City hosts public involvement meeting for downtown master plan
At the first master plan public involvement meeting today, residents covered maps of downtown with sticky notes and colored dots to share what they want to see in the future of downtown Homewood.
The Regional Planning Commission is working with the city of Homewood on the "Heart of Homewood" master planning process, which is scheduled to be completed next summer. The two public involvement meetings scheduled today were intended to be a "visioning session" for citizens, RPC principal planner Lindsay Puckett said.
"What are the issues you see today and what is your vision for the future?" she said.
Inside the city council chambers on Tuesday, Sept. 26, large maps of the three downtown areas – SoHo, North Downtown and the Central Avenue Area – hung on the walls with tables of supplies. Residents could ask questions of RPC staff and council members, view initial community survey results and write down what they like, don't like and want to see in each area.
Attendees wrote down their wants for particular areas of downtown on sticky notes to place on a map. Dots in different colors were used to denote places where residents want to see more green space or landscaping, sidewalks, bike lanes and other amenities.
Notes on the maps included small parking spots, confusing intersections, redevelopment opportunities and places that weren't pedestrian-friendly, among other concerns.
Due to community interest in turning the current police headquarters property into a public park, there was a special poster just for sharing thoughts on what to do with that property. Along with suggestions of a park, other notes on the poster included mixed-use development or using the land for another purpose due to its valuable location and building a park somewhere else.
Puckett said the two meetings held today are the first of three sets of public meetings that will be part of this process, with the second set likely being held in early 2018 to show more specific proposals and options downtown. They are also keeping their online survey and interactive map open until Oct. 15 to encourage responses from those who couldn't attend today's meetings.
Interviews of property owners and businesses in downtown will also be part of the public feedback gathered.
The final master plan will inform a change in city zoning as well, to make sure future development will be consistent with the standards and preferences chosen in the master plan. The steering committee for the master plan includes city officials, members of the board of zoning adjustments and planning commission, chamber officials and interested citizens.
"We say it's kind of the people's plan," Puckett said.
The second meeting will be held tonight at city hall from 5:30-7 p.m., on the second floor. You can also visit the Heart of Homewood website to leave your input.