Millennials -- that generation born after 1980 but before the turn of the century -- came of age in a time of economic stagnation, fewer jobs, fewer chances for career advancement, lower pay.
Technology has ruled their lives.
They're getting married later in life, starting families later, and moving to smaller cities in droves.
Buffalo has attracted a 34-percent jump in recent college graduate residents, outpacing bigger cities such as Los Angeles.
All of these trends, and more, are attracting the attention of land use planners and informing a new way of looking at planning, said Felipe A. Oltramari, director of the the Genesee County Planning Department, during a presentation at City Hall this morning on the Millennial Generation.
There are 87 million people born in the Millennial decades, about 11 million more than were born during the Baby Boom years.
What they want out of life tends to be far different than Baby Boomers or even Gen-X.
To them, suburbs are dead.
A higher percentage of them than any previous generation have never had a driver's license. Often, they don't own cars.
They're more environmentally aware and socially connected through their digital devices.
The reason they're flocking to cities like Buffalo, Pittsburgh, Portland and Houston is they're more interested in deciding what lifestyle they want before deciding what job they will take, Oltramari said.
Sixty-four percent settle in a city before they get their first job offer.
"It's going to be a difficult job market any place you go, so you might as well go to someplace where you want to live," Oltramari said.
So why not go to New York City instead of Buffalo?
Because it costs a lot more to live in NYC than Buffalo.
So why come to Batavia instead of Buffalo?
Because, Oltramari said, eventually, as Buffalo attracts more Millennials, the cost of living will rise. Adjacent small cities such as Batavia can offer some of the same advantages of bigger cities, but at an affordable price.
Besides, Millennials are the coming economic driver, so Batavia should be planning to be the kind of community they want now; otherwise, we get left behind.
The planning model for this new urbanism is called "form based."
From the 1920s until recently, all planning was built around zoning codes -- what developers cannot do, not what a community wanted.
Planning zones were radically segregated, not just separating, say, residential from industrial, but apartments from houses, offices from retail space, artisans from factories.
Mix-use was a product of the organic growth of American cities in the 19th Century, but planners tried to stamp it out in the 20th Century.
In the post-War years, as suburbs grew and highways were built to accommodate the booming auto industry, planners replaced dense city blocks with strip malls and paved over culturally diverse neighborhoods.
Batavia, with its white elephant of a mall and Urban Renewal conformity, is an example of a city that lost its soul to parking lots and drive-thru restaurants.
"What planners tried to do was try to make our cities more like suburbs, and what did we get? Very bad suburbs," Oltramari said.
Form-based codes allow cities to set a vision for what they want to be.
"Conventional planning looks at use, not at form," said Derik Kane, a senior planner for the county, and himself of the Millennial Generation. "In looking at use, you eliminated things you might want, such as small artisans when you moved out the industry, things like that that make an economy and a community. With form-based codes, instead of eliminating things you don't want, you say what you do want."
For developers, new construction and renovation of existing structures becomes a more streamlined process.
A community with form-based codes doesn't need to require a developer to go through the current lengthy and expensive environmental review process, Oltramari said, because a conforming proposal will already fit within those environmental requirements.
"We need to be moving at the speed of business," said Chris Suozzi, VP of business development for Genesee County Economic Development Center. "Developers don't want delays."
The City Council has already approved funding for a new master plan for Batavia and City Manager Jason Molino said form-based codes will certainly be part of the discussion as the process moves forward.
Urban Renewal did a lot of damage to Downtown Batavia, but there are still positive aspects that can be enhanced.
Kane pointed out that experts in new urbanism recommend you build on successes, rather than trying to fix problems.
For Batavia, that success would center around Jackson Square, especially Jackson Street.
Oltramari suggested borrowing a page from a small Massachusetts city and building over a portion of the parking lot on the west side of Jackson Street and putting up a row of single-story, small retail shops.
Millennials want walkable communities -- remember, they often don't have cars -- which means density, and more retail on Jackson would give them what they want.
County planning is planning on bringing in a walkability expert this summer to study Batavia, but online resources such as WalkScore.com already give Batavia low marks.
On a scale that counts 80 as pretty good, very little of Batavia scores higher than 70 (my house, three blocks south of Downtown Jackson Street, scores 67).
Greater density and more options downtown would help improve those scores, which Millennials look at when deciding where to live.
One issue planners might wrestle with is Baby Boomers still have an auto-oriented mindset. They demand parking. They expect to park right in front of the store they wish to enter. Any proposal to eliminate parking downtown is going to meet resistance, even as data shows it's not necessary.
