The North Main Small Area Improvement Plan: Where to Go from Here?

Hello Friends and Neighbors!

Throughout 2006, North Main Neighborhood residents met with City of Salisbury representatives to provide input on how to best implement improvements for the neighborhood.  The city collected loads of data and interpreted it in what is formally called 'The North Main Small Area Improvement Plan'.  The purpose of this Plan was to provide recommendations for land use and infrastructure that are in alignment with the neighborhood’s vision for its future.

The plan was brought before City Council in July of 2007, where it was unanimously approved.  And then....

To date, very little has been implemented on the NMSAIP.  We get it.  Budgets and costs are everything, and we are just coming out of one of the worst recessions of our times that have affected individuals, businesses, and governments.  But now, and especially now with the recent City Council approval of the Complete Streets Plan for Long Street/E Innes Street, we think the time may be right to start the City on a path toward rethinking implementation of our plan...even if incrementally.

During the planning process, neighborhood residents put pen to paper during a design workshop to illustrate their ideas about further revitalization of the neighborhood.  Two design professionals, one representing the landscape architecture tradition and one from the field of architecture, translated the neighborhood’s visions into Conceptual Views, incorporating many of the elements sketched by the residents during the workshop (Views A and View B).

This Plan recommends a series of Actions & Strategies for achieving the neighborhood’s future vision. They have been organized according to the broader Goals as follows:

1. Build Neighborhood Identity 
2. Expand Transportation Network 
3. Improve Neighborhood Services & Amenities 
4. Increase Trees & Open Space 
5. Improve Housing Conditions 
6. Improve Neighborhood Appearance

Under each of these neighborhood goals, the plan expands the concepts to include methods to accomplish these goals:

1. Build Neighborhood Identity 

• Recognize the “gateways” on each end of North Main Street with treatments such as wide planted medians, signage or public art to establish a sense of entry and to help create place through recognition of the area’s history. 
• Encourage adaptive reuse of the Parkdale Fibers facility alongside the railroad tracks at Steele Street as artisan studios or comparable neighborhood-scale activities. 
• Support any changes to Henderson Independent High School which may be proposed in the future that will help strengthen its ties to the neighborhood. 

     -- Actions & Strategies to Pursue Now 

• Collaborate with the Waterworks Visual Arts Center [and other arts groups] on ways to promote the neighborhood among local artists and help draw more artists to the area. 
• Partner with the Henderson Independent High School to offer classes taught by resident artists, designers and craftsmen. 
• Work with the Branding & Wayfinding Committee to develop unique signage for the neighborhood which expresses its distinctive appeal. 
• Continue to broaden participation among both homeowners and renters in neighborhood organizations, including the Old North Main Association and the Community Watch Program.

2. Expand Transportation Network 

• Consider changes to North Main Street to make it more conducive to pedestrian and bicycle travel and to make it more compatible with the residential character of the neighborhood. 
• Determine the feasibility of a three-lane cross-section with turn lanes and explore opportunities for planted medians, marked on-street parking by means of curb extensions or parking bays, crosswalks, bicycle lanes, and round-abouts at key intersections. 
• In the context of street design or commercial redevelopment, consider the focal point created at 13th Street where the “vista” along North Main Street terminates. 
• Consider the addition of an attractive pedestrian footbridge along the axis of West Steele Street from where it terminates at North Church Street to enhance connectivity to City Park. 
• Create a “mini-gateway” to City Park at the intersection of East Miller and Jackson Streets to include crosswalks and possibly a traffic circle. 
• Ensure that new street patterns that are created through the subdivision of larger parcels respect the existing pattern of gridded streets. 

      -- Actions & Strategies to Pursue Now 

• Install crosswalks on North Main Street at Henderson, Miller, Steele, 11th & 13th Streets.
• Install new sidewalk on Miller Street between City Park and North Main Street while narrowing the roadway width. 
• Replace sidewalk on the 100 block of West Henderson Street. Complete repairs needed to other existing sidewalks. 
• Mark transit stops on North Main Street with signage and seating. 

3. Improve Neighborhood Services & Amenities

• Encourage the development of a neighborhood center between 11th and 13th Streets incorporating neighborhood-scale buildings, gathering places and mixed uses offering high-quality services and amenities that serve the needs of area residents. 
• Adaptively reuse the historic trolley barn for art studios, gallery space, a small performing arts center/community center or other neighborhood-scale activities. Restore it to its original appearance or redesign the façade to be more in keeping with the architectural fabric and scale of other historic buildings on North Main Street. 
• Rehabilitate other historic commercial buildings located along North Main Street to help attract quality, low-impact businesses and services. Encourage redevelopment that brings vibrant, eclectic gathering places such as coffee houses, bookstores and similar destinations. 

