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City unveils downtown engagement results; consultants flag steps to boost vibrancy and remove investment barriers
Summary
City planning staff and consultants reported robust public engagement and a market analysis for the downtown plan update during the April 22 study session, and council directed staff to begin drafting vision, policy and strategy components for further review and public feedback.
City planning staff and consultants presented findings from the launch phase of a downtown plan update at the Champaign City Council study session on April 22, reporting robust public engagement and a market analysis that identifies steps to improve downtown vibrancy, remove investor barriers and leverage housing momentum.
Senior planner Eric Van Buskirk introduced the presentation and said the engagement phase combined summer in-person outreach with a community survey. Evan Teplinski, a Bloomberg Harvard City Hall fellow, told the council staff engaged more than 500 people at events last summer and received more than 1,500 responses to a community-input survey.
Teplinski summarized the community’s top descriptive words for an ideal downtown and said the most common phrase was "safe, walkable and vibrant," a formulation staff used to group related priorities. He…
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