Pictures from Paint Your Heart Out 2009

I'm sorry these are a little late. I should have done it in June, but life and campaign season sort of have a way of getting in the way. This year we focused on 2 homes on 100 North which sit next to each other. One is a big, gorgeous Victorian, the other a large gable-end Craftsman Bungalow. Both are right at 100 years old. One owner occupied, one not. Both are well taken care of and loved.

NeighborWorks Provo (formerly NHS of Provo) provided the paint, organizing skills, and the scaffolding. A good number of volunteers, mostly from our neighborhood showed up to help. Our Mayor elect even came to help, which was wonderful.

Rome wasn't built in a day, and despite all the help, we didn't quite have these two done in one day. We held a small ward service project the following night to do our best to wrap up more of the work. Enjoy the shots!

Special thanks to Sharlene Wilde, Executive Director of NeighborWorks Provo for her work on this.

"Bloom where you are planted"

Friends and Neighbors,

10 years ago, I couldn’t wait to get out of Provo. My wife and I wanted to head east to live closer to my family in the Midwest. But that wasn’t meant to be. Things just didn’t work out. After being disappointed for awhile I remembered a little plaque my mother had in her kitchen when I was a boy. It said “bloom where you are planted.” I realized I had been planted, and that I just as well get on with blooming.

A year later we wanted to buy a home, and started looking around. It was a long process, but we finally found something we could actually afford. We found it because I went for a walk around the Joaquin neighborhood admiring all the historic homes here. After moving into our house, I spent far more time than I should have fixing it up, and falling in love with it. The first day we lived here our neighbor 2 doors down brought cookies over. Her first question was “did you buy this house or are you renting?” I told her we had bought it and she got really excited. I didn’t quite understand why. Over the next year, I kind of figured out why. Homeowners were scarce, and treasured.

Our beloved old bungalow took shape, and gradually became “home.” New neighbors moved in across the street, and they were the “get involved” type. One Saturday in June of 2001, a mass of volunteers surrounded their home and repainted it. It was fun, and fascinating to think that in such a short period of time, such a big difference could be made.

I didn’t realize how contagious this project, that they called Paint Your Heart Out, could be. I soon found myself painting my own house, and the landlord who owned the big Victorian north of me did the same. The next summer, I helped plan the Paint Your Heart out project. Stressful, but exciting, we painted 8 homes in 2 Saturdays. I was hooked.

Since then I’ve had the pleasure of becoming Neighborhood Chair, and working with Neighborhood Housing Services in many ways. We’ve rebuilt old tired homes, repainted nearly 35 homes in this neighborhood, planted hundreds of trees, and done a few things I never dreamed of like creating our own “This Old House” video with me as the inexperienced host.

If you take a walk over to 563 E 300 N, and take a look to the west at 541 E, you'll see two beautiful results of our collective efforts. You see, we are truly Urban Pioneers. We believed in this old neighborhood when nobody else did. When developers were telling the city Council “Joaquin is dead” we knew they were wrong. Thankfully, we’ve gained the support of the City Council and Administration, and are seeing a literal “Sea Change” in our neighborhood.

You can walk the streets now, and not trip on the sidewalks. We have park playground for toddlers, a new park coming soon, and lots and lots of houses with great colors. If you don’t like them, you can blame me. Our challenges remain, but that is a universal constant.

I am literally thrilled to see a $10,000 check coming to NHS. The good it will do, is far more exciting to me than winning their award. I’d like to thank Northwestern Mutual Life’s Charitable Foundation for this award. Perhaps a small gift for an enormous healthy company, but the differences it makes last for decades.

So to all of you who someday find yourself somewhere you didn’t really want to be, and see things you’d like to change—I’ll pass along that wonderful advice: “bloom where you are planted.”

With love,

Kurt Peterson

Neighborhood Chair

Questions (and Answers) on 350 North

(picture of DC townhomes)

Friends and Neighbors,

I've recently been asked quite a few questions about the NHS project on 350 North between 600 and 700 East. I'd like to provide you with some information and update your information.

Question #1: Who is the developer?

Answer: Neighborhood Housing Services of Provo, a 501(c)3 non-profit organization which works towards revitalizing the 5 pioneer neighborhoods of Provo.

Question #2: Is the City building this?

Answer: No. NHS is an independent organization which is guided by an Executive Director and a Board (several of our neighbors are on that board).

Question #3: How is the City involved?

Answer: The city often supports the efforts of NHS through loan programs to encourage owner occupancy, or by funding the costs of the NHS purchase rehabilitations.

Question #4: Does current zoning allow NHS to build something different on 350 North?

Answer: No, current zoning does not. Anything NHS wants to build will have to be reviewed by the Neighborhood, the Planning Commission, and approved by the City Council. NHS will have to ask for a rezone of the specific area they want to redevelop. Public Hearings will be held to allow neighborhood input.

Question #5: Is this "spot-zoning"?

Answer: Yes, Provo City has a specific ordinance which allows the use of "spot-zones" in a re-development situation. These are called "PRO" zones.

Question #6: Is NHS going to ask for approval of their initial plans?

Answer: No. The plans were not what the neighborhood wanted, so they have gone back to the drawing board (literally).

Question #7: What is happening now?

Answer: NHS has asked several people within the neighborhood to work on the plans as a "design committee." Rose Rowberry, Jeff Marvolo, Charmaine Thompson, Georgia Solorzano, Carol Wilson and myself are on that committee. Our goal is to create a design that is going to accomplish what we want as a neighborhood. We have finished up the site plan for both sides of the street, and are now working on floor plan and exterior design details. Currently, we are looking at using Townhomes (3 different sizes/floorplans) which have front porches. Both sides of the street will have some community green space. We are being helped in this process by David Gardner, Kent Walker & his assistants from WPA architecture, and by the NHS Executive Director Sharlene Behunin. Sharlene helps us with the finances of the project, David guides us on design and "what will sell," and of course, Kent Walker puts our concepts onto paper.

Question #8: Why should we do anything?

Answer: We don't have to do anything to the property, but an examination of the subject property shows us that the project is worthy of our consideration. NHS has purchased 3 homes on the north side of the street, all of which have been poorly maintained rentals for many years. They are small, and in tough shape. On the south side they own 3 other properties, including a brick bungalow which "morphed" into a 5 plex, a small white shack, and a Postwar home which has been divided into a duplex. None of these homes has been owner occupied in recent years, but anything NHS does would be. Deed restrictions, and the development agreement would stipulate that, and give the city power to enforce it.

You will each have the chance to take a look at the plans, and the details. I hope you will take advantage of that opportunity.

Kurt