Oaklawn’s plan implementation and revitalization efforts recently saw success in the form of Sedgwick County financial support for a nonprofit venture aimed at raising property values in the area and attracting new families.

Oaklawn, an unincorporated neighborhood of roughly 1,600 people, is generally bounded by MacArthur Road on the north; K-15 on the east, the Arkansas River and past 63rd Street South.

Oaklawn

Sedgwick County and Community Housing Services (CHS) are hoping to help raise property values through a partnership which aims to increase the number of new homes. According to Brad Snapp, Sedgwick County’s housing director, the area cannot improve without the new homes.

CHS is building two two-bedroom homes at 5028 S. Cedardale Ave. and 5027 S. Jade Ave., according to June Bailey, CHS Executive Director.

At $95,000 each, the 1,500 sq. ft. homes will have amenities such as garages, basements and storage. Because market value is so low, CHS stands to lose around $40,000 on each home. The Sedgwick County Board of Commissioners agreed on Feb. 19 to pay the difference.

As new homes are built, the County and CHS leaders hope the gap between construction costs and market values will shrink.

The Oaklawn/Sunview Neighborhood Revitalization Plan seeks to create a partnership of public and private sector partners to drive the implementation of the plan. Initially, these partners include those entities that helped prepare the plan document, including Oakview Neighborhood Association and Community Housing Services, among others.

For more information on the Oaklawn/Sunview Neighborhood Plan, contact Nalini Johnson at 268-4456.

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On April 1, the Wichita City Council approved the Delano Neighborhood Overlay District and Design Guidelines based on recommendations submitted by the Select Review Committee. The Committee, established by City Council to review outstanding concerns regarding a prior draft of the guidelines, completed its review in March. Recommendations included the following major revisions:

• Delete the Urban Village redevelopment area from the requirements of the Overlay District & Design Guidelines (except for properties fronting Douglas and Seneca).

• Create a Design Advisory Committee of Delano representatives, with the same composition as the Select Review Committee, to advise the MAPD Design Review Committee on applications not conforming to the Guidelines.

• Streamline the decision-making ability of the Design Review Committee members on minor exterior design change requests.

• Establish an appeals process to the City Council on decisions made by the MAPD Design Review Committee.

• Allow auto body shops and outdoor auto sales on a conditional use permit basis.

• Allow tattoo and body piercing facilities.

• Allow the opportunity to make compatibility improvements to non-conforming billboards.

• Establish a six month formal staff review of the guidelines to determine their effectiveness and the need for amendments.

The Sedgwick County Board of Commissioners is scheduled to hear the proposal on April 16th.

For more information, contact Dave Barber at 268-4490.

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McAdams Proposed Land Use Concept Click here to view bigger image. (164K)

As a show of its support, the Wichita-Sedgwick Metropolitan Area Planning Commission scheduled a public hearing for April 24 to hear final public comment on the final draft of the McAdams Neighborhood Revitalization Plan.

The Plan contains a vision statement, 10 goals and 39 action plans that address neighborhood issues related to image and appearance, housing, community infrastructure and facilities, economic development, neighborhood safety and community building.

A future land use redevelopment concept is also proposed to improve the physical character and desirability of the McAdams neighborhood.

For more information, contact Dave Barber, Chief Planner.

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The City of Wichita is in the process of conducting Phase II Environmental Assessments for portions of the Midtown/Delano Greenway Corridor, a linear park which runs along the abandoned UP Rail line through the Delano and Historic Midtown neighborhoods.

This corridor will create important pedestrian linkages to parks and schools in the heart of Wichita and become an attractive landscaped greenway within the City core area.

The Metropolitan Area Planning Department also submitted applications for Transportation Enhancement Funds for enhancements to the linear park.  Due to funding cuts at the State level, the outcome of the project applications have been placed on hold and final funding recommendations for all projects are pending.

For more information, contact Nalini Johnson.

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A cutting-edge online survey is helping public health officials and city planners understand how community members view and interact with their neighborhoods. The goal of the project is to discover whether the built environment and other factors deter or encourage physical activity.

The survey work is sponsored by Wichita State University’s Department of Public Health Sciences, and is designed by Michael Beets, a graduate student, who is hoping to gain insight into the barriers to becoming more physically active.

There has been increasing recognition over the last decade of the environment’s ability to shape health-related behaviors. Environments have been shown to either promote or inhibit physical activity behavior based on a number of characteristics, such as high crime, aesthetically pleasing surroundings, and observing others being physically active.

The average time to complete the survey is about 25 minutes. To participate in the survey, simply visit: http://healthywichita.com/ and answer the confidential survey questions.

For more information, contact Michael Beets, at 684-5754.