      -- Actions & Strategies to Pursue Now 

• Establish a commercial façade and/or landscape grant program for the North Main Street corridor. 
• Promote existing tax credits that are available for historic income producing structures. 
• Encourage participation in public hearings concerning adoption of the proposed Land Development Ordinance to ensure that zoning decisions take into account neighborhood needs and desires, especially those related to more intensive land uses (commercial and industrial). 
• Establish a corridor overlay district similar to the East Innes Gateway Overlay model to ensure that land uses are compatible with neighborhood character.

4. Increase Trees & Open Space 

• Create a train watchers’ station and park on North Railroad Street. 
• Incorporate high-quality, improved public open space into commercial redevelopment projects, including plazas, neighborhood greens and pocket parks. 
• Develop a pocket park in the vicinity between 11th and 13th Streets and consider opportunities for a park near the Spencer gateway. 
• Include improved public open space with any residential infill involving subdivision of property into multiple lots. 

      -- Actions & Strategies to Pursue Now 

• Focus tree plantings in the tree lawns on North Main Street, particularly between 11th and 13th Streets, and also along the approach to the downtown, to help screen more intensive commercial uses and parking areas. 
• Establish a commercial landscape grant program to help reduce the “sea of pavement” effect that exists among the older commercial properties long North Main Street.

5. Improve Housing Conditions

• Establish a housing commission to work with landlords and tenants.
• Develop a rental occupancy permitting program to ensure that rental homes are adequately maintained and repaired between tenants.

      -- Actions & Strategies to Pursue Now

• Adopt a Demolition by Neglect ordinance to help reduce the incidence of severely neglected and deteriorated housing. 
• Explore potential for designation as a selected neighborhood for CDBG funding. Apply funding toward housing rehabilitation,sidewalk construction or other infrastructure.
• Expand the National Register Historic District to include the areas which have been recommended along East Steele, Scales and North Lee Streets. Encourage property owners to take advantage of the tax credit benefits available for major home rehabilitation projects.
• Continue to work with local realtors to raise awareness about the neighborhood and help increase home ownership. 
• Expand city code enforcement capabilities, especially concerning housing code enforcement.
• Continue promoting Historic Preservation Incentive Grants for home repairs.

6. Improve Neighborhood Appearance

• Explore possibilities for burying existing overhead utilities along North Main Street as part of any substantial commercial redevelopment project.
• Identify ways to incorporate pedestrian-scaled lighting along North Main Street, taking into consideration the existing overabundance of utility poles which carry overhead wires.

      -- Actions & Strategies to Pursue Now

• Adopt ordinance regulating parking on front lawns as part of the new Land Development Code.
• Work with existing commercial property owners to voluntarily screen existing outdoor storage areas and other unsightly views.
• Continue and increase enforcement capabilities concerning porch and yard debris and overgrown lots.

Here is what we have accomplished thus far:

♦  A new ordinance was established that disallows parking vehicles on lawns to improve the overall look of yards and residences throughout the city.
♦  Past NOMA President Sue McHugh worked with City and County Health Dept. representatives to be awarded a Fit Community Grant that provided the necessary funding to install the sidewalk at W. Miller Street to City Park.
♦  Neighborhood representatives worked in a collaborative effort with City Planning Department, the NC Department of Transportation, and the Community Development Corporation (CDC) to demolish the abandoned gas station at E. 11th Street and N. Main Street.  NC DOT removed old driveway aprons, installed new curbing and new storm drains.  A new bus shelter and trash receptacle were installed.  Trees are due to be planted in the new green space there.
♦  The City's Community Appearance Commission worked with City Council to create a new Housing Advocacy Commission that addresses housing conditions and renter/landlord relations.
♦  New crab apple trees were planted along W. Miller Street.

There is so much more to be accomplished!

In January 2015, residents signed a letter to City Council, urging our elected officials to please consider further implication of the North Main Small Area Improvement Plan. 

