Shared from the 6/28/2020 LUBBOCK AVALANCHE-JOURNAL eEdition

Inside the new push to save ‘Old Lubbock’

A disparity report written by a Lubbock citizen has struck a chord with others, and now there’s a growing movement to demand the city build up older neighborhoods, not newer ones.

The fact that a group of like-minded individuals can come together during a time when people are socially distanced goes to show the power of social media. The new Facebook group called Lubbock Compact was started earlier this week, and by Friday there were 1,400 members.

The members are organized. They seem passionate, and most are new to local politics.

On Tuesday some attended the Lubbock City Council meeting to advocate for impact fees on development outside Loop 289, which they argue will help stop money from being taken away from old neighborhoods to pay for infrastructure in new subdivisions and developments.

Several weeks ago many members attended coffee with the mayor, and the meeting reached a point of contention not usually seen at events with local public officials.

Members of Lubbock Compact are sharing email templates to send to members of the city council, sharing talking points for when they speak outside the group, and sharing various research papers on related topics.

The crux of what they’re advocating for is the prioritization of existing neighborhoods rather than new growth. They ask for Lubbocks’ policy makers to initiate smart-growth strategies and refocus attention on revitalization.

“The rapid expansion of South and West Lubbock, much of it enabled by the infrastructure investments into Milwaukee Avenue, give the illusion of a city on the rise,” the report reads. “Instead, what has occurred over time is the pooling of resources and wealth into one concentrated area of Lubbock.”

If it doesn’t happen soon, the report argues, “Old Lubbock in 2040 will consist of gutted out neighborhoods, untouchable slumlords, and a failed school district.”

Nick Bergfeld is the author of the report, and the lead organizer. He’s a fellow in economic growth and community development at Texas Tech’s Rawls College of Business

Bergfeld is a Lubbock native. He’s a graduate of Lubbock High who got his undergraduate degree at Texas Tech. He went on to earn a master of public policy from Harvard University and a medical doctorate from the Yale School of Medicine.

Prior to returning to Lubbock, he managed the development of the healthcare practice for LeapFrog investments, the largest specialized impact investing firm globally. That position took him to places around the world.

When he returned to Lubbock, Bergfeld said he couldn’t believe how much had changed in the decade he was gone. He said he came back to find Lubbock’s old neighborhoods deteriorating while new development in cotton fields thriving. He’s been back in Lubbock for about three years.

The entire 47-page report is dense, and there’s a lot of information. It talks about the history of Lubbock’s disparities created by old racist laws and ordinances, and the lack of funding that have gone into neighborhoods in North and East Lubbock.

In the paper, Bergfeld is critical of a lot of things. He’s critical of the development in North Overton, and how it drove people out of homes. He’s critical of the destruction of Dunbar High School, the wall that is Interstate 27, and the lack of vision for the Canyon Lakes in East Lubbock.

He’s critical of the lack of landlord oversight, the amount of unpaved streets and how public transportation doesn’t connect the entire city.

He’s critical of the industrial zoning that has engulfed old neighborhoods in North and East Lubbock.

Bergfeld says the media has failed to cover these issues, and he says these are just some of the issues causing the collapse of Old Lubbock.

One of Bergfeld’s main points is that Lubbock has stretched its economic activity too thin by growing out. He writes that Lubbock needs to study the actual cost of expansion, and what it’s doing to existing parts of the city.

This argument is reminiscent of what Lubbock barber Maurice Stanley has been saying for years, to anyone who will listen. Stanley ran for the City Council in 2014 under the message “take care of what you have.” For years he’s been speaking to the council during budget hearings and public comment periods about how the city needs to prioritize maintaining infrastructure instead of building new.

“Lubbock should take a different approach,” Stanley said. “In lieu of build it to the south and west and they will come, maybe it should be fix it and they might stay. We do not need a larger doughnut hole.”

