Judge Williams to conduct Neighborhood Court tonight as part of Neighborhood Services Strategic Neighborhood Initiative

4/2/2002

Chattanooga, TN— On Tuesday evening, Judge Walter Williams will move his courtroom to a community school.

Judge Williams is scheduled to hold “Community Court,” at the Eastside Elementary school’s multipurpose room on Tuesday, April 2.  Community Court is a program designed to complement the Strategic Neighborhood Initiative, currently being implemented by the City of Chattanooga’s Neighborhood Services Department.  Judge Williams has committed to conducting court in each of the 15 SNI communities so that residents have an opportunity to be an active part of the judicial process as it relates to the intensive code enforcement that is currently underway in those communities.

Media are invited to cover this evening’s Neighborhood Court at the Eastside Elementary School in Oak Grove at 6 p.m.  The Judge will work through a full court docket and hear several environmental cases from the Oak Grove neighborhood.

For more information, contact Todd Womack, Communications Director, at 423-757-5168

Mayor Corker’s Strategic Neighborhood Initiative

FACT SHEET

Even before coming to office, Mayor Corker began evaluating the work of the City’s Neighborhood Services department and determined that they were providing great services, but many of their efforts were diluted by the sheer number of neighborhoods being served (the department was focused on 150 neighborhood associations in Chattanooga).  As a result, the Mayor asked Neighborhood Services to focus their efforts in a way which would still support all areas of the City but would vigorously target the community’s 15 most distressed neighborhoods.

This challenge led to the creation of the Strategic Neighborhood Initiative (SNI), a partnership between the City of Chattanooga and those 15 high priority neighborhoods to transform them into clean, safe and attractive communities with strong independent and capable neighborhood associations and vibrant small businesses.

• The Strategic Neighborhood Initiative focuses on four components throughout three phases:

• Crime and safety—Working with the Chattanooga Police Department to implement the Mayor’s “Renewed Focus on Preventing Crime,” this component of the plan enhances community safety, ensuring that the target communities are safe places to live and to work.
• Housing stock—Through strict code enforcement, this component focuses on improving the physical structures in the community to develop growth and to ensure that property values appreciate.  An increased focus will be placed on developing infill housing, and efforts will be made to stimulate home ownership through the on-going efforts of Chattanooga Neighborhood Enterprise and HabitatChatt.
• Leadership—Working with existing neighborhood associations, this part of the initiative devotes resources to developing community leaders who will embrace the neighborhood plan and work in concert with government to execute it.
• Business and economic development—Strong neighborhoods require dynamic business districts.  This initiative will use existing programs such as the storefront development subsidy and small business loans through Tech 2020 to provide needed resources to revitalize the economic sectors of the targeted neighborhoods.

The SNI will be implemented in three phases:

• Phase I—This initial phase will be focused on mobilization and include strict code enforcement in the targeted neighborhoods and begin the identification and development of community leaders.
• Phase II—During this phase the leadership of each neighborhood will begin working with their constituents on creating a plan for their neighborhood.  The work will be conducted in close coordination with the Regional Planning Authority and will culminate in a footprint for neighborhood’s ultimate design.
• Phase III- Neighborhood leaders, Neighborhood Services and the Regional Planning Authority will work together to implement the plan.

The 15 neighborhoods which will be targeted through the multi-year initiative are:  Alton Park, Avondale, Cedar Hill, Clifton Hills, East Chattanooga, East Dale, East Lake, East Side, Glenwood, Hill City, Howard, Orchard Knob, Piney Woods, Ridgedale and Shepherd.  This effort will be closely coordinated with the work of the Community Impact Fund which has targeted Bushtown, Highland Park, MLK and Southside.

Although some elements of the Strategic Neighborhood Initiative will begin in all 15 neighborhoods immediately, the initiative will be fully implemented in three neighborhoods each year.  The first three which have been selected are Ridgedale, Hill City and East Chattanooga. 

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