In our letter, we explained how, of the residential neighborhoods that developed along East and West Innes Street and North and South Main Street during the period 1900-1930, North Main Street alone has survived the encroachment of urban development to retain much of its original character and appearance.  The architectural fabric, created during the process of suburbanization which took place in Salisbury between 1900 and 1930, is still largely intact providing North Main Street with a rich and varied character worthy of preservation. North Main Street is the last remaining residential corridor into the City of Salisbury, is the anchoring corridor through the North Main Neighborhood, and is the gateway to the City from the north.

Already a highly visible corridor, North Main Street will imminently be even more in the spotlight with the coming development of the Rowan County School Central Office building to our south, and the highly successful programming at the NC Transportation Museum to our north, who’s Polar Express winter holiday program was completely sold out in fall of 2014. Successful anchors such as these promise to bring even more visitors to the North Main corridor, and it will be the face of Salisbury to many.

Respecting this, the North Main Neighborhood (NOMA) requested City Council to consider moving towards further implementation of the North Main Small Area Improvement Plan, unanimously approved by City Council in July of 2007, stating that our residents support the provisions of the Plan, such as:

• Reducing lane widths along North Main Street; 
• Implementation of on-street parking; 
• Planted medians along North Main Street; 
• Pocket parks and green spaces; 
• Sidewalk bump-outs 
• Pedestrian crosswalks and lighting

We believe that all of these components of the plan are within reach, especially with consideration that North Main Street is no longer the bypass for Interstate-85.  And we strongly believe that implementation of these components per the North Main Improvement plan is in synchronicity with the residential culture of the neighborhood and would enhance not only this culture but the overall appearance of our NOMA gateway community. 

Our letter, signed by 45 residents of the neighborhood and beyond, also requested that City Council work in conjunction with the Housing Advocacy and Community Appearance Commissions to develop stronger, enforceable ordinances to prevent the effects of Demolition by Neglect that is so strongly affecting our neighborhood and others citywide.

We certainly understand the restraint of budgets, but when the benefits are so great, not only to the neighborhood, but to the City of Salisbury, we believe that moving forward on the North Main Small Area Improvement Plan and a program to mitigate Demolition by Neglect makes good sense for the future of our City and its residents. 

If you would like a copy of the North Main Small Area Improvement Plan and/or a copy of our letter to City Council, please send an email to:

themainneighborhood@gmail.com

northmainneighborhood@gmail.com

There are many, many more ideas to further the overall quality of life listed in the Plan.  We encourage you to read it over and see what we can do to also start implementing some of these! 

Thanks, All!

What's Next for NOMA? Exciting Times Ahead!

This is a great time to be in the North Main Neighborhood!  

The City of Salisbury, the Community Development Corporation, and our State DOT collaborated with NOMA on a North Main Neighborhood Impact Project that has resulted in a green space at the corner of East 11th Street and North Main Street, with new curbs, storm drains, and gutters, a new attractive bus shelter, and newly planted trees.  The long abandoned (and eyesore!) gas station was demolished.  What an improvement to this City of Salisbury corridor!

The Historic Salisbury Foundation has invested in not one, not two, but THREE endangered homes in the historic district that sits at the center of this 400+ home neighborhood.  Stabilization efforts through the Foundation's revolving fund will create more opportunities for families to live in our neighborhood.

The City's Community Appearance Commission put NOMA on their 2015-16 goals with specific references to creating pocket parks and working towards implementing the North Main Small Area Improvement Plan, approved by City Council in 2007 but not as yet implemented.  Neighbors signed a letter to Council this January, in time for Council's planning retreat, asking for implementation of the Improvement Plan in that it mimics the safety concerns for our residents that are outlined in the recently approved Complete Streets Plan for Long and East Innes Streets.

Citizens were proactive in speaking out to Code Enforcement, Salisbury Police, and City Council to get the burned and abandoned home and former service station at Main and W. Steele Street ~ resulting in the demolition of those buildings, and a new grade to the lot.

We have a Fresh Egg Farm-to-Home program!  Two Pigs Farm is furnishing NOMA with farm fresh eggs!  Email northmainneighborhood@gmail.com to find out more, and/or email twopigsfarm@gmail.com to order eggs in advance.  Eggs are delivered fresh every Friday night for Saturday morning availability!

The neighborhood has rallied with a new Board of Directors and new officers.  The Board returned to the moniker 'The Old North Salisbury Association', which was always the formal, long-standing, and registered name of

the neighborhood association.  The Board has plans are in the works to get date plaques for homes in our historic district.  For more information or to order a plaque, email themainneighborhood@gmail.com.   As part of a push for membership, you can write a check for $35.00 which will include your $10.00 membership donation and $25.00 for the plaque.


