corry city

Eriecity

Venango

town.

NorthEast bor.

Waterfordbor.

LawrencePark

Harborcreektown.

NorthwestHarborcreek

North East town.

McKean bor.

Girard bor.

Millcreektown.

Washingtontown.

Edinborobor.

Fairview town.

Avonia

Elginbor.

Concordtown.

Franklin town.

$100K

Transitional/

Middle Market Weak Market

High or very high property val

Low poverty rates

Often suburban and/or lowdensity but not always

True housing affordabilityproblems

Interventions should focus onsocial equity, affordable housand economic mobility for lowincome households

$50K

$150K

CHARACTERISTICS

S T R O N G E S

T

W E A

K E S T

Healthy/Strong to

Very Strong Market

Pittsburghcity

State College

Cranberry (Pittsburgh suburb)

King of Prussia(Philadelphia suburb)

% of Adults with College Degree

M

e d i a n F a m i l y I n c o m e

Erie County Communities on theSpectrum of Market Strength

Using family income and the populationof college graduates as proxies for marketstrength, it becomes clear that the City ofErie is one of the few communities in thecounty with an objectively weak market.But no community in the county canbe described as strong. The stability ofsuburban jurisdictions and the region isthreatened by a struggling urban core.


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ERIE’S DESIREDFUTURE

OUTCOMES

Addressingthe keyndings of thisComprehensivePlan meansworking towarda future Eriethat is highlycompetitive

and nancially stable — one where sucientresources exist to achieve a high level ofmaintenance for public infrastructure, wherereinvestment in private property is the norm,and where businesses and households withoptions choose to locate. That particular Erieis an objective that can be described by three broad outcomes.

A CITY OF GREATPLACES

A CITY OF HIGHRESIDENTIALQUALITY OFLIFE

A CITY OF ECONOMICSTRENGTH AND STABILIT

Erie has a long history of “placemaking,” or creatingpublic spaces that people deeply value and that area core part of a community’s identity. Perry Square,Frontier Park, the streets of Glenwood, th e towers of St.Stanislaus, the Caretaker’s House at Sigsbee Reservoir— these and many other indelibly “Erie” features havethe power to inspire and to create strong emotional bonds between people and place.

Few investments of the past half century have had thesame magnetism as Erie’s earlier feats of great civicdesign. But with a commitment to the principles andstrategies in this plan, Erie will enter a new era of greatplacemaking — building on its location and outstandingdesign inheritance to create or burnish places that buildcondence, that signal high standards, and that attractand retain households and businesses.

This outcome will be realized with particularattention to the following specifics:

DOWNTOWN The spaces currently separatingand limiting downtown’s great assets become part ofdowntown’s magnetism — beautiful streets and mixed-use structures that make the city center a great place tolive, work, visit, and walk.

BAYFRONT The Bayfront becomes not just a placeof parked cars and big buildings where people come tosee the water, but a mixed-use urban experience tha tleverages a world-class asset and is well integrated withdowntown and adjacent neighborhoods.

ENTRYWAYS Infrastructure on gateway corridorsand other high trac streets is attractive and always in astate of good repair — sending a strong signal about thecity’s commitment to competence and high standards.

NEIGHBORHOOD INTIMACY Interestingand unexpected neighborhood spaces lend a sense ofidentity that creates value and attracts homebuyers.

Limited signs of distress, high levels of reinvestment by owner-occupants and landlords, engagedresidents, well-maintained public amenities, safe andclean streets, housing options for a wide variety of

household types, excellent schools — these are basicdescriptors of neighborhoods that attract and retainmiddle class households and that help maintain anancially sustainable city. The number of areas thatconsistently t this description has been falling inrecent decades, but will change as the principles andstrategies in this plan are applied.

This outcome will be realized with particularattention to the following:

CONSISTENTLY WELL-MAINTAINEDPUBLIC AMENITIES When parks, street furnishings, and other publicfacilities are well cared for, the city sets a strongexample that resonates to private property owners.

PREDICTABILITY AND SAFETY, OR AN ABSENCE OF DISORDER Order and predictability are building blocks ofcondence and reinvestment.

