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HOUSING: Mt. Hope-ing You Get Involved!
Final Mt. Hope-ing Meeting
I attended the last of the three Mt. Hope-ing for Affordable Housing meetings last night. In attendance were members of the Planning Department, Rochelle Lee of the Mount Hope Neighborhood Land Trust, Peter Simon, and representatives from the Mayor's office and RIHMFC.
Much of the discussion centered around what to do with our youth. A few interesting points came to light. For instance, Peter Simon says that out of approximately 700 teenaged children living on the east side, only about 300 attend school. CATCH has done a survey that found that the majority of kids do not feel "accepted" at the Mt. Hope Learning Center or the MHNA. It was suggested that a larger more inclusive teen center is needed.
Other issues discussed included the vacant property at the corner of Grandview and Camp, and the need for attractive and historically sensitive mixed-use development on Camp Street and along North Main Street.
The purpose of these meetings, according to Peter Simon, is to "revitalize" the Land Trust, and to get city and state agencies together to get more affordable housing into Mount Hope. We need to get more people to these meetings to make sure the character of our neighborhood is maintained. There has been talk of changing zoning and building high-rises.
There will be another meeting on March 30 to begin drafting a plan to put some ideas in effect. What those ideas are depends on who shows up.
Katie Laferte
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Posted at March 10, 2005 01:25 PM