People will park and walk, or just walk from their residence, if it's an interesting walk, Oltramari said.
"Nobody wants to park on the far edge of the Walmart parking and walk to the store, because it's not interesting," Oltramari said. "But if you measure it, they probably walk at least twice that distance once they get inside the store."
People will walk for blocks and blocks at Disneyland, he noted, and then come home and complain if they can't find a convenient parking place downtown.
For Millennials, if they're living and working in a neighborhood they like, parking simply isn't an issue.
"The good news is, we know how to build this way," Kane said. "We built this way for centuries. Your villages, your main steets, are all walkable places."
Copies of the slides used in Oltramari's presentation along with related material can be found on the Web page for the county planning department.
I'm glad to see that this is
I'm glad to see that this is a priority to someone. I also hope that out City Council starts to think like this. We need to see simplification of city living and fewer roadblocks to living a more sustainable life. That include being able to have clothes lines, more gardens, rain barrels, compost piles, and fences.
City Council should be petitioning NYS every year for things to make this city more walkable and livable. Petition the NYS Thruway authority to lower or cap tolls so more trucks take that route and get off the city streets. Petition NYS to change the traffic light patterns, so that they blink during low traffic times.
City Council needs to work with residents to see what they want, but also financially sustainable options. I don't mind paying taxes, as long as I'm getting something from them.
- The streets aren't plowed consistently or by the time I need to go to work (or come home). Sidewalks aren't maintained, so citizens walk in the roadsways, which sometimes aren't salted properly. The space between sidewalks and roadways gets covered in snow, so it's hard to get to local businesses.
- I'd love to see at least one dog park (which can be paid for by registering to use it).
- I'd love to see more community activities similar to the New Years Eve celebrations.
- We need to encourage owner-occupied homes along with apartments, the city should stop allowing the renovation of single family homes into multi-family homes.
- We should move to celebrating the resurrection of old homes, this can be done through small homeowner grants to help pay for new windows, roofs, painting, decks, and more.
We also need to work together, as a county, to better our school districts
It's time we work together to look toward the future of the City, and that future should focus on young people who want places to work, play, and live.
"What they want out of life
"What they want out of life tends to be far different than Baby Boomers or even Gen-X.
To them, suburbs are dead.
A higher percentage of them than any previous generation have never had a driver's license. Often, they don't own cars.
They're more environmentally aware and socially connected through their digital devices.
The reason they're flocking to cities like Buffalo, Pittsburgh, Portland and Houston is they're more interested in deciding what lifestyle they want before deciding what job they will take, Oltramari said.
Sixty-four percent settle in a city before they get their first job offer."
I was born in '82 graduated high school in 2000
The suburbs are where I want to move to.
Had a driver's license and car since high school.
Screw the environment I don't give a crap about recycling, reducing waste, or landfills.
I moved to Batavia because I could afford my house on my income. Not because I wanted to live in a city.
I moved back home from the Navy because I secured a job at home before I got out.
I walk at Disney because I have to if I want to enjoy the attractions.
What I want out of life is a job I enjoy and pays the bills, and friends to join me in activities I love. I want a family that I can afford to raise in a home with more opportunity than I had.
Places like Portland and Austin that are "attracting Millennials" do nothing but annoy me with their liberal leanings.
This nothing but a well
This nothing but a well disguised pitch for UN agenda 21.The continuing efforts of making it difficult to use vehicles by reducing lanes in the road and replacing with bike paths ( Ellicott street) Paving over parking lots etc. This is nothing but pushing UN agend 21 on everone with out them even knowing by telling this lie about millennials.
a brief explanation of what it is
http://americanpolicy.org/agenda21/
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Agenda_21
"This nothing but a well
"This nothing but a well disguised pitch for UN agenda 21."
Diabolically well disguised. It's obvious we're up against genius here.
Holy moly. I can only hope
Holy moly. I can only hope that CJ is joking. Sheesh.
I'm not a Millenial (I'm Gen X), but I completely agree that this is the very sort of planning that Batavia needs to move forward toward a positive future. We need to do more to attract and to retain younger, educated professionals and tradespeople. I think that Mr. Molino seems to have a sense of this need, and I'm glad for that. I hope that all of the other city council members read this and take it seriously.
As Bea mentioned in a different thread, we also need better/faster and more frequent public transportation linking Rochester, Batavia and Buffalo. High speed rail would be optimal -- but there are other solutions as well. We should be pushing for this.
By the way, excellent ideas, Chelsea. I concur.
"For millennials, if they're
"For millennials, if they're living and working in a neighborhood they like, parking simply isn't an issue", ... interesting retail shops placed in equally interesting architectural store fronts don't mean a thing if people aren't employed. What are you gonna buy, food at Save-A-Lot or an artisans jewelry down the street when your broke ?
