The Mind the GAP activity sparked a lot of discussion among members of the Steering Committee.
On Thursday, October 15, the Barberton 2041 Master Plan Steering Committee met with consulting planners from MS Consultants for the first time. The meeting gave the planning team a chance to explain the steering committee's role and lay out the planning timeline, and it gave the steering committee a chance to discuss existing conditions in Barberton and offer their perspectives on where Barberton excels, where it lags, and where it’s doing just okay.
The Steering Committee for Barberton 2041 is made up of individuals representing the residents, businesses, Planning Commission, City Council, Barberton Parks, the Community Foundation, and Barberton schools, among other interests, perspectives, and organizations, with the goal of sharing their knowledge with the planning team; helping with community outreach through their personal and professional networks; guiding and refining proposed concepts and recommendations; and advocating for and helping to implement the plan once it is adopted.
To get things started, Steering Committee members were asked to share one thing they love about Barberton, and a few commonalities immediately emerged. In their words, Barberton is passionate, an infectious and lovable town that “gets in ‘ya”. Barberton is a community that comes together to get things done, and at the heart of it all is Lake Anna, a “jewel” that inspires love and admiration among residents. Therefore, one job of the plan is to find ways to uplift and support these qualities and continue to bring out Barberton’s best.
The planning team then shared what they learned from their analysis of existing conditions related to demographics, housing, employment, land use, traffic safety, and parks and recreation, and discussed with the committee what data was surprising and what conditions may not be represented in the data presented. Two major points emerged from this discussion: first, that the existing housing supply in Barberton does not match the needs of people looking to move to Barberton because the homes are either the wrong size or outdated and in need of major renovations; and second, that despite there being plenty of infrastructure to support industrial development, there is not enough vacant industrial land in large enough quantities for new industry.
Finally, this led to a discussion of Barberton’s GAPs. GAP is an acronym for “Great, Average, Poor” and refers to what Barberton excels at, what it does adequately, and what it does not do as well as other communities. The committee worked in groups of 5-6 to develop their responses, then shared them with the larger group. We learned that Barberton does a great job of keeping vacancies low, maintaining and boosting downtown vibrancy, providing parks and hospitals, and providing schools with an innovative approach to learning. Barberton does an average job of putting on community events and maintaining streets, parks, and other public amenities, with the caveat that more funding could change this to “great.” The team also said Barberton does poorly at fostering relationships among neighbors, enforcing its code of ordinances, maintaining a higher-quality appearance, and providing amenities equitably across the east-west divide.
This discussion of existing conditions, assets, and liabilities in the City of Barberton will help the project team identify the issues and opportunities the master plan will address and leverage, but it doesn’t stop with the steering committee. Community members can also provide input, including by completing the community survey HERE.