The new Board of Directors hosts a meeting monthly on the second Friday, rotating to different homes in the neighborhood.  The Board meets first at 6:00PM, and then opens to a general neighborhood meeting at 7:00PM, often following the meeting with refreshments and a social hour so that neighbors can get to know one another!

So it's a great time to be live in NOMA!  There will be many more exciting improvements coming our way!

Join us!













The North Main Neighborhood
northmainneighborhood@gmail.com
https://www.facebook.com/NOMAnorthmain 

Salisbury City Council ~ Please Implement Our North Main Improvement Plan!

Hello Friends & Neighbors!

A representative from the NOMA neighborhood attended City Council meeting on December 16th to voice concerns about the appearance and condition of the North Main Street corridor. The North Main Improvement Plan ~ approved unanimously by City Council July 2007 ~ has not yet been implemented.

The North Main Corridor is the last remaining residential corridor into the City, saved from becoming another commercially infested 'Innes Street' by the residents who live there. We are soon to become an even more highly visible corridor, with the upcoming Central School Office coming to North Main, and the highly successful programming at the NC Transportation Museum to the north. At Council's open forum portion of their agenda, our representative said the neighborhood supported reduced lane widths along N. Main Street, implementation of on-street parking, and planted medians along N. Main since that corridor is no longer the bypass for Interstate-85. All these items are per the North Main Improvement plan and are in synchronicity with our residential culture and would enhance the same.

We additionally asked City Council if, in their upcoming planning retreat in February, they would consider how to work with the Housing Advocacy Commission and the Community Appearance Commission to develop stronger ordinances to prevent the Demolition by Neglect we are seeing in NOMA and throughout other areas of the City.

Our representative had asked in an earlier Council open forum for attention and help from City Services with the street weeds growing on Main Street between the curb and the road, citing that residents along N. Main Street (who are normally charged with maintenance of this City-owned extension of their property) cannot be expected to stand in the road along this busy corridor to trim street weeds.

Speed limits are often exceeded along this wide stretch of road, and it would simply put our residents at risk to ask them to perform this maintenance, especially when the City has the tools to provide the service and provides the same in other neighborhoods. 

At the close of that open forum, Mayor Woodson said he agreed that this was endangering our residents and asked Interim-City Manager John Sofley to implement the weed removal.

At the close of the December 16th meeting, Mayor Woodson asked if the previously requested weed removal had been accomplished, we told Council members it had not, and he again requested of Mr. Sofley to please attend to.

We wished Council members a Merry Christmas & Happy New Year ~ and we hope that our concerns do not fall on deaf ears!  Go, NOMA!!

If you would like to see a copy of the North Main Small Area Improvement Plan, please contact City Planning administration:


Diana Moghrabi
Senior Administrative
Specialist Planning, Code Enforcement, Engineering
Office: 704-638-5242
Fax: 704-638-8437
dmogh@salisburync.gov

City of Salisbury
217 South Main St.
Salisbury, NC 28144










NOMA ~ The North Main Neighborhood
northmainneighborhood@gmail.com

Community Appearance Representative to Meet with NOMA Representatives!

At the City's September Community Appearance Commission meeting, held the first Wednesday of each month at 4PM in City Council Chambers, letters from two Salisbury citizens were read to commissioners that offered complaints about how the North Main section of the city, the main residential corridor and entry to Salisbury,  has been ignored by the City and is in need of attention.  We tend to agree!  We were pleased and proud to benefit from new sidewalks on W. Miller and N. Jackson Streets as a part of the Fit Community Grant, and we were especially grateful when the City used use that same block to plant flowering crab apple trees as part of the Arbor Day celebration two years ago....but since then the interest seems to have fallen by the wayside.

Due to this communication the City recently received about our neighborhood, Barbara Perry, Chairperson of the Community Appearance Commission, will soon be interested in talking to a small group of representatives from NOMA for our input.  Ms. Perry was unaware but reminded that an entire North Main Small Area Improvement Plan had been approved by City Council in July of 2007 that indeed was a product of the voice of the community.  Many of you may have participated in that plan through a series of meetings that were held at the City Park Recreation Center through 2006 and 2007.  The North Main Plan, that included pocket parks, crosswalks, landscaping, and street parking, has never been implemented, even incrementally, due to reported lack of funds.

