Question: How will you attract businesses and jobs to District 3 without contributing to overdevelopment or gentrification?
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Karen DeVINNEY
UNT is the largest employer in Denton and it is in District 3. It employs almost 9,000 people — more than four times the next highest employer, Peterbilt — which is also in District 3. Attracting jobs to District 3 does not seem like an especially high priority.
As for not contributing to gentrification, my answers will always focus on neighborhoods.
About ten years ago, the primary resistance to a CVS on my street had to do with the initially proposed drive-through, which would have aggravated traffic problems on Hickory and West Oak. The neighborhoods were consulted, and the CVS was approved without the drive-through. It is now a valuable asset to my area and reduces car use considerably, as it’s easy to walk to and attracts pedestrian students at UNT.
Fortunately, there are also several locally owned coffee shops and restaurants taking advantage of our proximity to these students, so it’s not just big companies. I would have preferred a locally owned pharmacy rather than this national chain, but that’s not likely to be a sustainable business plan.
Most neighborhoods don’t object to small, low-impact businesses, but they should always be consulted.
Suzi RuMOHR
Economic development initiatives are a tricky balance. While good-paying jobs help existing residents work and afford to live in Denton, these jobs can also attract new residents to compete over a limited housing supply.
One of the most important aspects of economic development is making Denton an attractive place to live. Companies prefer to locate in cities with a high quality of life, because it’s easier to attract and keep high-quality employees. These quality-of-life factors include Denton’s culture, vibrancy, fun activities, quality city services, and cost of living.
A desirable city with high quality-of-life attracts more residents. If there is not enough housing for everyone who wants to live in Denton, bidding wars drive up housing costs, and landlords can charge more and more rent. As this happens, existing residents are priced out and forced to move to a more affordable city.
To make Denton a great place to live without pricing out existing residents, the city must explore data-driven options to provide a sufficient supply of housing in ways that blend with neighborhoods, reduce sprawl in rural areas, and enhance Denton’s vibrancy.
Margie ELLIS
Getting a more focused plan on economic development.
I feel we have not concentrated efforts on attracting businesses to our city that bring in higher paying, career jobs, which would in turn bring revenue to the city in a variety of ways. We must communicate with our universities in that effort to see how we can keep our graduating students here.