Laserfiche WebLink
CHAPTER 1 <br />Figure 3. Participants discuss appropriate <br />locations for various housing types downtown at <br />the first workshop. <br />F3 <br />• Develop consensus regarding allowable uses, development standards and <br />design guidelines within sub -areas of downtown. <br />• Identify potential streetscape, transportation, and open space improvements <br />to make downtown more attractive to desired commercial and residential <br />uses. <br />• Send a strong signal to the business and development community of the <br />City's priority on promoting downtown as a business, cultural and residential <br />center. <br />Process <br />The planning process for the Downtown Plan commenced in July, 2005, with <br />consultants and the planning team reviewing development opportunities, street <br />and circulation issues, market conditions, and policies and recommendations <br />from the Comprehensive Plan and other previous downtown planning efforts. <br />The planning team conducted several stakeholder interviews in August to <br />discuss downtown objectives, problems, issues, and opportunities. Also early in <br />the process, the planning team prepared a survey that was available online on <br />the City's website. <br />In September, over 100 people attended the first of four Planning Commission <br />workshops. The team presented findings from urban design, circulation, and <br />market analysis, brainstormed goals and objectives for downtown, and mapped <br />special opportunities and constraints. At the second Planning Commission <br />workshop in October, participants discussed and rated alternative development <br />concepts for both the downtown area and surrounding neighborhoods. This <br />included preferences on building heights, housing types, open space, and a <br />range of other downtown design elements. By this time, the City had received <br />over 400 responses to the on-line survey, and the planning team summarized <br />key findings from the survey at the workshop. In November, participants <br />discussed circulation, streetscape, and parking options at the Planning <br />Commission Workshop. <br />MAKERS architecture and urban design <br />0509_rpt_draft.doc - 629/06 <br />