HIGH LEVELS OF HOMEOWNERSHIP Rental options are an important part of a balancedand accessible housing stock, but a stable or growingrates of homeownership — especially in single-family

neighborhoods — is a proxy for condence andhealthy demand.

Cities don’t create jobs, but they can create anenvironment where competitive advantages exist awhere businesses operate to exploit those advantaIn the 21st Century, this includes having an ameni

rich city with a high quality of life where skilledworkers and entrepreneurs choose to live and wor(see Outcomes 1 and 2), as well as a culture thatrewards risk-taking and encourages collaboration.the Erie community fosters the environmental andcultural attributes that create competitive advantaits economy will g row stronger, more diverse, andmore stable.

This outcome will be realized with particulaattention to the following:

Ensuring the presence of sucient volumes of higexible, locally-generated venture capital —higher in per capita quantity and greater in exibilthan what is available in competitor cities such asBualo.

A high percentage of residents with collegedegrees — higher than the state average.

A large and healthy cohort of young adults — larger than the city’s regional share of totalpopulation.

Presence of new and sustained partnerships inand across various sectors.


15/54


How will Erie know if it’s makingprogress toward these broadoutcomes and becoming morecompetitive and desirable?

The following are key measuresthat will indicate progress.

The way to usethese metrics isfor the city andits partners —public, nonprofit, private — to askthis question before acting:

Will our action measurablyand meaningfully help achievethe measures described in thiscomprehensive plan?

If not, they should probably notbe done.

MEASURINGPROGRESS

As supply and demand become more balanced andsigns of distress begin to dissipate, the marketplacewill respond by placing a higher value on residentialproperties. Buyers will oer more money to compete forgood houses in desirable neighborhoods — and higherpurchase prices will be reected by higher a ssessments.

The taxable assessed value of Erie’s residentialproperties should rise at an average annual rate thatexceeds ination over the next 20 years.3

If what we are aboutto do is not likely toresult in an increasein property values, itprobably should not bedone.

ASK BEFORE ACTING ASK BEFORE ACTING

RESIDENTIAL PROPERTYVALUES ARE RISING

As Erie’s neighborhoods become more desirable, notonly should values rise but they should regain lostground and close the sizable gap between city andcounty home values. In 2014, owner-occupied homes inthe City of Erie had a median value that was 72% of ErieCounty’s median value ($84,700 versus $117,200).

The gap should continually shrink and be fully c losedby 2040.

If what we are aboutto do is not likely to

result in closing the gapbetween property valuesin the city and in thecounty, it probably should not be done.

ASK BEFORE ACTING

RESIDENTIAL VALUE GAPIS CLOSING

Lack of condence in the city’s housing market hasresulted in a considerable “reinvestment decit” of$96 million. This is the amount of money that Eriehouseholds would be spending on housing andhome improvements if their spending behaviorsmirrored those of the average American household.In other words, it’s money that Erie propertyowners have available to spend — but they arechoosing not to spend it on exterior or interior homeimprovements.

As the market stabilizes and confdence grows, thereinvestment defcit should shrink to $0 over thenext 20 years.

If what we are aboutto do is not likely toresult in promotingmeasurably healthylevels of reinvestmentby residential property owners, it probablyshould not be done.

ASK BEFORE ACTING

REINVESTMENT BYRESIDENTIAL OWNERS APPROACHES NORMAL,HEALTHY LEVELS

Downtown has been the focus of considerableinvestment over the past few decades and muchmore needs to be invested to make it a truly greatplace. If adequate and strategic, these investmentswill create a downtown where property values arerising at a rate that will strengthen and expand thecity’s nancial capacity to reinvest in itself.

The taxable assessed value of downtown Erieshould rise at an average annual rate that exceedsination over the next 20 years.4

If what we are aboutto do is not likely toresult in growing the

value of DowntownErie real estate, itprobably should not be done.