If you are interested in being a representative of NOMA when Ms Perry approaches us, please contact NOMA at themainneighborhood@gmail.com, or call Sue McHugh at 704.577.9965. If you are interested in obtaining a copy of the North Main Small Area Improvement Plan, please contact Diana Moghrabi at dmogh@salisburync.gov.

Arbor Day Celebration in NOMA Today ~ A Smashing Success!

It was like the sun came out just for us today in the North Main Neighborhood of Salisbury NC! It started out to be a rainy, cold morning, but right at 11:30 the sun came beaming out...right in time for the City of Salisbury's Arbor Day Celebration on our very own Miller Street...the new gateway to the City Parks!
Our City Councilman Brian Miller came out to read Mayor Susan Kluttz's Arbor Day proclamation. Urban Forestry Specialist Eric Muecke, N.C. Division of Forest Resources, attended and presented the Tree City USA designation to Salisbury for the 24th consecutive year! He said that not many cities in North Carolina have this distinction! Following the brief service, NOMA residents, volunteers from other parts of the city, and Salisbury Tree Board members joined together to plant ornamental flowering crab apple trees along West Miller Street between City Park and North Main. The public was invited to attend and participate in tree-planting activities.

West Miller Street was selected to allow tree plantings to complement our brand new sidewalks installed during 2009. The sidewalk project was funded through a Fit Community grant of the North Carolina Health & Wellness Trust Fund.
The City's Senior Planner Janet Gapen, who has been an enormous help to us here in NOMA, was also in attendance. In the news release for today's event, Janet stated, “Together, the new sidewalk and street trees will assist in fulfilling a goal of the North Main Neighborhood Association (NOMA). NOMA was instrumental in the city’s receipt of grant funding to construct the Miller Street sidewalks. In the near future, an additional phase of the Fit Community sidewalk project will offer the installation of sidewalks along Lake Drive, completing a 1.5 mile connector between NOMA and the Salisbury Greenway.” She explained that NOMA serves as a volunteer organization that meets monthly and works to complete neighborhood improvement projects, and (here is the best part):
“NOMA is dedicated to building a stronger, safer, and more vital Salisbury community for all.” Thanks, Janet!

City of Salisbury Landscape Division Manager Mark Martin was out there today to direct the crews and assist us in planting the trees. He gave a wonderful talk on proper tree care and planting. Mark explained that there are quite a few wonderful services the Salisbury Landscape Division can provide city residents. If you helped plant a tree today, you not only got to take home your gloves, but you got a free "Trees are Good" t-shirt or mug. Mark is also the Liaison to the Tree Board. If you would like more information the Salisbury Tree Board or the Landscape Division, please contact Mark at 704-638-5255. We may even have Mark speak at a NOMA meeting!

So take a drive down W Miller Street on your way to City Park, or for a pleasant cruise around the neighborhood. You'll see our brand new sidewalk and newly planted trees! Next spring, when these ornamental flowering crab apples are all a-bloom, You will also see what makes this neighborhood one of the very BEST in Salisbury ~ NOMA!

NoMa News

Hello Neighbors & Friends ~

Here's hoping you all had a fantastic Halloween weekend! We hope you made it downtown to the Halloween Fun Fest. We know some of you made it to the Fulton Heights Neighborhood to join in their Halloween Festivities.

We have a few updates from around the neighborhood:

Newly Wed:
Please join us in congratulating Jenni and Brian Pfaff who married Halloween evening at their home on Henderson Street! Much Love from NOMA, Brian & Jenni! Jenni will be opening her new yarn shop, Tranqwool, very soon! We can't wait!

Newly Born:

• Please join us in welcoming Hiram Newton Teeter, born to our neighbors Scott and Heather Hopkins Teeter of 11th Street. Welcome Hi!
• And we also welcome Bromly Earnhart born to Keith & Carol Earnhart of Henderson Street. Welcome Bromly!
• We are much delayed in welcoming Brice Schwalm, born to of Thomas & LoriAnn Schwalm of N. Main Street. YAY Brice!

Newly moved away:
We are sad to announce that one of our #1 volunteers, Jason Raymer, has moved away from NOMA. If you got a flyer in your doorway this spring, summer, or fall, chances are very good that Jason delivered it to you. Jason was probably the most diligent in hand delivering our flyers than anyone we've known. Good luck in your future, Jason!

