Title
Community Renewal Area Plan/Downtown Master Plan Relationship
Recommended Action
City Manager Recommendation:
Receive report and consider next steps in regards to the Community Renewal Area Plan and the Downtown Master Plan
Report
Issue:
The City initiated development of a Community Renewal Plan in the Spring of 2013. During that same period, the City was also developing its Comp Plan. The Comp Plan, while not yet adopted, includes goals and policies related to the creation of a Downtown Master Plan. Some members of the community and the Planning Commission have expressed concerns about the timing of these planning processes.
Staff Contact:
Keith Stahley, Director, Community Planning and Development Department, 360.753.8227
Presenter(s):
Keith Stahley, Director, Community Planning and Development Department
Background and Analysis:
The City entered into a contract with ECONorthwest to prepare a Community Renewal Area Plan in the Spring of 2013. This contract (scope of work attached) calls for ECONorthwest to prepare a CRA Plan in accordance with the Revised Code of Washington (RCW Chapter 35.81 attached). The consultant has moved forward with their work and has developed two significant reports including an Investment Strategy and a CRA Feasibility Study (attached). These reports recommend moving forward with and finalizing a Community Renewal Plan for downtown. City Council will discuss governance options, boundary options and possible next steps at their December 3, 2013 Special Meeting.
The proposed Imagine Olympia Comprehensive Plan includes the following policy statement, ""PL17.1 Adopt a Downtown Master Plan addressing - at minimum - housing, public spaces, parking management, rehabilitation and redevelopment, architecture and cultural resources, building skyline and views, and relationships to the Port peninsula and Capitol Campus."
Concerns have been expressed that the CRA Plan should not precede a Downtown Mast...
Click here for full text