ASK BEFORE ACTING

DOWNTOWN PROPERTYVALUES ARE RISING

Through sound scal management, Erie hasachieved a solid credit rating and a track record balanced budgets. If the intended outcomes of thplan are achieved, it will be easier to balance the budget year after year — but it will also be easie

to fund departments and projects at the levelsnecessary to ensure very high standards of serviand infrastructure maintenance.

Currently, revenue raised from p roperty, incomeand sales taxes represent just under 60% ofgeneral fund revenues for the City of Erie — witthe remainder coming from federal and statereimbursements, grants, fees, and other sources.As the city’s tax base grows and it becomesmore competitive for middle and upper incomehouseholds, the share of the general fund derivfrom the fundamental local revenue tools(property, income, and sales) should cover morthan 70% of all expenses.

If what we areabout to do is notlikely to result in ahigh level of publicreinvestmentin strengthening and maintaining ourinfrastructure, it probably should not bedone.

ASK BEFORE ACT

GENERAL FUND REVENUES FROMLOCALLY DERIVED TAXES ARE STRONG ANDSUSTAIN HIGH LEVELSOF MAINTENANCE ANDINVESTMENT

3 See Appendix J. Data Notes, pg 105. 4 See Appendix J.Data Notes, pg 105.


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College-educated young adults (ages 25-34) aremobile and have options. They are, in fact, themost transient adult cohort, testing dierent careeroptions and lifestyles before choosing to settle ina particular place. The good news is that the Cityof Erie has been performing well when it comesto capturing the interest of this population in the

Erie region. The number of college-educated youngadults living in the City of Erie increased by 33% between 2000 and 2014, going from 3,300 to 4,400.This represents a higher share of educated youngadults in the Erie region (39%) than the city’soverall share of the region’s population (36%). Thismeans that they are choosing to live in the city ata disproportionately high rate — and mirroringrecent trends nationwide.

Members of this cohort are a critical part of thecity’s present and future entrepreneurial ecosystem— starting businesses, patronizing new businesses,and lling important roles at existing companiesand institutions. As they age and start families, theywill decide whether to stay in th e city, move to thesuburbs, or move to some other region.

Over the next 20 years, the City of Erie will remain— and strengthen its position — as a location ofchoice for educated young adults by attracting 45to 50% of the cohort’s total population in the Erieregion.

If what we are aboutto do is not likely toresult in increasing

the city’s share of young adults in theregion, it probably should not be done.

ASK BEFORE ACTING

THE CITY IS COMPETINGWELL FOR EDUCATED YOUNG ADULTS IN THEERIE REGION

A growing number of regions, including inPennsylvania, have venture capital funds that arededicated to investing in local startup companiesand to attracting investments from venturecapitalists outside the region. A fund in the Erieregion has been documented as an economicdevelopment goal. As Erie realizes its outcomes,

especially with regard to economic dynamism,it will measure progress in such basic ways as job numbers and unemployment rates — but thepresence of an active and growing venture capitalor seed fund will be an indicator that startupenterprises are fnding support and that l ocalentrepreneurs are being rewarded in Erie fortaking risks that have the potential to lift the region.

AN ACTIVE AND GROWINGVENTURE CAPITAL ORSEED FUND

Concentrated poverty has long been a problem inthe Erie region — one that inhibits the ability ofpoor families to escape poverty and for the City ofErie to achieve nancial stability. Currently, the Cityof Erie contains 36% of Erie County’s residents but59% of the c ounty’s residents living in poverty. Thisis reected in a city poverty rate of 27% versus a

countywide poverty rate of 17%. But huge gaps alsoexist within the city, where the residential planningarea with the highest poverty rate (East Bayfront,46%) has poverty levels nearly 10 times as high asthe area with the lowest rate (Glenwood, 5%).

As the desired outcomes of this plan are realized— as more middle income families choose to locatein the city, including core neighborhoods — theseregional and internal gaps will begin to shrink.

To get there, not only must the city become morecompetitive for middle income households, butoutlying communities in Erie County must makegreater commitments to regional equity.

If what we are aboutto do is not likelyto result in a moresocio-economicallybalanced city, itprobably should not be done.

