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City planners present South Fifth area‑wide plan; Brownfields grant funds study, recommends multimodal upgrades and housing changes
Summary
Planning staff presented a draft South Fifth Avenue area‑wide plan at a Pocatello City Council work session, describing recommended mobility, housing and public‑space strategies developed with Stantec and funded by an EPA Brownfields grant.
Jennifer Flynn, assistant planner for Pocatello's planning department, presented the draft South Fifth Avenue area‑wide plan — developed by Stantec and funded through an EPA Brownfields grant — to the City Council during a work session. The plan covers a study area along South Fifth Avenue and adjacent neighborhoods and lays out priorities, policy tools and draft design concepts for future redevelopment.
Flynn described Brownfields program basics: the city received $500,000 from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) in 2023 to support Phase I and Phase II environmental assessments and planning; the grant runs through September 2026 and the city has used about half of the funds to date. The EPA funding stops at assessment (Phase II) and does not cover physical cleanup, Flynn said; the Southeast Idaho Council of Governments (CCOG) maintains a revolving loan fund that can offer cleanup financing if a property requires remediation.
The plan’s five community priorities are pedestrian and bicycle infrastructure, improved community appearance, diversified housing (including missing‑middle options), safer streets for all modes and increased recreation and gathering spaces. Specific recommendations in the draft include encouraging mixed‑use development near Idaho State University, adding student and senior housing options, code changes to allow multifamily in commercial general (CG) zones, and requiring sidewalks with property redevelopment along South Fifth Avenue.
Staff and the consultant recommended mobility improvements such as protected and “flipped” bike lanes (where parking buffers bike lanes from moving traffic), multimodal paths near the cemetery, pedestrian‑controlled intersections (HAWK signals), and bike wayfinding to connect to regional trails. Flynn noted Idaho Transportation Department (ITD) owns South Fifth Avenue, but the city maintains much of the roadway and has coordinated lane‑width and sidewalk concepts with ITD and the city streets department.
The plan suggests financing and policy tools including business improvement districts (BIDs), local improvement districts (LIDs), tax increment financing (TIF), and potentially community improvement districts (CIDs). Flynn said the city currently has one downtown BID and four TIF districts; LIDs are effective for targeted sidewalk projects and can be requested by property owners or the council.
The draft also recommends activating public spaces (festival blocks, pocket parks), enhancing Brady Chapel access and ADA compliance, upgrading Bremer Park with lower‑maintenance hardscape, and requiring public open space in new multifamily developments. Staff suggested water‑wise landscaping and stronger enforcement of screening for outdoor storage. The plan promotes neighborhood identity development through reactivation of neighborhood associations and event programming.
Council members asked about the working‑group membership, funding prospects, and design details such as Dutch intersections and diagonal pedestrian crossings; staff said the working group included residents, business owners, Idaho State University representatives, the mosque located in the corridor, NeighborWorks and multiple city departments. No formal action was taken; staff asked for council feedback before bringing the plan forward for formal adoption.
