Time for Metro Council to lead

Well under way, the first 100 days are crucial for the 2009 Metro Council.

Voters (and term limits) threw out all but two of the 12-person panel, so Baton Rouge is hungry for results now. What the new Council members choose to press forward with now is their only shot to harness the momentum of their election victory, while poor choices could mean falling into the stagnancy that has mired so many of their predecessors.

The new Council could start with decisive action on the downtown entertainment district, an idea born on an Austin canvass trip more than five years ago, but that’s yet to reach full fruition. All we really have so far is a boundary. The Metro Council has yet to tackle the most controversial issues, such as if and how folks will be able to stroll around downtown with an adult beverage, or how to accommodate businesses who wish to add popular café-style outdoor seating.

The district’s future remains in the hands of a Downtown Development District sub-committee. On a canvass trip to Raleigh, N.C., in 2006, Metro Councilman Mike Walker stood up and urged a room full of entertainment district dreamers to just present something—anything—to the Council so they could proceed. Three years later that’s yet to happen, even though downtown progress continues apace. Entrepreneurs aren’t even waiting around for all the rules—they continue to risk private capital with new establishments and expansions.

The Metro Council can’t settle for merely waiting for the DDD committee to move ahead. We want the Metro Council to lead on behalf of the community. Set a deadline for the DDD panel to resolve all the crucial issues; if the committee can’t get it done, then step in and tackle it at the Council level. With Walker setting the agenda as mayor pro tem, there’s no excuse not to get it done.

A second crucial issue is creating at-large districts on the Metro Council, which would bring community-wide perspective and leadership to balance turf-based squabbles that hold back the community.

To his credit, Pat Culbertson pressed at-large districts as far as he could, stopping only when he knew he didn’t have enough votes. But this new group on the Council has the benefit of knowing voters are hungry for progressive leadership. Study the benefits and challenges at-large districts have created for other cities, and begin the crucial process of educating voters about what they might mean for the parish.

Third, it’s time to overhaul the 1992 Horizon Plan, the long-term blueprint for our future, while at the same time tightening up the Unified Development Code, rules to ensure the Horizon Plan is realized. Crucial, unresolved questions have dogged prior Metro Councils, problems this new group can manage. If Baton Rouge really doesn’t care that new subdivisions remain isolated from each other, then remove the requirement from the UDC and stop wasting everyone’s time. Or, try satisfying market demand for traditional neighborhood developments by enticing smart growth investment in certain areas with incentives.

The new Metro Council has a rare opportunity to instill a progressive spirit, and to elevate so many important issues from silly squabbles to meaningful, thought-provoking dialogue.

The clock is ticking. Now show us what you’ve got.