ASK BEFORE ACTING

MOVING TOWARDS A FAIRER REGIONALSHARE OF POVERTY AND WEALTH

Of course, the overall goal is toimplement with an eye towardsall of these aims in balance. Nosingle objective by itself need bedeterminative, though it may.


17/54


A BASISFOR

GETTING ITRIGHT

PRINCIPLES

Which roads to rebuild, which homes to rehab, where to bolster the presenceof police, how to shape development on the Bayfront — these are just a few ofthe decisions that have both immediate and lasting consequences. Many aremade in City Hall, but other decisions made outside City Hall can be equallyconsequential, whether they are made by a block club leader, a small businessowner, or a college p resident.

If decisions that have a collective and cumulative impact on the city’s long-term competitiveness are being made by so many separate public and privateentitites and individuals, how can we ensure that everyone is “pulling in

the same direction” with broader goals in mind? The answer is a simple,straightforward set of guiding principles that clarify how even simple choicescan contribute to a stronger Erie.

DO SUPPORT AND BUILDERIE’S MIDDLE Erie must be desirable to the middleclass as a place to live, work, andvisit. Decisions must be madewith the middle in mind. Prioritizeinvestments in “things the middleclass values.”

Countless decisions, large and small, will inf luence Erie’sability to realize its desired outcomes — to be a greatplace, to have livable neighborhoods, and to cultivate astrong and stable economy.

Do Don’tA CIVIC DOS AND DON’TS GUIDE FOR COLLECTIVE IMPACT

DON’T DIFFUSERESOURCES Spreading limited resourcesensures that nothing receives a trulytransformative level of investment. Itfeels fair, but it is neither sustainablenor effective.

Downtown Erie has a very larglinear footprint. As a result,spreading resources acrossdowntown will have a limitedimpact and fail to transform thdowntown marketplace. Resoushould be steered to targeted to make them great — and buidemand for broader investme

DO CONCENTRATEINVESTMENTS INTARGETED AREAS Focused investment over a sustainedperiod builds confidence and valuethat boosts overall market demandsuch as coordinating street, utility,sidewalk, and park improvements inspecific neighborhoods each year,

rather than spending some here,some there.

DO PROTECT ANDLEVERAGE ERIE’S ASSETS Making the city’s core assets —downtown, the Bayfront, its strongneighborhoods and institutions — asstrong as possible will stimulatedemand and bolster the city’sfinancial position.

DO REASSERT ERIE’SPEDESTRIAN SCALE Development in Erie must r espectthe city’s pedestrian-centeredorigins. Downtown, the Bayfront,and neighborhoods will berecognized as great places whenthey prioritize pedestrian comfort,safety, and interest.

DON’T USE A DEFICIT-BASED APPROACH TOREVITALIZATION Reacting to problems ratherthan building on strengths leadsto a perpetual state of crisismanagement and steers attentionand energy away from the city’sstrengths.

DON’T INVEST ON AWORST-FIRST BASIS Making a habit of steeringresources to the most deterioratedinfrastructure or troubled arearesults in very few things beingcontinuously well-maintained —which dampens demand and thecity’s financial capacity to make anyinvestment.

DON’T DESIGNFOR AUTOMOTIVECONVENIENCE Development and infrastructurethat prioritizes the comfort andspeed of drivers does not make thecity more pleasant and desirable.

The magnitude of property dispoverty, and economic anxietymakes it easy to fixate on — anbe overwhelmed by — problemThis is why actions in Erie musbe convincingly focused onmarketable assets that the actis strengthening or protectingaction isn’t clearly tied to advaan asset, it’s diverting energy aresources from ones that do.

Resources to improve Erieneighborhoods are often directo the most distressed areas — are almost always inadequate task. Meanwhile, stable areas grelatively little attention and bto slip. Investing in the short rukeep stable neighborhoods hewill do more to strengthen thefinances and help demand reccitywide.

Observationson Erie

Recent development on theBayfront has featured an abunof structured and surface parkwhich cannibalizes primewaterfront sites, makes Bayfromore difficult to explore on fooand heightens the sense of isofrom downtown.