As the parent of 2 Millennials, I am sad that they plus my 1 Gen X child, all have long range plans to leave Batavia. One of the major must haves on their list of possible re-locations is employment with less commuting regardless what the price of gas is.
Bring employment/reliable Mass Transit and the rest will follow the money (disposable incomes of our young).
Bring lower taxes and less
Bring lower taxes and less regulation and the jobs and people will follow.
The only reason they are flocking to Buffalo is because you can buy houses for $16,000.
Tim. I couldn't help notice
Tim. I couldn't help notice you referenced a "middle-class" house in Buffalo.
Not everyone earns as much as a County Highway Superintendent, so you might have also mentioned two SWEET deals.
Like the $10, 000 house listing http://www.zillow.com/homedetails/46-Weber-Ave-Buffalo-NY-14215/3018003…
and, how about the 6-bdrm, 2-bath home at http://www.zillow.com/homedetails/965-Grant-St-Buffalo-NY-14207/3016439… for ONLY $9, 900?
Yep, you are correct, there are low cost homes out there.
Ed, both of those listings
Ed, both of those listings are on the East Side, in the heart of the ghetto; the second East Side listing is actually heading out closer to the 'burbs -- and, even then, these listings are outliers. In the portions of downtown Buffalo where there has been investment and renewal (i.e., The Elmwood Village area and portions of Allentown), home prices and rents have gone up significantly and property is very desirable. I used to live there, when it was affordable.
They've been so successful in those areas, with revitalization plans and such, that gentrification has begun to creep in. I have several Buffalo friends who now lament that it's far more difficult to find and buy affordable housing -- and my friends who *did* buy houses there years ago (when it was much cheaper) have seen tremendous appreciation on their investment. My mother-in-law will soon be looking to sell her Buffalo waterfront condo. Looking at prices now, she'll probably get about twice what she paid for it about 15 years ago. Too much of a good thing? Maybe. But we could use a bit of that here.
Here, for instance, is a two-bedroom apartment for rent in the heart of the Elmwood Village area (West Ferry) that's now renting for $1,400 a month. From the map on the source you used above, it looks as though this is not at all out of "range" for that area in terms of rental prices. That is VASTLY more expensive than it would have been, even ten years ago.
http://www.zillow.com/homes/for_sale/Buffalo-NY-14215/2103862752_zpid/6…
Another point of
Another point of view.
http://www.dailypublic.com/articles/01292015/buffalo-hipster-kingdom#.V…
The only reason they are
The only reason they are flocking to Buffalo is because you can buy houses for $16,000.
Well that and jobs, entertainment, museums, activities ...
I think one thing Tim is
I think one thing Tim is referencing is this article.
http://gothamist.com/2015/01/28/millennials_buffalo.php
Emma. Thank you for informing
Emma. Thank you for informing me that the homes I referenced were in the ghetto. I never would've thought of THAT.
Again, as a recent commenter noted, we need a 'sarcastic' font.
Ed, my point was a
Ed, my point was a counterpoint to your snarky "people ONLY want to move to/live in Buffalo, because it's so cheap" suggestion. Clearly, that isn't true, since the areas showing growth are actually (now) rather pricey. There are OTHER amenities that are attracting those people (and those people are NOT just millenials). In fact, Millenials might very well be priced out of these areas, if trends continue as they have been, since they are usually just starting out and don't have $1500 a month to spend on rent.
I'm not saying that gentrification, itself, is good. It's generally not, when taken to extremes. However, the fact remains that the areas and neighborhoods, in Buffalo (and in other cities), where INVESTMENTS were made -- investments that were aimed at making these communities pleasant, livable and physically accessible -- are what has contributed to their current growth and economic success. In truth, the growth and the desirability of these neighborhoods had very little (if anything) to do with "lowering taxes." It was about investment and strategic planning -- both private and public.
And, Bea, all that article says to me is that Buffalo now needs to focus more on the *other* areas that have been neglected (many of the areas that are now popular had also been neglected, for decades). Sadly, the decline of the East side was occurring long before there was any renewal appearing in other downtown neighborhoods. I don't see how that's changed, one way or another. Not that that it's right, but I find it difficult to blame one facet on the other. By the way, the Elmwood and Allen Street areas are *still* very diverse; they always have been, and -- although I could be wrong -- I suspect that they always will be.
