This Thursday the 20th we have a Planning Commission hearing in West Sacramento on two of our projects, Habitat and Simple. We have been working on these projects for over a year and the vote is a major deal for us.
I am working on my opening plea to the Commissioners and want to share it with you here to get your input on it. It feels like it may be a little over the top… Let me know what you think.
And if you decide that you want to come out and support us the hearing starts at 6 and we expect to go on at about 6:30.
Here is what I have so far…I think its about 8 minutes worth of talking.
Planning Commission Hearing November 20th 2008 – Washington Blocks - Levi Benkert
Commissioners I want to thank you for taking the time to review the project we are proposing for the Washington neighborhood.For the Record my name is Levi Benkert. I own LJ Urban, the developer for the project you see before you tonight.
You have heard all about LJ Urban’s vision for sustainable homes and building a walkable community in the Washington Neighborhood. You may have seen the Good project or read about it in the paper.
Many of you may have even been a little skeptical about the density and livability of this new type of housing.
Undoubtedly you may even be more surprised to hear that the new projects before you tonight are even more dense than Good.
As you know I recently moved into the Good project with my wife and three kids and can tell you the density works well and the concept of shared outdoor living spaces makes for a thriving community.
However I am not just here to talk about the layout and density, I believe the project is very well designed and will provide elegant generous sized homes to the future residents. What I do want to talk with you about is the historic decision you have before you this evening.
No longer can we continue to go on in America like we have unlimited resources to spare.
If everyone on earth were to live the life of the average American we would consume 8 earths natural resources. This pattern has to stop and someone has to start to redefine a better way to live.
LJ Urban homes use less than half of the worlds natural assets to build compared to a standard tract home, and the good doesn’t stop there. By putting homes close to jobs and services the residents are able to walk or bike for their daily commute, Leaving a legacy of sustainable living for centuries to come.
The Washington Neighborhood has a chance to truly become one of the greatest sustainable neighborhoods in the country, serving as a example of how to do things right.
Today I ask you to not only vote for what is best for the neighborhood but vote for what is best for the earth, best for us as Americans who are searching for a better future. Vote to put West Sacramento on the map as the city that redefined the way we live.
The City that got it right.
Your job is an important one, and tonight you see before you a decision that you will look back on 20 years from now that changed the way people live and helped build a better place for all of us.
I ask that you support LJ Urban and stand by us in our quest to Dream Big, Live Small and Do Good.
Thank you.
9 responses so far ↓
1 Steve // Nov 16, 2008 at 6:18 pm
Overall, I like it. I would be curious to know some more about your audience. Are these folks who are allies with LJ Urban? Do they belittle all things “green”?
Also, I think that you have room to strengthen your argument about the triple-bottom line approach to in-fill development; the “leaving legacies” argument might be weaker than showing how your community brings people closer to jobs and cuts down on crime due to the tighter social networks (check out author William Wilson for stuff on this). I felt that your argument rested too heavy on the emotional appeal and not enough on an outcome-driven approach.
A few specific critiques:
- Beginning with the paragraph that starts with “however” (6 or 7 paragraphs down), you use the word “not” or “no” several times. You might want to invert those negative statements and hit hard with compelling logic.
- This sentence threw me off: “LJ Urban homes use less than half of the worlds natural assets to build compared to a standard tract home, and the good doesn’t stop there…”; when you see half of the world’s assets, I catch the drift, but the tail end of the sentence needs to go with the beginning so that, when heard, it immediately makes sense.
2 Levi // Nov 16, 2008 at 8:21 pm
Steve, Thank you so much! Very good input.
I think I will wait for a few more comments then add in all the changes at once.
Also, I should have mentioned that my main reason for writing this ahead of time is my terrible performance the last time around. I had prepared topics I wanted to hit on but not a specific speech. When I stood up it all left me in a instant and I think I said um about 15 times…. Not good. I am going to go into this one a little more prepared.
3 dave // Nov 16, 2008 at 9:32 pm
Levi,
Overall, I think the introduction is good. I used to do a lot of entitlement presentations before City Councils and one thing that I learned is that many of these members already feel they are doing great things or they are doing it the right way. While I like your emotional pleas, I tend to agree with the first comments about focusing on the logic. Perhaps walk them through a story about how the neighborhood would function if it was comprised of projects like yours or make an association that the entire board will understand if you compare your vision to a model occurring somewhere else.
I am currently reading a good book called “Made to Stick” and have been thinking about how the advice in the book could be used to sell an idea in the context of a land-use proposal. I suggest maybe giving it a quick peruse or skipping to the end of the book for a short recap of the main points. The approach may allow you to introduce the core message you are trying to make along with the emotional aspect and make the idea very memorable.
Good luck and I look forward to hearing about how the presentation went.
4 AJ // Nov 17, 2008 at 9:14 am
Many public meetings will limit your testimonial time. Often it is only 3 or 5 minutes, you might want to double check.
5 AJ // Nov 17, 2008 at 9:21 am
Also, are you expecting this to be controversial? Are you needing zoning changes? Doesn’t the Washington area have a specific plan or something similar?
As far as comments, the testimonial feels like it is too broad. You have great specific examples of how the people that might buy your units could very well be working directly across the street or downtown. How they could walk or bike to the new W. Capitol area which is currently being changed to a complete street. etc
6 dustin // Nov 17, 2008 at 2:27 pm
Levi – It might due some good to contact a few member of the Planning Commission directly to discuss the issues and what information they need see to make an informed decision. This very step proved to be very successful for us in our appeal of the Design Director’s decision regarding the Oak Park – Fresh and Easy. I met with four members of the Design Commission to see what information they were looking for and what was the most favorable way to present it to them. Commissioners Panama Bartholomy, Barry Wasserman, Vice-Chair Mike Notestine and Chair Darrel Woo might be a good starting point? A meeting at the site with no more than three Commissioners at a time would be a good move in my opinion
7 dustin // Nov 17, 2008 at 2:35 pm
Ooops – I gave you names to the City of Sacramento Planning Commission, not West Sacramento, Sorry. I’m guessing the process would still have the same benefit. No wonder I coudn’t find it on the Agenda…wrong city : )
8 AJ // Nov 17, 2008 at 4:31 pm
Looks like you have staff support of the rezone, that is always good.
9 levi // Nov 18, 2008 at 6:53 am
Thanks so much for all your comments. I think I should post my notes here every time. You all caught some very good directional changes that I am going to work on.
I will re post the new version here when I finish it.
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