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Urbandale council adopts downtown master plan envisioning three‑lane Douglas Avenue, phased redevelopment
Summary
After months of public engagement, the council adopted a 30‑year downtown master plan that calls for reconfiguring Douglas Avenue to a three‑lane corridor, district parking management, stormwater strategies, gentle density near the core and a phased implementation tied to the CIP and zoning changes.
Urbandale — The Urbandale City Council voted June 17 to adopt a downtown master plan laying out an up-to-30‑year vision for the Douglas Avenue corridor, targeted redevelopment nodes and street, parking and stormwater improvements.
Assistant City Manager Curtis Brown presented the plan and emphasized that master plans signal an ideal long‑term vision rather than immediate changes. “This plan is meant to last for up to 30 years until full buildout,” Brown said, adding that the plan will be translated into projects for the city’s capital improvement program and zoning updates.
Key recommendations include reconfiguring Douglas Avenue from four lanes to a three‑lane cross section (one lane each direction plus a center turn lane) in places while accommodating on‑street parking and sidewalks; encouraging strategic redevelopment at nodes such as 70th & Douglas and 60th & Douglas; adopting district parking management (a combination of on‑street, off‑street and structured parking); implementing a subregional stormwater strategy with four treatment zones; and promoting “middle housing” or gentle density to extend core investments into adjacent neighborhoods.
Brown and consultant Andrew Dresner (Bolton & Menk) noted the plan anticipates right‑of‑way adjustments at some locations and recommended a phased approach: short‑term measures such as painted lane changes would be considered first, followed by design, stakeholder consultation and construction as funding and private investment align. Staff said zoning work to prepare for first investments is already underway; staff named Aaron De Jong and Anika Schilke as leads on early zoning work.
Adoption and next steps: Councilmember Kroll moved to approve the council letter formalizing plan adoption (council letter 8210); the motion passed. Staff said the plan materials, traffic studies and stormwater and economic analyses are posted at urbandale.org/downtown and that after adoption staff will finalize the plan document and begin zoning and CIP work.
Why it matters: The master plan guides public investment, zoning and private development decisions in Urbandale’s downtown planning area and frames infrastructure and stormwater investments that could require future right‑of‑way acquisition and capital spending. Adoption marks a policy step that enables more detailed design, budgeting and developer engagement.
What council said: Councilmembers thanked staff and the consultant team for the public engagement and noted that adopting the plan does not remove future opportunities for stakeholder input during design and construction phases.