18/54


APPLYING THEPRINCIPLES

The priority areas and projects outlined in the AREASOF WORK and STRATEGIES & PROJECTS wereselected because they activate the plan ’s core principles.

Implementation of these priorities is intended to occurin addition to the city’s general fund allocations.

EXAMPLE 1A program is established to focus matchinggrants aimed at stimulating homeownerreinvestment in areas where a significant return ismost likely (particularly blocks that already havedemonstrable market strength or stability).

EXAMPLE 2The city and its partners make efforts to betterconnect downtown and the Bayfront a priority— recognizing that doing so strengthens twomajor assets and allows Erie’s human scale tore-emerge. While expensive and time consuming,the connection is also seen as an opportunity todemonstrate self confidence, perform decades-overdue physical repair, and reinvest the manydividends locally through WPA-style civiliancorps efforts, iconic architecture, and civic-levelbeautification.

COMPREHENSIVE PLAN PRIORITIES

The City of Erie allocates over $70 million annuallytoward basic city functions, including police, reprotection, code enforcement, parks, public works,

and administration. When opportunities arise tospend those funds in ways that align with the generalprinciples of this Comprehensive Plan, the c ity shouldconsider seizing them to lead by example.

EXAMPLE 1With resources currently allocated for codeenforcement, the city initiates enforcementsweeps in areas identified in the plan as healthy,stable, or transitional — recognizing that disorderand distress in those areas are the greatesthindrance to residential reinvestment and thecompetition for middle income households.

EXAMPLE 2When the city chooses where to plant trees,it targets its tree planting and maintenanceresources in areas where significant public orprivate investments are occurring in order tomaximize investment impact.

CITY OF ERIE GENERAL FUND

Organizations that take a leadership role in revitalizingneighborhoods or commercial districts will play acritical role in realizing this plan’s intended outcomes

by integrating these principles into their ownprograms.

EXAMPLE 1The Sisters of St. Joseph Neighborhood Network,operating in Little Italy, focuses its housingrevitalization activities in concentrated areas nearcitywide assets and prioritizes beautification andblight remediation efforts along high-visibilitycorridors.

EXAMPLE 2When applicants seek funds from the ErieCommunity Foundation to contribute insome way to neighborhood, downtown, orBayfront revitalization, the foundation asks foran explanation of how the project applies theComprehensive Plan’s principles and then usesthe principles to vet the grant applications.

NOT-FOR-PROFIT SECTOR

The Erie Redevelopment Authority, Erie Public Scthe Port Authority, the EMTA, and other local andstate agencies invest millions of dollars each year

city assets — levels that often greatly exceed annuspending by the city itself and thus have the poteto be critical players in the realization of this planoutcomes.

EXAMPLE 1The Erie Redevelopment Authority focuseshousing rehabilitation, construction, anddemolition projects in concentrated areas theither strengthen stable blocks or that protecritical assets.

EXAMPLE 2A land bank, when established, prioritizes thdemolition or renovation of blighted properon otherwise stable blocks. In distressedneighborhoods, it assists partners in assembcleaning, and greening vacant land.

EXAMPLE 3PennDOT and its partners modify the BayfroConnector to create an iconic connectionbetween downtown Erie and the Bayfront.

PUBLIC AGENCIES


19/54


FOCUSINGRESOURCES

FOR HIGHIMPACT

AREAS OF WORK

FRONTIER WEST

BAYFRONT

EAST

BAYFRONT

D O W N T O W N


GREENGARDEN

LITTLE ITALY

TRINITY PARK

ARBOR HEIGHTS ACADEMY- MARVINTOWN

EAST GRANDVIEW

FAIRMONT-McCLELLAND

MERCYHURST

GLENWOOD

PULASKI

LIGHTHOUSE

LAKESIDE

BAYFRONT

CORESTRENGTHENINGStrategies for a StrongRegional Core

NEIGHBORHOODSTRENGTHENINGStrategies for HealthyNeighborhoods

STABILIZATIONStrategies for ReducingNeighborhood Distress

CORESTRENGTHENING

WHY A CORE STRENGTHENING STRATEGY?Strengthen and protect Erie’s downtown and Bayfront — two of theregion’s biggest assets and the key to creating an amenity-rich citythat competes for households and businesses at a high level. A world-class downtown and Bayfront surrounded on both sides by healthyneighborhoods and augmented by a vibrant 12th Street corridor willput the city in a strong financial position and support neighborhoodrevitalization and stabilization efforts citywide.

