[... continued]

CDSD failed for several reasons. 

Because _staff_ actually directed the process, and ultimately led council to approve the Crest Drive Community Team (CDCT) recommendations, the advocacy and conflict centered around what staff would recommend. 

The outcome was determined largely by the staff's "religion" of "walkability" -- sound familiar? The residents who were concerned about impediments to car, bus and emergency vehicles were out-gunned by residents who did, in fact, want to minimize traffic levels and speeds on a street in front of their house. This "tension" was resolved based on staff's support for walkability, not a process (like the Jefferson-Westside Special Area Zone, discussed below) that really got residents to understand the facts on the ground and the implications.

So while Gardner went on to recommend “context sensitive solutions” (CSS) as the way to solve all neighborhood planning, she never actually understood the critical dynamics.

[continued ...]