Beset by problems, limited in resources, but possessing much potential, Batavia can make big strides toward a brighter future over the next three years, according to consultants hired by the city to help with strategic planning.
After going through some of the strengths and weaknesses in Batavia, the consultants laid out a 36-month plan -- leading up to the city's centennial celebration -- and a couple of longer-range initiatives the city can pursue.
"We're not the kind of consultants who paint you a bunch of pretty pictures and tell you this is what you should be when you can't afford it," David Boehlke said. "We want to be realistic."
The 36-month plan:
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Develop 12 block clubs or three neighborhood associations
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Create a resident task force supporting neighborhood activities
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Sponsor 24 celebratory events
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Promote six to eight events focusing on business success
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Establish a citywide awards committee
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Establish at least one community tour
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Sponsor 10 open houses per year
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Graduate three leadership classes of eight participants each
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Complete one new gateway sign each year
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Install community identity banners at 12 locations
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Create a resident communication initiative
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Implement a community-wide tree planting/guardian project
In additional, the city should pursue three longer-range projects:
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Establish a program to help potential home owners qualify under the federal Farmers Home Loan Program (since Batavia qualifies as a rural community, Batavia residents would qualify for loans).
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Purchase blanket flood insurance, which would lower insurance costs for homes and businesses in flood plains and increase property values by $10,000 or more, making rehabilitation more economically viable. ("Inside the dotted lines, property owners get their equity sucked right out," Boehlke said.)
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Establish a program to target 12 properties a year on corridor streets (such as Oak and Ellicott) for improvements.
In all, the three-year plan would cost $60,000 per year. The funds could be obtained through grants and gifts from local big businesses, Boehlke said.
"We've seen it done in other communities," he said. "If you don’t invest at least at that level, I don’t see any of this happening."
Downtown needs to be an important focus for improvement, both Boehlke and Charles Buki said.
The mall has failed as a retail space and City of Batavia residents are spending more than $24 million annually in other markets that they might spend in Batavia if given the right options.
The city has opportunities to capture those dollars in entertainment, dining, apparel and home furnishings.
"A reason some of the restaurants (in town now) aren't doing as well as they could is there aren't enough of them," Buki said. "They need to be clustered together."
The city and the BID need to work together to recruit businesses to downtown that will help keep some of the money being spent outside the city, inside the city.
"You're doing loads of the right thing now, but you need to do loads more," Boehlke said.
Here's what the consultants found is working for the city:
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The housing stock is largely in good condition
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The market is affordable for home owners
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There is a quality rental housing market
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Downtown has great potential
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The city has forward-looking leadership
They described Batavia as an authentic small city, with a viable business community, responsible property owners and committed citizens with a good city government.
Here's what is not working:
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The city is losing population
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Lower home ownership rate than the competition
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Older, aging community
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Aging home stocks
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Struggling renters
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Downtown that's not working optimally
According to Boehlke, enough families with purchasing power have moved out of Batavia over the past 10 years that the city has lost about $20,000 in annual purchasing power per week over that 10 year span.
As for ownership rates, Boehlke said, "It's not that you have too much rental. It's that your competition has less rental."
When asked who the competition is, Boehlke said it's the Town of Batavia, primarily.
"The town is your competition at this stage because if somebody wants to build, that’s where they’re going to build because that’s where it makes the most sense to build," he explained.
The aging population -- 25 percent of city home owners are 65 or older -- is especially a problem when combined with the aging housing stock. Eighty percent of the homes were built before 1930.
"They’re getting old and the houses are getting older and you don't have a incoming flow of buyers," Boehlke said.
On the rental front, a significant number of renters in the city don't have a car, which limits their employment opportunities, which means they continue to struggle to make ends meet.
"There are limited employment opportunities, but it's not surprising that they come here," Boehlke said. "You have better schools and safer streets. (Struggling renters) may not be economically the best outcome for your community."
Downtown isn't failing, both consultants said. It isn't working optimally. There is room for improvement.
"When you're a visitor, the impression you get is that downtown is fading," Boehlke said. "There are enough storefronts closed, enough homemade signs hanging in windows, that it speaks to a downtown that isn't valued. If you don’t know this town and you drive downtown for the first time, your impression is that the community is a lot more stagnant than it is."
If the city doesn't act to reverse course, Buki said, the outcome is predictable: population loss will continue, Batavia will continue to get older, home ownership rates will keep falling, there will be no new housing, and renters will continue to struggle and be a challenge.
Photo: Charles Buki