Meeting with Downtown Salisbury Inc.:
We met with DSI last week for a most interesting meeting. While DSI cannot legally use their funds for improvements in NOMA (they are locked by strict boundaries limiting their work to a very specific downtown area), they are willing to express support for NOMA in such areas as the North Main Small Area Improvement Plan and other areas. They gave us some good ideas on how to proceed with our attempts to move this project the forefront with the City.

Election Day:
Salisbury's municipal election day is only 2 days away! Please make your plans to vote on November 3rd. Check with the Rowan County Board of Elections (www.co.rowan.nc.us/government/departments/boardofelections/) if you don't know if you are registered or where to vote. NOMA is in what is known as the North Ward. Our polling place is the City Park Recreation Center on Lake Road.

Next NOMA Meeting:
Our next neighborhood meeting is scheduled for Thursday November 12th at 7:00PM at Sue McHugh's home at 910 N. Main St. Watch your inboxes for an agenda.

See you all soon!

More Miller St. Utility Pole Stuff . . .

Duke Power crews were on site today at Miller and Jackson Streets to move the utilities. We couldn't get the guys to pose for a portait, but anyway - the work is on it's way! North Main Small Area Improvement Plan ~ Hurray!!!!

North Main St Neighborhood Meeting - Apr 13th - 6:30PM - City Park Rec Center

Be sure to come to the neighborhood meeting this Monday to hear the update about the new sidewalks (at last!) planned for West Miller Street! We've been hearing about these improvements to the neighborhood for some time and now it appears very close to happening! This is your opportunity to hear about it first-hand from the City engineers and planners - your opportunity to ask questions.

The meeting will be held this Monday April 13th at 6:30 PM at the City Park Recreation Center on 316 Lake Drive in Salisbury.

We'll be hearing about the sidewalks and proposed crosswalk at North Main Street and West Miller Street. The sidewalk is the first step in a plan to connect our Old North Salisbury neighborhood to the city parks and the Salisbury Greenway system. After we get the West Miller Street sidewalk, we'll see more sidewalks go in along the 900 block of North Jackson Street along the City Park edge, then up and around Lake Drive and over to Hurley Park. The planned sidewalk improvements will provide safer, more convenient access to the parks for our neighborhood residents. These changes were recommended by our neighborhood residents who took part in the North Main Small Area Improvement Plan completed in 2007. The project is being funded by Salisbury City Council and a grant from the North Carolina Health & Wellness Fund as part of the Fit Community initiative. Members of the Old North Salisbury Association attended several of the grant meetings and were instrumental in having Salisbury become a grant recipient.

This is an exciting time for our community and we hope you will find the time to attend this meeting to both show your support and learn more about the whole process. Please come! The more we know, the more we can help initiate more improvements like this in the Old North Salisbury - North Main Street neighborhood.

We hope to see you there!

Sidewalks & Crosswalks Coming to W. Miller St.

Hey All!

As you know, the long promised sidewalks and crosswalks are coming to the W. Miller St crossing at N. Main St.!!!

The Old North Salisbury Association's President, Sue McHugh of N. Main St., attended a meeting at Salisbury City Hall today as part of the Fit Community Grant Partnership that is funding this improvement to our neighborhood. Here is what we learned:

A Public Neighborhood Meeting is scheduled for Monday April 13th at the City Park Recreation Center's Activity Room from 6:30PM - 7:30PM (or maybe 8:00PM if question/answer period extends). A postcard from the City is expected very soon - maybe next week that will invite our neighborhood participation and some brief details. Most critically, we need to have our W. Miller St. residents on board with the changes as they will be most directly impacted by the work.

The impact should be minimal. The residents on the south side of the street will be asked to sign easement papers that give the City permission to work on the property. Now in truth - most of the work will be on City property, however this is a courtesy measure should any disruption occur to privately held property. If such disruption does occur, it is general policy to put it back BETTER than it was. Some driveways will be temporarily torn up, however they City will place a stone entryway to the drives so that people can still get up into their property. They may be required to park in the street for one day as concrete is poured. Additionally, where W. Miller St. connects to N. Jackson St will be temporarily closed during the construction.

The sidewalk will be 5-feet wide with a 2-foot planting strip or lawn between it and the curb. Pedestrian level street lighting, something we had really hoped for, is not budgeted for but will be considered as the project moves forward. And speaking of moving forward . . . we should expect groundbreaking in May 2009! The project should take 3-months to complete so we are looking at perhaps an August completion date.