Also, I hardly think that Batavia is in any jeopardy of becoming a "hipster paradise," nor do I think that there is any real danger of extreme gentrification occurring here, in Batavia. This town is simply too small. Obviously, the "jewels" that we would have to offer would be very different than those provided in a truly urban big city area. That doesn't mean that there is no need for investment and renewal here. Again, I happen to think that this article (Howard's article) is spot on. I'm glad to see that there are public officials here who have some "vision" and who see the importance of investing in this town's future.
One thing that I find really discouraging and off-putting about this city (being a relatively new transplant) is the fact that ANY time anyone proposes something positive for this area, the negative Nellies and the naysayers all come out in full force. It's a big turnoff.
Can't lower taxes while
Can't lower taxes while building 4 million dollar airport terminals that is mostly used by recreational flyers.and spending 9 million dollars on GCC. Then spending 35,000 dollars on a study to tell us all county management is underpaid by 20%...Where are the budget cuts to create lower taxes......But i agree taxation is a big part of the problem..Simple ex..City of Batavia has lost population by almost 1000 in the last ten years while at the same time the Town of Batavia has added population.Must be walking on a sidewalk isn't that important to some.....Batavia needs to reexamine what it is..It is not a City but more a Village ..It should be shrinking the size of their government and not be growing it.....The above suggestions all seem great on paper but a what cost..........
they made this statement....One issue planners might wrestle with is Baby Boomers still have an auto-oriented mindset. They demand parking. They expect to park right in front of the store they wish to enter. ...Whats wrong with that...So would they rather have no parking and have people wasting time riding around the block looking for a place to park..Back in the days when most these cities were built many had no car at all...We all drive now and most household have at least two cars. to take away parking in the downtown area will push many to shop outside the city..We are not a Buffalo or Rochester and should not be trying to be one...
they were right about the Mall being the white elephant on main st..
"Also, I hardly think that
"Also, I hardly think that Batavia is in any jeopardy of becoming a "hipster paradise,"
Well heck. I moved here, Emma.
Scott, you're a "hipster
Scott, you're a "hipster doofus." That's a different breed. ;)
The
The idea.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fRnWacLl8QY
Mark--The Airport Terminal
Mark--The Airport Terminal and GCC have nothing to do with your property taxes. I have offered to give you a tour of the Airport and answer any questions you may have regarding it, but I have never received a call or even an email. So I guess you can keep believing that recreational flyers are busting the $140 million County budget and soaking the taxpayers.
The article I read was the one that Howard referenced.
Property taxes in Genesee County, WNY and the rest of NY for that matter, are out of control because of State mandates. Nine state mandates make up 90% of the County Property Tax bill. County government has no control over those items. The State requires these programs even if they make no sense for our area. Even if the County could cut out the remaining 10% they have control over, your taxes would still be considered some of the highest in the nation. The biggest piece of the property tax bill is school taxes anyway. They are more than twice what the County tax bill is and there is little room to cut there unless we start talking consolidation and that always goes over like a lead balloon. City or Village taxes are on top of all this and just make matters worse.
So the bottom line is that yes--high property taxes hurt Upstate NY. They are the biggest detriment to business development in Upstate, even more than corporate taxes and income taxes combined. This is an inescapable fact. As a result, we have had a net outflow of population from WNY for over 50 years.
So Millennials will continue to flock to places with cheaper real estate such as the East Side of Buffalo because they are buried by college loans and can't afford a $1,200 per month housing payment. Yes, there are cool things to do in Buffalo, but there are cool things in every city. So the real reason why Buffalo has shot to the top of the list for Millennial immigration is cheap real estate. Its pure economics.
Not saying its a bad thing. I'm thrilled to see the turnaround in Buffalo. I hope Millennials keep coming and I hope they eventually find Batavia, cause its a pretty cool place too. But if the State could find a way to lower property taxes it would help every generation.
Taxation has no effect on
Taxation has no effect on behavior. I have been repeatedly told this by the Democrat Party, so it must be true.
They also told me that all the elderly would die from dog food poisoning the moment Ronald Reagan was elected and that we would all die in a nuclear holocaust because he refused to embrace soviet domination of the world. Since we are all dead, I am at a loss as to why the Millennial Generation is even a matter of concern...
Ed, I think you are onto
Ed, I think you are onto something with the font thing.
Hi, Kyle. Yeah, the font
Hi, Kyle. Yeah, the font thing wasn't my idea, but I agree it'd be useful.
Hey, if you see David S. (lives in your old house up on the corner), tell him I said Hi.
I think he's coming to SW Florida sometime in the next month or so, to check on his house down here.
Ed, Message delivered.
Ed,
Message delivered.
Thanks, Kyle.
Thanks, Kyle.