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Two programs fund design and construction of improvements to the City’s storm water drainage system: Neighborhood Drainage Projects (NDP) and Capital Improvement Projects (CIP). NDPs are projects that the City designs and constructs to solve small localized neighborhood drainage problems, including storm sewers, catch basins, and drainage ways. Funded through the Storm Water Utility fees, currently at $1.40 per household, the program’s annual budget for 2003 currently stands at $725,000. The following NPDs are slated to begin later this year:

• 502 S. Limuel
• Athenian Drainage at 53rd, east of Meridian
• 13th Street at Crestway Drainage
• Doonan Truck Drainage, 11118 W. Kellogg
• 11518 Ryan Circle

To be considered for the NDP list, contact the City of Wichita Storm Water Utility at 268-4624.

The following projects were completed in 2002:

Storm Sewer Emergency Repair Projects:

• Washington Street Storm Sewer Repair
• Kellogg @ Ridge Storm Sewer Repair

Drainage Improvement Projects:

• Mansfield @ Gypsum Creek
• Woodlawn @ Eastwood
• Lincoln @ Hydraulic
• May @ Carwood
• Central Ave @ Kapaun Mt. Carmel School
• Fabrique @ Funston
• Walnut @ 59^th Street South

CIPs are funded through the Capital Improvement Plan, a funding blueprint for capital improvements around the city.

The following CIP project has recently been completed:

• Enlarging the 10^th Street Drainage Outfall and the Wichita Drainage Canal from English to 17^th.

The following CIP projects are currently in progress:

• Gypsum Creek Restoration,
• Cowskin Creek Basin Drainage Improvements
• Cowskin Creek Basin Master Drainage Plan,
• 1^st and 2^nd Street West Drainage Outfall,
• Drainage improvements at Murdock and Wabash
• Improvements to Pump Station #1.

For more information, contact Shawn Bryan, Engineer, at 268-4624. Or visit http://www.wichita.gov/public_works/storm_water/swu_hotspots.asp.

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The Hilltop Neighborhood is gearing up for an ambitious effort to coordinate the continuing implementation of the Hilltop Neighborhood Revitalization Plan, adopted in May 2000. The plan document outlines goals related to physical and community improvements for this low-moderate income neighborhood located in Southeast Wichita. However, it stops short of outlining how the goals would be accomplished and monitored throughout the life of the plan.

While projects within the plan have been taking place, community leaders have recognized a need to coordinate efforts. Specifically, they are working to improve lines of communication between leading organizations and City departments responsible for certain elements of the plan, and evaluate priorities and timeframes. Additionally, the group plans to identify funding sources and find mechanisms to monitor implementation activities.

To this end, District III Councilmember Phil Lambke convened a meeting with all organizations involved in developing the plan. While these organizations are also responsible for implementing specific projects of the plan, the implementation committee will ensure that all projects identified in the plan are addressed in a timely and coordinated way, to maximize impacts to the neighborhood, and minimize costs to the city and sponsoring agencies and institutions.

Sponsoring organizations include the Hilltop Neighborhood Alliance, the Hilltop Free Evangelical Church, Via Christi, Hospital, the Sisters of St. Joseph, Good Neighbors Ministry, the Hilltop Association for Neighborhood Development, District III Councilmember, the Wichita-Sedgwick Metropolitan Area Planning Department, in conjunction with appropriate City of Wichita departments, including Park and Recreation.

A kick-off announcement of the initiative is scheduled for April 22, at the monthly meeting of the Hilltop Association for Neighborhood Development, at the Hilltop Community Center, 1329 S. Terrace, 7 p.m.

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Metropolitan Area Planning Commission:

• Metropolitan Area Planning Commission (MAPC) meetings take place April 10 and 24, May 8 and 22, and June 8 and 19, generally the second and fourth Thursdays of each month, at City Hall, 10th Floor Conference Room, 455 N. Main, 1:30 p.m.

Historic Midtown Neighborhood Plan:

• Steering Committee Meetings are held at the Midtown Community Resource Center, 1150 N. Broadway, April 24, May 22, and June 26. These meetings are open to the public and start promptly at 7 p.m.

Meeting times and locations may change and meetings may be added or cancelled. Please contact MAPD at (316) 268-4456 for topics that will be covered. If you plan to attend any of these meetings, you may want to call ahead to confirm.

Neighborhood Revitalization Plans:

• McAdams
  A public hearing on the final draft of the McAdams Neighborhood Revitalization Plan is scheduled for April 24, MAPC, 1:30 p.m., 455 N. Main, 10th Floor.

• Hilltop
  Implementation Committee Meetings are scheduled monthly. The first kick-off event is April 22, at the Hilltop Community Center, 1329 S. Terrace at 7 p.m.

Neighborhood University Day
Sponsored by Wichita Independent Neighborhoods, Inc., April 19, 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. at the Sedgwick County Extension Center, 7001 W. 21st St. N.

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