Downtown plan update to be adopted in 2014

"In 10 years, some things have changed," Winter said. "Those investments that have occurred have created new opportunities that maybe weren't there originally. The plan needs to be updated to help reaffirm the parts of it that are still solid policy but at the same time, address new opportunities and new ideas."

Updating downtown

Georgetown Historic Planner Matt Synatschk said although many of the ideas in the 2003 plan have been addressed to a degree, there are some ideas that will remain in the updated plan, including increasing housing options in downtown and continuing streetscape and walkability improvements.

"[The plan] identifies what would be ideal projects, but it is [meant to provide] guidance to the city," Synatschk said. "It's not regulatory, and there is not any deadline to it. [It is an outline of] the things we want to focus on for the next 10 years."

Meant to guide decisions about city policies, new developments and redevelopments, the master plan allows city staff to determine what projects may be or may not be appropriate in certain parts of the downtown area, he said.

"We want to make sure the downtown has something for everyone," Synatschk said. "We are just finishing up downtown, so we need to identify appropriate [development for vacant properties]."

Cheney Bostic, senior urban designer at Winter & Co., said the proposed plan suggests several options for development prototypes, ranging from one to four stories, which could be applied where appropriate in downtown.

"We go into a little bit more detail on land use [in this plan] as well as how to tell existing property owners how they might go about reinvesting in their property," Bostic said. "We give a couple of different options for development prototypes that are becoming popular, especially in the last 10 years for more downtown-focused infill development. If you just have one property, [the plan addresses] how you might redevelop that property to increase your income but also follow along with the city's vision."

The plan sets the stage for a possible civic/municipal center that could consolidate a number of city offices into one area. The plan could also include a street designed specifically to be shut down for special events and festivals such as weekly farmers markets or other events.

Winter said he will be coming back to the city with a more in-depth plan for the municipal center after the 2013 Downtown Master Plan is adopted.

Public participation

In August the city hosted its first public meeting to garner participation in identifying potential opportunities for the updated plan, Synatschk said, adding that more than 90 people were in attendance. A second meeting in September also included public participation in identifying growth strategies for specific areas.

Winter said he used residents' ideas when creating the first draft of the 2013 plan, which was presented to the Historic Architectural Review and the Planning and Zoning commissions at a Nov. 18 joint meeting.

"A lot of the concepts [in the draft] come from the previous public meetings," Bostic said at a public workshop Nov. 19. "These are your ideas, too."

At the workshop, residents got the chance to see the draft plan and make comments on proposed ideas, including the plans for increased pedestrian and bicycle routes and future planning for a public transit system.

The draft plan is available on the city's website along with a survey for public comments, which will be available until Dec. 13.

Winter said those comments will be taken into consideration for the second draft, which is expected to be presented to a city staff advisory committee Jan. 13.

The final plan could be presented to City Council at its March 11 meeting.

"I think it was so smart for the city to do this because it means a lot of the thinking that was already in place in that plan will now extend for at least for another 10 years," Winter said. "Whereas towns that tend to let [master plans] slip, then they get outdated, and no one follows them anymore. This is a very cost-effective way of updating and getting a lot of fresh ideas going while keeping the ones that still make sense."