Cascade City Council adopts downtown master plan

The Cascade City Council voted unanimously on May 12, 2025, to adopt the Cascade Downtown Master Plan, a broad blueprint intended to guide reinvestment, streetscape improvements and economic development in the city’s downtown.

MSA, the consulting firm that prepared the plan, presented a seven‑section draft that summarizes community input from a January workshop, a SWOT (strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats) analysis, maps of existing conditions and a series of recommendations. The study area, MSA said, is centrally located and adjacent to the river — a feature the consultant identified as a unique downtown asset to emphasize in future improvements.

The consultant highlighted recommendations including formalizing parking in the public works area, adding a trail head, improving crossings and the streetscape, branding and marketing to support family‑style restaurants and other small businesses, and an implementation matrix that assigns potential funding partners, priorities and measurable outcomes. MSA also presented an economic analysis using Esri Business Analyst to estimate market potential for downtown businesses.

During council Q&A, members pressed for clarity on next steps and implementation. Council members discussed prioritizing projects into high, medium and low categories, and returning to the plan at regular intervals to check progress; staff and MSA recommended using the implementation matrix as a tracking tool and suggested reviewing the document annually or every six months to keep work on track.

Oliphant moved to approve Resolution 49‑25 adopting the Cascade Downtown Master Plan; Gale seconded. The council recorded unanimous votes in favor and the resolution was adopted.

The plan includes an implementation matrix with roles, estimated cost ranges and suggested funding partners; council members repeatedly urged staff to tie prioritized items into the budget process and to seek short‑term projects that can demonstrate early results.