Thu, Jan. 19, 2012, KANSAS CITY STAR kansascity.com
JOPLIN, Mo. | Community leaders in Joplin have resoundingly endorsed a long-term tornado recovery plan they hope will serve as a national example for other disaster-ravaged areas. The standing ovations and shouts of praise from a grateful public Thursday night were a good start.
The Joplin City Council, school board and Chamber of Commerce, as well as the Board of Aldermen in neighboring Duquesne, swiftly approved the recovery plan at a meeting that ended after barely 30 minutes, though it was scheduled to last two hours. The only hiccup: passing a microphone from one end to the other of a U-shaped table crammed with 45 elected officials and business owners.
The plan was developed by a group of volunteers based on comments offered by area residents at a series of public discussions that began several weeks after the May 22 tornado, one of the nation's deadliest, killed 161 people and destroyed thousands of buildings, from homes and churches to big-box retail businesses and one of the city's two hospitals.
Recommendations include creation of four new business districts that would also allow residents to live and shop nearby. The plan also calls for a city committee to ensure new construction meets certain design standards, including more landscaping to offset commercial projects and parking lots.
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