This zone includes planning areas at and surrounding the Erie region’score — downtown, the central Bayfront, the neighborhoods that flankdowntown to the east and west, and the 12th Street corridor. AlthoughEast Bayfront features levels of distress that are consistent with thecity’s “Stabilization” areas, its proximity to downtown and critical assetsput it into strategic alignment with the “Core Strengthening” areas.

The guiding principles embedded in this plan — to concentrate resources, tofocus on assets, to strengthen the middle, and to reassert the human-scale ofErie — are broadly applicable. But to have maximum impact, it is n ecessaryto apply them within a geographic framework that recognizes marketvariations across the city an d the need for strategies tailored to t pa rticularneighborhoods as well as overarching city priorities.

To provide such a framework, this plan has identitied three strategy-basedcategories for the city’s planning areas that are based on an area’s marketstrength and its relationship to core city assets.

Three FocusedStrategic Areas

NEIGHBORHOODSTRENGTHENING

STABILIZATION

WHY A NEIGHBORHOOD STRENGTHENING STRATEGY?Make Erie’s healthy, stable, and transitional neighborhoods strongerand more sustainable by creating an environment where reinvestmentand community engagement are routine. These are middle-marketzones where there is considerable market strength to leverage ifconfidence can be boosted or restored — but that strength is erodingand will continue to erode without intervention. Neither a strongregional core nor a financially strong city can be achieved withoutmiddle-market residential areas where quality of life and levels ofdemand are high.

This zone includes nine planning areas that border neighboringmunicipalities and form a “U” around central Erie.

WHY A STABILIZATION STRATEGY?Distressed neighborhoods that border Erie’s main railroad corridor andindustrial zones need to find stability for Erie to thrive. High levels ofblight need to be mitigated, vacancy rates need to drop, vacant landneeds to be properly managed and maintained, and important assetsshould serve as focal points for repositioning resources and changinginternal and external market perceptions.

This zone includes the Little Italy and Trinity Park planning areas southof downtown, and the Pulaski-Lighthouse planning area on the eastside of the Bayfront Connector.


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TAKINGACTION

STRATEGIES & PROJECTS

CORE STRENGTHENING

First and foremost, this plan is about applying clear

principles and strategic thinking when deciding howto allocate limited resources. As such, the contents ofthis section should not be treated as a static checklistbut as an “idea” or “pattern” book for implementationthat identies strategies and projects that, under currentconditions, represent a high degree of delity to theplan’s principles and the community’ s desired outcomes.As conditions change, so too should the slate of strategiesand projects.

These strategies are summarized and then described

in greater detail by the Areas of Work. For eachplanning area in the city a strategy and projectdiagram — including reference maps — has beencreated to show how conditions an d assets aregeographically distributed, and how resourcesand tools can be focused to align with the plan’sprinciples.

DOWNTOWN Stimulate market-rate residentialand mixed-usedevelopment attargeted nodes

Build consistent, highquality downtownstreetscapes — startingwith State Street

Organize downtownspaces using “district”geography

Begin relocationof human servicefunctions toareas beyond thecentral businessdistrict

BAYFRONT Create an iconicconnection betweenthe Bayfront anddowntown

Prioritize mixed-use,pedestrian-focusedredevelopment onBayfront property

Leverage Bayfront propertyas an income-generatingresource for the city

12TH STCORRIDOR

Practice iconicplacemaking

strategies at 12th &State

Stimulateredevelopment of

industrial properties asmixed-use spaces

Assemble tax incentiveand financing tools to

encourage businesslocation

EASTBAYFRONT

Establish a networkof new parks viatargeted demolition& land assemblage

Re-focus public andprivate investmentaround historiclandmarks and newlycreated parks

Utilize demolitionand vacant landmanagement as jobtraining and developmentopportunities