Stanley said he hasn’t yet read the report, but he’s on board with what he’s heard. Stanley for years has been talking about downtown revitalization, and making 34th and 50th Streets attractive places to do business. He says right now people are being incentivised to flee the heart of the city.

Stanley says this is a developer-driven town. He said farmers know, and the city needs to learn, that if you can’t take care of one acre, you shouldn’t be buying two.

Mayor Dan Pope said he’s read Bergfeld’s report several times. He says there are some things he agrees with, but also things he disagrees with. Pope says he thinks about the entire city, not just parts.

“I was elected to represent all citizens of Lubbock, and all parts of Lubbock,” Pope said on Friday. “I’ve spent a lot of my energy in revitalizing older parts of our community, particularly downtown, because I believe they are attractive to young people, and we need young people in Lubbock to attract businesses to create more, good jobs.”

The council is pursuing impact fees, and members for several years have said new growth isn’t paying for itself.

Neighborhood revitalization was a key recommendation to come from Plan Lubbock 2040, along with impact fees. Pope says the neighborhood planning effort the city hopes to get underway next fiscal year will outline ways the city can help revitalize older neighborhoods.

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The skyline of downtown Lubbock, Saturday, April 14, 2018, in Lubbock, Texas. [BRAD TOLLEFSON/A-J MEDIA]

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Bergfeld

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Pope

He said the council encourages people to develop inside Loop 289, and hopes to see more mixed-use development occur in the future.

“I think we are doing things today,” Pope said. “I believe the city government’s job is to create an environment where private citizens want to invest, whether that’s buying a home or buying land to build homes. Our job is the infrastructure, it’s making sure the streets are good, it’s making sure the neighborhood is safe and we’re upholding code.”

Bergfeld’s report calls for more than that. Throughout the report there’s a number of policy changes, initiatives and smart-growth strategies Bergfeld makes the call for. He says these aren’t new ways of thinking, they’re just new to Lubbock.

Bergfeld calls for more mixed-use zoning in neighborhoods because schools, which were the building blocks for neighborhood, are being consolidated. He says there needs to be significant investments in dirt roads and deteriorating roads, and specifically argues the 34th Street roadway needs to be collapsed to create walkable and green space.

Bergfeld says money from the city’s Gateway Fund shouldn’t just be used for the construction of new streets outside Loop 289.

The report calls for a landlord registry program, public-private partnerships leveraging city lands and affordable housing tax credits in East Lubbock, and more. The report has too much information to outline in one news article. His big arguments are for the city to no longer annex land, and to actually de-annex where possible. And he says construction on Loop 88 needs to stop. He says Loop 88 will be the end of Old Lubbock.

“The trajectory of Lubbock is still changeable, but it requires a fundamental realignment of Lubbock’s political axis from special interests to the interests of all Lubbock citizens and this needs to happen now,” Bergfeld says.

In response to stopping Loop 88 and Bergfeld’s argument that the city needs payments and compensation for businesses to move their industrial activities elsewhere, Pope said he disagrees.

Bergfeld met with A-J Media on Friday afternoon, and said this is just the beginning of what he hopes will create real change. He says he can’t believe the amount of positive responses, and the number of people saying they’re willing to help.

He said many people in Lubbock have been feeling the same way. He said now, with everyone feeling so anxious because of COVID-19, and because social justice is on everyone’s mind because of the protests, people are ready for action. Bergfeld reiterated that the report doesn’t lay out anything unheard of or groundbreaking. He says he’s asking for Lubbock’s policy makers to recognize the destruction that’s been done, and to accept the best practices other cities are doing.

Bergfeld said he never agreed with the saying “Lubbock or Leave It” because it implies Lubbock is unwilling to change. He said earlier movements for serious change lacked staying power, and the reaction so far makes him think that won’t be the case for Lubbock Compact.

“It is not too late to change the future of Old Lubbock,” Bergfeld writes. “The solutions are well within the city’s means if it stops spending money on new developments and infrastructure outside of Loop 289.”

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