We saw drawings that show the sidewalks and some of the other engineering work we may not often consider - storm drainage, moving utilities such as electric/phone/cable - and the positioning of fire hydrants and sewer lines.

Next year, as Phase II of the project emerges, we'll see additional sidewalks along N. Jackson St. at City Park to Lake Drive and along Lake Drive to Hurley Park. This is when we may expect to see signage incorporated - like neighborhood entrance signs!

The overall aim is to ultimately connect the North Main neighborhood to the Salisbury Greenway and to incorporate a very fine-tuned large-scale walking program.
Please make EVERY EFFORT to come to the April 13th Neighborhood Meeting! Encourage your friends, neighbors, relatives, EVERYBODY to attend. This is our first structural neighborhood revision toward the North Main Small Area Improvement Plan and we NEED TO SUPPORT IT!

Thanks, All!

Bad News ~ No NSP Funding for Salisbury!

We received notification that Salisbury will not be receiving any Neighborhood Stabilization Program (NSP) funding. This is very sad news - we were certain that we were well positioned to receive an award. The NSP program was to have assisted communities hit hardest by the housing crisis. States were required to identify areas of greatest need based on the number of foreclosure starts and other housing-related statistics.

Here are the folks in NC who DID receive a portion of the $52 million in grants:

Local Government Recipients: City of Raleigh, $2.5 million; Wake County, $2.5 million; City of Charlotte, $2.5 million; City of Greensboro, $2.5 million; City of Winston-Salem, $2.5 million; City of High Point, $2.5 million; City of Gastonia, $2 million; Henderson/Vance County, $2 million; City of Durham, $2 million; City of Rocky Mount, $2 million; City of Lexington, $2 million.

Non-profit Agency Recipients: St. Augustine, in Raleigh, $2 million; Charlotte Housing Authority, $2 million; Guilford Habitat for Humanity, $2 million; Forsyth Habitat for Humanity, $2 million; Passage Home (in Wake County), $2 million; Greensboro Housing Authority, $2 million.

Statewide Agency/intermediary Recipients: Self-Help Credit Union, $2.5 million; N.C. Community Development Initiative, $3.5 million; and N.C. Housing Finance Agency, $4 million.

There should be additional NSP funding available in the federal stimulus package and the city is hoping to be eligible to apply from some of that funding. Decisions on this program are still being finalized at the federal level.

Perhaps we should feel fortunate. If others are in greater need than we are here in terms of foreclosures, we should count our blessings ~ regardless of how much we looked forward to the revisions this grant could have afforded our community. We will continue our preservation efforts here on a grass-roots level - one house at a time!

Councilman Takes Tour of Neighborhood

Hello Friends & Neighbors:

On February 4th, Board Members of the Old North Salisbury Association invited one of our City Council members to take a tour of the Old North Salisbury neighborhood with us. We knew that City Council was soon scheduled to take their 24th Annual Future Directions and Goal Setting Retreat February 12-13, 2009. With this in mind, we invited Councilman Bill Burgin, a former long-term resident of the North Main area, to tour the neighborhood and listen to some of our specific concerns. We took special care to outline many of the positive changes we have seen in the neighborhood over the past few years. We demonstrated where people have moved in, purchased and renovated our historic homes, and stayed to live in the homes, instead of renting them out. However we wished to call special attention to the need for ordinance enforcement in our area. We pointed out homes that have been allowed to deteriorate, homes that have been altered in appearance outside of the historic codes. We pointed out our 'hot-spots' for trouble, and we know every neighborhood has them, as well as our highlights. We had further discussions about the City's North Main Small Area Improvement Plan that appears to have no traction at all, because we have seen little impact to the area - even though the plan was approved at City Council in the summer of '07. We wished to impress upon Bill, in hopes he would share this with other Council and City Planning personnel, that we are determined to continue to make positive changes to this important Salisbury community and that we need the City's help to do so.

We are very grateful to Councilman Bill Burgin for taking the time with us that cold February morning to examine the neighborhood and hear our concerns. We thank Pat Sylvester, Sean Myers, and Sue McHugh for taking the time to conduct the tour and outline the specific topics and issues.

Bill urged us to keep going with our progress. He said that, "it is North Main's time and time for the City to devote attention here.". He further urged us to come forth at City Council Meetings with a formal presentation of our concerns. We have been discussing this at Board Meetings but have yet to develop the presentation or make the plans to get on the Council agenda. But with the positive reinforcement from our Councilman, we are better positioned to make this happen in the near future.