Joint Use Forum »

1. 

   MJA
   Member

   Hi Jen,
   Without understanding all of the particulars, there are definitely examples out there when communities have been able to raise or leverage private dollars to support public spaces. A colleague of mine from Trust for Public Land shared this with me: "When the effort to save the Cornfields (Los Angeles) from development was moving forward, the state of CA was not able to come up with the money (millions) in the timeframe necessary for the acquisition to actually happen. The Trust for Public Land (TPL) did a bridge loan. That is, they purchased the land from the developer and then held the land until the State was able to come up with the amount. The State repaid TPL, became the owner and the Cornfields is now a 32-acre State Park." This is a large scale example, but she also shared another example from the California Community Foundation which gave a loan to a local non profit to leverage school bond dollars and state conservation money (through the Rivers and Mountains Conservancy)for two joint use projects at school sites. There are also numerous examples of private dollars being used to leverage public funds and vice versa for parks and gardens, per a colleague at the LA Neighborhood Land Trust. It also seems like there might be a potential opportunity for the community to
   organize effectively to negotiate with the local community college. Community Colleges can be excellent joint use partners and there are a number of examples of this. If the community college wants to be a 'good neighbor' it should seriously consider how to make allies out of the community--and probably at a relatively low-cost. Hope this is useful...and best of luck!
   -MJA

   Posted 1 year ago #
2. 

   jenrice
   Member

   Hello all,

   In the City of Eureka, three schools serving the lowest income neighborhoods in the county (in a low-income county) have closed. One of them is the subject of a bit of a war between the neighbors -- who would like the Jefferson School site to become a much-needed park and host a number of community-driven projects and educational programs -- and other development interests, some of whom don't want to see any public funds 'wasted' on this vision and others who represent the local community college, who is assertively pursuing purchase of the site and is not willing to work with the neighbors to create project that would meet some of the neighborhood needs. The neighborhood is in a race to come up with at least $400K, and is hoping the redevelopment agency will match with $200K. The City Manager told the neighborhood that he'd never heard of a community seeking out private loans for a neighborhood investment like this, and I'm wondering if any of you have similar stories to share.

   Thanks for your time and help!
   Jen Rice

   Posted 1 year ago #

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