RUDAT gets underway
By Dave Pasley Boerne Star
February 29 2008
The City of Boerne's effort to hatch plans for a new city campus, for Main Street downtown and the parkway along Cibolo Creek, are moving forward at a rapid clip. The steering committee for a Regional-Urban Development Action Team, also known as a R-UDAT, met last week to form sub-committees and receive details about Arizona architect James Abell, who will be coming to Boerne to lead the planning effort in early March.
Steering committee co-chairman Ben Adam, a local architect, said Abell is a man who "welcomes dissension and welcomes doubt" and will come to Boerne "without any pre-conceived ideas."
The R-UDAT is a concept championed by the American Institute of Architects to help communities with urban project planning and employs an interdisciplinary team of professionals selected on the basis of their experience with the specific issues facing the community.
Because the American Institute of Architect's resources are limited, and the professionals involved donate their time, Boerne Senior Planner Paul Barwick said Boerne was fortunate to have been selected for the R-UDAT in a competitive process with cities across the country.
The process is intended to ensure that all voices are given a fair hearing and that options are weighed impartially. The lack of bias, the professional stature of the team members and the pro bono nature of the work are intended to generate community respect and enthusiasm for the process, according to the American Institute of Architects.
Adam, fellow co-chairman Paula Hayward and Barwick all stressed the importance of public participation by all sectors of the community.
"I want to leave no stone unturned," Barwick told the steering committee as he described efforts to promote the process and generate public input and discussion when the R-UDAT team is in town.
"This is something that is going to impact their future," Barwick said. "It's a once in a lifetime opportunity."
Adam said he hoped to involve local high school students in the process, particularly in areas related to technology and design. Barwick said he has also enlisted the help of architecture students at the University of Texas at San Antonio.
Barwick told the city council last year the cost to the city for the R-UDAT could be as high as $58,000, but is more likely to be about $30,000. The costs are primarily for travel, lodging and meeting expenses for the professional team, he said.
Barwick said the idea for the R-UDAT grew from discussions about selecting a site on the new, 15-acre "city campus" for a new library. He said city officials realized that determining the best site for the library would require a broader vision and a consensus from the community about future development on Main Street and along Cibolo Creek in the downtown area.
The council approved the R-UDAT steering committee in November. It consists of former mayor Patrick Heath, Larry Travis, Barry Wagner, Dan Ochoa, Frank Valadez, Paul Duran, Richard Chapman, Nancy White, Ed McClure, Michael Giddens, Dayna Cartwright, Bryan D'Spain, Marty Bryant, Ron Cisneros and Israel Pena; Hayward and Adam are co-chairmen.
Last week the group divided into five sub-committees to handle logistical details of the intense series of events that will take place in the span of a few days in March. The intent of the R-UDAT is to leave the community with a "self-analysis," a coherent description of the community's condition and the challenges that must be addressed, according to the American Institute of Architects.
An illustrated report is expected to be published and distributed by the end of the team visit, along with an action plan the steering committee will help to develop by working with the broader community.
The American Institute of Architects team will also conduct a follow-up that analyzes the action plan, assesses progress and makes recommendations to aid implementation of the plan.
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