Burten, Bell, Carr Development, Inc. engages neighborhood residents and stakeholders in planning for future development in their communities.
Buckeye Neighborhood Plan
The goal of Buckeye Neighborhood Plan is to design & develop a shared vision for the Greater Buckeye Neighborhood. By gathering ideas from residents, business owners, and local organizations, this plan will serve as a guide for public and private partnerships for redevelopment of the community.
View the plan and learn more about the process by clicking here.
Elevate the East Public Art Plan
ELEVATE THE EAST is a community process to guide public art investments in Cleveland's Eastside neighborhoods, including Buckeye, Kinsman, and Woodland Hills. The yearlong planning process included community-wide input through public events, online surveys, youth workshops, and interactive experiences. Led by Ward 6 Councilman Blaine Griffin and Burten, Bell, Carr, the public art plan is one component in a larger transformation strategy to benefit all people living in the area.
The result of Elevate The East's process is this plan.
Kinsman & Central Neighborhood Plan (2016)
Burten, Bell, Carr Development Inc. began the process of creating a new master plan for the Central and Kinsman neighborhoods in 2014. First, we hired a team of highly competent planning and community engagement experts to help us initiate a comprehensive, multi-faceted community outreach strategy aimed at engaging as many residents and stakeholders and collecting as much feedback as possible. This model of engagement ensured that our new master plan represented the interests of stakeholders, incorporated their wishes and desires, and established a vision for the neighborhood that residents wanted to see come to fruition. The final version of the master plan built on the major achievements that originated from the previous master plan and identified new, dynamic ways we can continue to cultivate a positive neighborhood identity in Kinsman and Central.
The community planning process occurred in several phases. BBC began by hosting community meetings in late March and early April 2014 for both neighborhoods to solicit information on community needs related to housing, transportation, recreation, health, and safety. We also contacted over thirty key neighborhood stakeholders to conduct interviews regarding these needs.
In the second phase of the neighborhood planning process, BBC placed several large feedback boards throughout the Central and Kinsman neighborhoods in grocery stores, libraries, and eateries to collect ideas and suggestions from residents. Each board was completely covered with feedback from the community. We also surveyed nearly 200 residents who attended the annual Ward 5 Family Festival at Friendly Inn in June 2014. We used all the information gathered in this process and presented a preliminary draft of the plans to each neighborhood at meetings in late July 2014. Residents provided input on what they liked about the plans and suggestions on what should be changed.
During the third and final phase of the community planning process, BBC conducted a series of community meetings where over 100 residents and stakeholders gathered per meeting. During each meeting residents and stakeholders reviewed the latest draft of the plan, which incorporated feedback gathered throughout the year. Residents in attendance were able to share what they agreed with in the plan and what, if anything, they thought was missing.
Presentations from all stages in the planning process were made available for download on BBC's website. We made mention of the available plans on our social media and on our blog. Additionally, BBC kept paper copies of the presentations in the lobby for public viewing during regular business hours. Development staff members were available to explain the plan and answer questions. Residents and other members of the public were encouraged to submit comments and feedback on the plan.
Kinsman Road Multi-Modal Study (2013)
Kinsman Road is the main artery of the Kinsman neighborhood, however, its current configuration best serves speeding commuters traveling between the eastern suburbs and downtown, rather than the community members who live in the neighborhood and walk, bike, or use transit by choice or out of necessity. Approximately 40% of Kinsman residents do not have access to an automobile, and many community members have described their experiences traveling along Kinsman Road as dangerous, uncomfortable, and inconvenient. Concerns over the safety of Kinsman Road have come to light during numerous community meetings and planning processes, including the master planning and target area planning processes that took place in 2006 and 2011, respectively.
In 2013, BBC received a grant from Enterprise Community Partners to further sustainability and promote sustainable mobility in Kinsman. Grant funds were utilized to study and visualize improvements that would prioritize and improve safety for pedestrians and bikers along Kinsman Road.
BBC hired a transportation engineering consultant and engaged stakeholders and community members to determine what they would like to see in a redesigned Kinsman Road between East 68th and 84th Streets. Our consultant worked to identify common goals, create streetscape alternatives for discussion and evaluation, and detail the design that community members wanted to see implemented in the near future.
The result of this process, which took place throughout the Summer and Fall of 2013, is the Kinsman Road Multi-Modal Transportation Study. The proposed design includes treatments that make Kinsman Road more conducive for walking, biking, and transit use. These treatments include new crosswalks, new lane configurations, landscaped medians, and streetscape improvements. We anticipate that the improvements contained in the plan will encourage and promote healthy, active, and sustainable transportation and support those who walk, bike, or use transit. Since the plan does not call for major modifications, we envision that it will be implemented within the near future. Some progress has already been made, including the addition of a school zone sign and signal, which was added in 2014.
Download the Kinsman Road Multi-Modal Transportation Study here.
Target Area Plan (2011)
In 2010 and 2011, Burten, Bell, Carr Development, Inc., Neighborhood Progress Inc., and neighborhood stakeholders initiated a target area planning process for the Colfax-Garden Valley portion of the Kinsman neighborhood. A desire to be "bold" was repeated throughout the planning process and is reflected in the new Target Area Plan, which envisions the Colfax-Garden Valley neighborhood not only growing to sustain itself put also positioning itself to leverage major planned investments to become a preferred area for future market-rate and transit-oriented development.
Please click here to download the target area plan for the Colfax-Garden Valley neighborhood. To read the entire report for all sixteen neighborhoods, please click here.
Ward 5 Master Plan (2005-2007)
The Ward 5 Master Plan is comprised of three community-driven master plans for the Central, Kinsman-Union, and Forgotten Triangle neighborhoods that were published between 2005 and 2007. These plans are still available to download and will remain online for archival purposes.
The current master plan, the Kinsman and Central Neighborhood Plan, was completed and 2016. To download and read more about the community engagement process, please click here.