The Tribune-Star
TERRE HAUTE
March 08, 2008 08:54 pm
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The entire city of Terre Haute would change dramatically if it followed the lead of its oldest neighborhood, Farrington’s Grove.
Residents of that historic district recently designed a strategic plan to improve its upkeep, safety and value. They formed citizen task forces to tackle specific problems, from code enforcement to infrastructure, security and crime, and trash. They envision gateways at neighborhood entrances, and a new park. They want to preserve the Grove’s unique architectural integrity, and balance the number of rental properties and owner-occupied homes.
People living there want to maintain a family-oriented atmosphere, and a “sense of community.”
That might seem like a utopian desire, if not for their well-organized gameplan. The “Farrington’s Grove Neighborhood Plan” is “more of a strategic plan, rather than a land-use plan,” said resident Marie Pontius. She’s a board member of the Farrington’s Grove Historical District Inc., which is explaining the neighborhood’s desires to key local government boards this month. Their meeting tour includes the Vigo County Area Planning Commission, the Terre Haute City Council, and the Terre Haute Redevelopment Commission.
One goal is to improve communication between residents and the city police to curtail frustrating graffiti, vandalism and mischief crimes. They’re not issuing empty complaints, but rather offering ideas, such as forming a crime watch program, improving street lighting, and creating a graffiti-removal team. By fall, the group hopes to have a simple compliance guide for residents, posted both in flyers and on the Farrington’s Grove Web site.
Almost any neighborhood would want to control the number of crumbling houses, disheveled yards, illegally parked cars and stray animals. Farrington’s Grove is taking action to turn such desires into reality, seeking to work with city government.
“The difference in this case with Farrington’s Grove is that we have a functioning neighborhood district in place and going through the steps under” our own power “to identify problems and communicate those problems to the authorities who are in a position” to handle them, said City Council President Todd Nation, whose council district includes the Grove.
Farrington’s Grove, formed in 1841, extends from Fourth Street to Seventh, and from Poplar to Hulman. But the impact of its action plan could reach well beyond those boundaries, if the city’s other neighborhoods follow its roll-up-our-sleeves example.
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