WESTBAYFRONT

Encouragereinvestment byhomeowners onstable ‘middlemarket’ blocks

Perform targeteddemolition and rehabin proximity to assetsand stable blocks

Invest in streetscapeimprovements alonggateway corridors anddowntown edges

Stimulate market-rate housing and mixed-usedevelopment in targeted downtown nodes

Downtown Erie is not failing, at least when understood within the con broader national trends and compared to other cities in its peer group.is not because it ha s somehow managed to recapture a bit of its earlier market appeal, but because its stewards have done an admirable job taadvantage of the specic niches where it remains competitive. Its contirevival will require a laser-like focus to optimize the potential of GannUPMC Hamot, and Erie Insurance in ways not yet done, with specicattention to live music venues, cross-over concepts, and other o-campservices.

Transitioning downtown’s older properties into appealing, in-demandfacilities that meet current market needs takes c onsiderable eort andresources — and developers willing to take a risk. Given Erie’s softreal estate market, a strong set of tools must be in place to help limit adeveloper’s risk. Without such measures, development will not occur athe scale and pace necessary to transform downtown and to ensure thainvestments in public infrastructure pay o.

EXAMPLES / TOOLS

Cincinnati Equity FundEstablished in 1995 to provide nancing for market-rate housing in cenCincinnati, the CEF has made over $132 million in loans resulting in $8million in total development — enabling projects that would not happwithout CEF involvement. CEF’s products oer 2- 4% interest rates, funfor pre-development costs, and no pre-sale or preleasing requirements

Historic Preservation Tax CreditsAlmost two dozen properties in downtown Erie are currently listed onNational Register of Historic Places, making them eligible for the 20 pefederal income tax credit that supports substantia l and historically-senrenovations to income-earning properties (as well as a limited supply ostate tax credits oered by Pennsylvania). To expand the potential utiliof this tool, in tandem with other tools, all of downtown Erie should benominated to the National Register, which would make 100+ additionaproperties eligible to use these credits.

Historic tax credits can be utilized by the developer and their investors

syndicated. Because syndication often involves legal and accounting fethat are prohibitive for small projects, many developers seek out local epartners (individuals or companies) that have large tax liabilities and cuse the credits.

DOWNTOWNFRONTIER

EAST

BAYFRONT

D O W N T O W N

12THSTREETCORRIDOR

GREENGARDEN

LITTLE ITALY TRINITY PARK

ARBORHEIGHTS ACADEMY- MARVINTOWN

EASTGRANDVIEW

FAIRMONT-McCLELLAND

MERCYHURST

GLENWOOD

PULASKI

LIGHTHOUSE

LAKESIDE

BAYFRONT

WEST

BAYFRONT


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Make downtown streetscapes consistent, high-quality,and user-friendly — starting with State Street

The 2010 Downtown Streetscape Master Plan oers excellent guidance onthis front. But it will be slow to happen unless Erie nds ways to pay forthese improvements. Although state and federal funds can be tapped for thiswork, the city must commit local funds to leverage those sources and have thenancial capacity to maintain its improvements.

EXAMPLES / TOOLS

Leverage strong bond rating and borrowing capacity Thanks to sound scal management, the City of Erie has a strong bond ratingand an enviable borrowing capacity for a city in its position. This capacitycould be strategically leveraged to invest in downtown infrastructure workthat — in tandem with other tools and strategies — will be most likely to buildthe city’s tax base and further strengthen its nancial position.

Tax Increment Financing (TIF) DistrictAn alternative, or complement, to using the city’s general borrowing capacityis the creation of a TIF district in downtown Erie. The district would usegrowth in property values to nance value-enhancing improvements. Over thelife of the district, realized gains in property values would be reinvested in thedistrict.

Make distances within downtown more manageable byusing districts to define space

Recent downtown plans have grappled with the issue of distance and size by recommending that downtown be dened by districts. This should be apriority. The districts need to be distinct and descriptive, and they must a idvisitors in navigating and mentally mapping the downtown. As part of usingdistricts to better organize downtown space, it is critical to link the health carecluster around UPMC Hamot physically and economically with Erie Insuranceand Perry Square.

