FIRST TIER SUBURBS COUNCIL NATIONAL LEAGUE OF CITIES

I learned just before the recent National League of Cities' conference that I had been appointed by incoming NLC president and mayor of Riverside, California, Ronald O. Loveridge, as chairman of the First Tier Suburbs Council for the coming year.
 
Council membership draws from NLC members that are first ring suburbs of major cities across the country. The NLC website says, "The First Tier Suburbs Council was established in 2002 to address the unique set of challenges faced by municipalities located outside of central cities and inside the ring of developing suburbs and rural areas. The purpose of the Council is to allow local elected officials from these cities to network with each other and discuss common needs, raise the visibility of first tier suburbs, articulate their unique challenges and opportunities, and encourage NLC to be a vehicle to advance these issues."
 
I consider 2010 to be an excellent year to hold this office. The council has been building its reputation and services for several years. We've developed a solid relationship with the International Council of Shopping Centers with eyes toward economic development and we've looked at small business development and how to involve the community to build a consensus for major changes. The council has also been instrumental identifying early trends that have ultimately hit all cities, such as the foreclosure crisis.
 
I'm working to bring presentations to the spring conference in Washington DC that will educate cities and suburbs on the coming changes in zoning and planning for cities. It is surprising the number of city leaders that aren't aware of the evolution underway, most dramatically evidenced by the very recent zoning overhaul in Miami (the subject of a future post).
 
The implications of those changes for suburbs, especially first ring suburbs, will be even more dramatic. As seen in Atlanta and other urban areas, there are a number of suburbanites returning to the core city, changing the demographics in both the core and the suburbs. The first tier suburbs missed much of the prosperity of the migration in recent years to the exurbs and stand to miss again the move back to the core if we don't address the declining sprawl conditions that lie between.
 
As chair, I fully expect the FTS summer meeting to be here in the Metroplex, showcasing efforts underway here in Garland, Duncanville, North Richland Hills, and other suburbs. Even in a down economy, we are still enjoying greater growth and lower unemployment than most parts of the nation. We can highlight our achievements and efforts that are underway, but we can also focus more directly on the changes that will be necessary to be strong competitors for future growth.
 
The NLC fall conference will be in Denver, the perfect setting for our final FTS meeting of the year. The Denver area has seen significant changes for suburbs and many best practices that can be showcased. Several Denver suburbs also have members serving on the FTS Steering Committee, which should enrich that meeting. I mentioned one Denver suburb, Lakewood, in my recent article for the NLC newsletter, that has seen the demolition of a huge regional mall and its replacement with a new mixed-use development that also serves as the new downtown.
 
I've ascended to the chair rather quickly and give total credit to the foundation built by former mayor Bob Day, a founding member of the council, when he served on the Steering Committee. My participation immediately followed his and members were already well aware of Garland and the positive image he set. He sought to bring best practices to Garland and to share our successes with other members. Candidly, some of our future successes are works in progress but we can demonstrate that we have initiated efforts that will be leading practices soon, such as our Neighborhood Vitality and Envision Garland programs.
 
I very much look forward to this opportunity to showcase Garland and the Metroplex to the rest of the country and the opportunity to learn from other cities.