WNC to Host Forum on Growth in Hebron, Maryland

--Fruitland-- The Wicomico Neighborhood Congress announces that Jason Sartori, of the National Center for Smart Growth Research and Education, will be the guest speaker at the November 27, 2007 meeting of the congress. Sartori is expected to focus the meeting on the “Adequate Public Facilities Ordinance” or “APFO’s.” The November 27th meeting is being held at Westside Intermediate School, 8000 Quantico Road, in Hebron at 6:30 PM. Wicomico Neighborhood Congress members and the public are invited to attend.

The Wicomico Neighborhood Congress pinpointed growth as one of the major issues to address in the first year of the group’s existence. The 1st WNC Convention in September 2007 identified the Adequate Public Facilities Ordinance as one possible solution to the issue of rapid growth in Wicomico County. The WNC Steering committee was able to secure Mr. Sartori, of the National Center for Smart Growth Education and Research for the November meeting.

“With the issues of Waller Landing, the updating of the Wicomico County Comprehensive Plan, and many developments still in the pipeline throughout Wicomico County and its municipalities, a consistent dialogue among residents is essential for the public’s voice to be heard on these matters,” said Jim Ireton, Steering Committee Chairman for the WNC.

The Wicomico Neighborhood Congress was formed by County Executive Rick Pollitt at the beginning of 2007 and has a mission of advocating, educating, and organizing neighborhoods in Wicomico County. The 1st Neighborhood Convention was held in September of this year.

Attached is a draft agenda for the November 27, 2007 WNC meeting in Hebron, and a biography for Mr. Sartori is below.

Applications are available on-line (www.wicomicocounty.org) for any individual or neighborhood group who would like to join the congress. Dues are $10 for individuals and $25 for neighborhood groups.

Jason K. Sartori is a principal partner of Integrated Planning Consultants, a firm specializing in participatory planning and planning project management, and currently an affiliate of the National Center for Smart Growth Research and Education. Sartori graduated magna cum laude and with honors from the University of Richmond with a B.A. degree in economics and political science. He later earned his Master of Community Planning degree from the University of Maryland’s School of Architecture, Planning and Preservation, where he specialized in economic development. Over the last ten years, Mr. Sartori has managed a variety of stakeholder participation, strategic planning and implementation initiatives for corporations in the private sector, local government agencies, and a number of non-profit organizations. In this capacity, he has maintained multi-million dollar budgets, coordinated the efforts of large and diverse project teams, and served as an intermediary between groups of people with varied, and sometimes opposing, interests. Sartori is currently serving as the program director of the Partnership for Land Use Success, through which he is leading an effort to develop and evaluate future growth scenarios for the State of Maryland. He also recently performed the role of project manager for Reality Check Plus, a statewide growth visioning effort involving nearly one thousand government, business and community leaders from across the State of Maryland.

WICOMICO NEIGHBORHOOD CONGRESS

First Neighborhood Meeting

HEBRON, Maryland

Westside Intermediate School

TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 27, 2007

6:30 to 8:30 P.M.

The Issue for the Evening Is:

EMPOWERING COMMUNITY RESIDENTS TO RESPOND TO GROWTH

6:30 Overview (J. Ireton)

6:40 General Approaches to Growth in the Local Community

Neighborhood Congress Issues (R. Widdowson, K. Byrd)

Guest Speaker: Managing Growth (J. Sartori)

Adequate Public Facilities Laws (A. DiGiovanna)

7:20 Hebron Issues: Empowering the Community

Status of Hebron Planning Process (K. Bergen)

State and Local Perspective on Community Planning (T. Gordy, J. Lenox)

Hebron Community Efforts (F. Mumford, C. Insley)

Community Organizing for Local Planning (B. Johanssen)

** Dialogue and Recommendations (Members of the Congress)

8:10 Business of the Neighborhood Congress

Nominating Committee for January 2008 Elections (M. Pretl)

Assessment of Member Dues (J. Ireton)

8:20 Remarks of the County Executive, and Adjournment