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Council adopts amended 2024 DDA Plan of Development, directs work plan and parking follow-up
Summary
City Council adopted the Downtown Development Authority’s 2024 Plan of Development as amended to include Planning Commission and council recommendations on parking, walkability and a prioritized work plan; the DDA-funded plan will guide short-, medium- and long-term downtown projects.
The City Council adopted the Downtown Development Authority’s (DDA) 2024 Plan of Development, approving a substitute amendment that incorporates Planning Commission recommendations and adds a work plan, parking and walkability items, grant references and additional appendices.
Why it matters: The plan is intended as a guiding, actionable document for downtown investment and implementation; councilmembers emphasized the need for the DDA to follow through on implementation rather than letting the plan sit as a shelf document.
What the council approved: Mr. Seagrave moved to adopt the plan with a substitute amendment adding Planning Commission and council recommendations; Dr. Aldridge seconded. The substitute was adopted and the resolution was approved as amended.
Key points from staff and DDA supporters: Charles Bloom, the city’s Planning and Development Director, reviewed the edits and noted a minor graphic change to page 61 that staff asked to include in the substitute. Consultants and the DDA described roughly 18 months of public engagement and noted the plan consolidates many prior studies into a single, “living” document with short-, medium- and long-term goals. Brian Bau, Wendy Volk and Danica Rosinski of the DDA said the plan will be used to develop implementation steps and thanked volunteers and staff who worked on the plan. The DDA confirmed the plan’s development costs were funded through DDA mill levy funds.
Council direction and implementation: Councilmembers emphasized follow-up tasks including snow management, parking and sidewalk safety; several asked that the DDA produce a concrete implementation work plan and that the city review the DDA’s memorandum of understanding with the city this spring. Mr. Seagrave and others urged visible, early actions such as improvements to the Spiker Garage to build public confidence in implementation.
Ending: The amended plan is adopted; council and DDA officials said they will prioritize implementation steps, report back with a work plan and pursue coordination on snow management, accessibility and parking improvements.
