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Planning director highlights downtown streetscapes plan; council approved critical-areas public‑participation plan
Summary
Director John Coleman reported that City Council accepted the commissions recommendations and approved the critical areas regulations public‑participation plan and that the Downtown Streetscapes Plan presented by consultant First 40 Feet is now available online for review; staff outlined next commission dates and public hearings.
At the end of the July 14 meeting, Planning Director John Coleman updated the commission on recent council actions and departmental projects.
Coleman said City Council approved the planning commissions recommended public-participation plan for proposed critical-areas regulation updates. He also reported that the council heard a roughly 35-minute presentation on a Downtown Streetscapes Plan developed with consultant First 40 Feet and that staff has posted plan materials and the consultant presentation on a project web page.
Coleman described possible downtown projects that would emerge from the plan, including curb extensions to narrow driving lanes and create pedestrian space, a small street plaza on 5th Street east of Commercial Street, and other measures to encourage walking and linger time in the downtown core. "Possible projects to do curb extensions which would paint, kind of bulb outs around at some of the corners..." he said, describing the plans objective to increase downtown vitality while working with local businesses.
Coleman said staff will pursue public meetings and potential funding options with the community and alerted commissioners to an August 11 commission meeting on best-available-science documents for the critical-areas update, a special Sept. 29 meeting for a first reading of critical-areas ordinance amendments, and an Oct. 13 public hearing on those draft amendments.
The update did not include formal council votes beyond the items Coleman reported; staff will provide links to the downtown plan materials and next-step notices on the project web page.