This area has the critical mass of employees and visitors necessary to be anamenity and service rich node for downtown. To live up to its potential, theinstitutional and commercial fabric of this area needs to blend together in amuch more coherent way.

Begin planning for the relocation of human servicefunctions

Many cities are struggling with the need to capitalize on downtownrevitalization eorts by transitioning traditional human service functionsaway from downtown locations, wh ere tax-exempt or underutilized facilitiesshould be prime targets for private redevelopment, and toward alternativetransit-accessible sites where agencies can be h oused in more modern andfunctional settings. While not all human service agencies should be consideredfor relocation, many agencies and their clients would be better suited foralternative facilities where operating costs and ac cess are more favorable.

Create an iconic connection between the Bayfront adowntown

Downtown and the Bayfront feel far apart, with transitional areasincluding the slope down State Street and the Bayfront Connector thatdo not facilitate the safe and comfortable movement of pedestrians and bicyclists. Connecting these two critical assets must accomplish four gosimultaneously:

• Address the scale issue that makes the distance between downtown athe Bayfront feel vast and intimidating;

• Weave together assets in the transitional area between downtown anBayfront, including the marina and UPMC Hamot;

• Resolve the conicting requirements of dierent users in a way that rin a much more safe and pleasant experience for pedestrians and bicyand in trac patterns that ensure rapid access to UPMC Hamot andlimited gridlock for automobiles; and

• Create a public space that contributes both to downtown and to theBayfront as distinct and yet connected civic places and which, ina resulting signature quality level of nish, becomes an economicdevelopment generator in its own right.

All four issues can be addressed by a single project that would, by its vnature, become an iconic feature for Erie: a structure that would providhigh-quality transitional experience for pedestrians and bicyclists betwdowntown and the Bayfront by separating them from trac and takingadvantage of the dramatic change in elevation.

EXAMPLES / TOOLS

Three projects in other cities provide models for considering such astructure:

Olympic Sculpture Park, Seattle ($75M)Built by the Seattle Art Museum as a n exhibition space for scu lptures,the park takes users down a steep slope between downtown Seattleand the waterfront with a series of ramps that cover a railroad line and busy expressway. It provides safe passage to the waterfront along withcommanding views of the city and Puget Sound.

Penn’s Landing, Philadelphia ($250M)Two “park bridges” currently span I-95 in Philadelphia to connect CenCity with Penn’s Landing on the Delaware River. Plans have been deveto improve and enlarge the northernmost bridge (I-95 Park) into a slop11-acre park.

Ross’s Landing Park, Chattanooga ($60M)A system of steps, ramps, and a parkwa y underpass provide passage fdowntown Chattanooga to the banks of th e Tennessee River.

BAYFRONTFRONTIER

EAST

BAYFRONT

D O W N T O W N

12THSTREETCORRIDOR

GREENGARDEN

LITTLE ITALY

TRINITY PARK

ARBORHEIGHTS ACADEMY- MARVINTOWN

EASTGRANDVIEW

FAIRMONT-McCLELLAND

MERCYHURST

GLENWOOD

PULASKI

LIGHTHOUSE

LAKESIDE

BAYFRONT

WEST

BAYFRONT


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Leverage Bayfront property as an income-generatingresource for the city

Bayfront property has outstanding potential to generate revenue for thecity — but not if valuable land is sacriced for parking lots and garages,and not if tax incentives are so generous as to leave the city with little orno actual revenue benet. Rather than allowing past precedents to shapethe terms of future projects on Bayfront property, the city must treatthe land as the prized commodity that it is and demand commensuraterevenues.


In Erie’s 21st Century econ omy, downtown and the 12th Street corridor

need to serve two distinct and interrelated functions. State Street throughdowntown needs to be a place for creative thinking, administration, and business/consumer services, and the 12th Street Corridor needs to be aplace where things are made.

A similar relationship existed between the two areas in the early 20 thcentury. But to establish the contemporary equivalent of this connection,a set of strategies addressing the phys

Documents

Erie Comprehensive Plan