Gearing up for action Architects say Boerne could specialize in 'green collar jobs'
June 13, 2008
By Linda Byrne, Editor

Boerne's new city campus could be a model for civic planning around the country, architects visiting the city told residents during a June 9 town hall meeting to unveil their concepts for the future Boerne.

The meeting was held at Boerne Middle School North and followed a weekend of dialogue and planning by a team of local residents and architects from across the nation.

"Your civic health is really strong," said Joel Mills of the Center for Communities by Design in Washington D.C.

The architects told residents that public architecture matters the most in making a statement about a community's aspirations.

"This community aspires to great things," said Bob Herman of Salt Lake City, Utah.

Prescott Gaylord, of Baltimore, Md., suggested that all new development should decrease the net effect from impermeable surfaces, that new building sites use water harvested on the site for landscape irrigation and that all new homes be 50 percent more energy-efficient than current new residential construction.

"It will create a new industry here that will bring 'green collar jobs' to the community," he said.

A Regional/Urban Design Assistance Team visited Boerne June 4 through June 9 to propose concepts for three areas: the central business district along Main Street, the Cibolo Creek near downtown and the new city campus, which is to be located on 15 acres along Main Street across from St. Helena's Episcopal Church.

The RUDAT design for a city campus housing the new City Hall and library includes regenerative features, including swales to filter stormwater from North Main, diverting it to channels where vegetation would filter the water and return it to the aquifer as recharge.

Roofs planted with vegetation would cut down on the "heat island effect" generated by traditional materials.

Chris Turk, director of planning and community development for the city of Boerne, said he is not sure how the city will prioritize and evaluate the RUDAT's recommendations.

"I think that the city will look at and act on many of the suggestions in time. However, I am not sure at this time how the projects will be prioritized," Turk said. "Typically following a RUDAT, an implementation committee or groups will be formed to guide the implementation. It is my understanding that this is going to happen."

Kelly W. Skovbjerg, director of the Boerne Public Library, said she is very pleased both with the proposed library design and with the RUDAT process, which was heavy on community involvement.

"I have spoken with a few board members and patrons who feel the RUDAT vision is right on. I agree," Skovbjerg said.

"The RUDAT vision incorporated and elaborated upon many of the design elements we have discussed over the last five years. They have gone even further with the concept of sustainable design. Within financial boundaries, I think we can incorporate many of the things they suggested."

John V. Nyfeler, an architect from Austin who co-chaired Austin's RUDAT process in 1991, said most of the recommendations made to his city have been implemented. Nyfeler was not part of the Boerne RUDAT.

"The RUDAT report…was immediately followed by a citywide implementation phase, during which time the same folks involved in the visit and initial report took 12 to 18 months to prepare a detailed Implementation Phase Plan," he said.

"The Austin experience in implementation was based on broad participation in the RUDAT by the mayor, members of the council and city staff, and the business community."

He said Austin had the advantage in that one of the key recommendations was implemented early in the process.

"We created a Downtown Improvement District, which became the civic voice that kept the issues alive," he said.

Nyfeler noted that residents hoping to have their voices heard fared best when speaking directly to decision-makers.

"Our experience is that persuasion of council members takes place not in three minutes in public hearings but in private calls on council members in their offices where real conversation can take place," he said.

Boerne residents can give their opinion about the design team's vision at the city of Boerne Web site, www.ci.boerne.tx.us, said Paul Barwick, senior planner with the city of Boerne.

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