"It was admittedly an ambitious process that sets out to create an agenda of this importance in four months, but that speaks to the sense of urgency that we have to create a more sustainable community," said Mayor Wharton.  "That we have been able to do this in such a compressed time is a tribute to the seriousness and hard work of the seven committees of our Sustainable Shelby process."

Since the March 6 kick-off, 130 people on the committees - transportation and traffic, public buildings and public policies, neighborhood rebirth, public incentives, environment and natural resources, building codes, and land use and development - have met to set goals, values, and specific recommendations in each of their areas. 

All committees will meet together Thursday to rank the priorities for immediate action.  They will use wireless keypad technology to vote on priorities at a meeting from 9 a.m. until noon, Thursday, June 19, at The Zone at FedEx Institute of Technology at the University of Memphis.

In addition, Memphis pollster Steven Ethridge will present the findings from a survey gauging public support for the general principles of smart growth, for sustainability principles, and for specific strategies.  As part of the process Thursday, he will cast votes on behalf of the public based on the polling results.

"We wanted to be sure that the public had a voice in the setting of this agenda," said Mayor Wharton.  "This was the most scientific way of doing that, because the public input did not depend on who could get to a meeting or respond to an online survey.  This is a breakthrough in setting public priorities in conjunction with a committee, and to me, the addition of the technology and the scientific polling is a new way of public decision-making."

Following presentations by Mayor Wharton and Ethridge, each committee will present its top recommendations, and all committee members will give each of them a value from 1 to 10 on a wireless keypad until all recommendations are ranked and final priorities are set.

With the priorities, Mayor Wharton said his staff, principally members of the Memphis and Shelby County Division of Planning and Development, will develop an implementation plan in the next 90 days. 

"I have never been more certain of anything than I am on the importance of this agenda," he said.  "Our citizens want a sustainable community.  They may not call it that, but they want a future of walkable, healthy neighborhoods, vibrant public spaces, energy efficient buildings, and streets that serve alternative transportation like bikers, pedestrians, and public transit.  Most of all, they want a community that can meet its present needs but makes sure that future generations can meet theirs."

The 90-day priorities will be part of a complete agenda to be presented at the Sustainable Shelby Call to Action public meeting on July 8 at 2:30 p.m. at Memphis Botanic Garden.  At that session, Mayor Wharton will be joined by Doug Farr, author of Sustainable Urbanism, which has been used as a framework for Sustainable Shelby's work.

Since taking office in 2002, Mayor Wharton has championed the Memphis region's first smart growth programs, and Sustainable Shelby builds on that earlier work.  His first executive order in 2002 launched a smart growth summit in 2003, followed by regular meetings in subsequent years and kicking off the development of a new Unified Development Code which is now nearing completion.