You've been spotted: River Days
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Cross country invitational
Photographs could tell Monroe's story and future
Group to capture positives and negatives through pictures in order to help shape comprehensive plan.
Thursday, May 15, 2008
MONROE — Twelve members of the Monroe Planning Steering Committee have been armed with disposable cameras to photograph what they like and dislike about their city.
This is another component — thus far, along with a newly released community survey — being used by a Bowling Green company hired by the city to collect information to update the Monroe's Comprehensive Plan. The city's plan last underwent a major overhaul in 1997, and since then there have been some minor updates, most recently in 2004, city officials said.
Extras
Paul Tecpanecatl, the principal owner of Poggemeyer Design Group Inc., that has been hired by the city to update the plan, told the committee during a meeting last week he would like the members to use the 27 exposures in the cameras to photograph pictures of nice attributes in the city they like, such as rolling hills, wooded areas, nice buildings and art work.
"Anything, we want to see it," Tecpanecatl said.
He encouraged also the committee members to take pictures of more challenging areas in the city that they think do not look as nice.
"We'd like to have those as well," Tecpanecatl said.
A May 23 deadline has been set to return the photos to Kevin Chesar, Monroe's director of development, so he can have them developed.
"We're going to use those cameras and pictures to take a look at what we would like to preserve within the city and what we would like to, maybe, address," Tecpanecatl said.
Plans call for the photos to be on display for the community to review during a future public meeting, he said.
Chesar said the photos will play a role to help shape the city's Comprehensive Plan, which is designed to guide the city during the next 20 to 25 years.
"What we want to try and do is encourage what policies, goals and objectives do we need to write that encourage the good things they like and discourage the bad things," he said.
"And part of that ... is going to other communities and looking at some new developments, and what they've done to encourage what is aesthetic quality to architectural features."
Contact this reporter at (513) 483-5219 or dewilson@coxohio.com.
