Roanoke City Council and the Roanoke Planning and Zoning Commission held a joint workshop March 3 to discuss updating development codes along the Oak Street corridor.
These updates would be in compliance with the city's downtown code, which hasn’t been updated since 2009.
Roanoke Council hired Catalyst Commercial, which aids communities with economic development strategies, to perform an analysis of Oak Street and help the council update the Oak Street code during the June 24 meeting.
Representatives of Catalyst Commercial facilitated the discussion on March 3 to help gather details for the ordinance they will bring for council’s approval.
No decisions were finalized to change the city’s code, and discussions will continue to take place.
The discussion
The planning and zoning commissioners and City Council members brainstormed different ways to bring foot traffic to the downtown area.
“Our sales right now are a little bit flat with our labor costs going up,” said Dayne Jones, the general manager of Jack and Grill. “We need to do something to offset that, and it's building sales. The only way we can build sales is getting more people to this area.”
One idea for bringing in foot traffic was adding more multifamily housing.
“People bring people,” Planning and Zoning Chair Jason Kasal said. “The only way, in my opinion, to get people is higher-density housing.”
Mayor Scooter Gierisch opposed adding more multifamily housing to Oak Street.
“Our goal is to make an attraction of our city so that it becomes a destination,” Gierisch said. “[People] come and spend all their time and money, and then go back home and rest.”
Council member David Thompson saw the potential of adding more housing near Oak Street to bring in foot traffic but doesn’t know if it should be multifamily or townhomes.
“We do need to get more people living close to Oak [Street],” he said.
More details
Additional ideas for bringing in foot traffic included encouraging businesses to open later at night and adding more retail options.
“There’s nothing to do down here other than go to a restaurant,” council member David Brundage said. “There’s no retail. Normally, when you go to a vibrant destination downtown area, there’s shops [and] other things to do. When you come to Oak Street, you eat and then you leave.”
Gierisch said the city's new hotel and convention center, which will be constructed east of City Hall, will help bring in more foot traffic, activate the night life for Oak Street and allow restaurants to stay open longer. That project is expected to break ground later this year, he said.
Looking ahead
Gierisch suggested holding a workshop and inviting business owners and stakeholders on Oak Street to participate in the discussion. No date was set for when that workshop will be held.
Catalyst Commercial representatives plan to take the council and commission recommendations from the March 3 meeting and create a strategic vision document and concept plan for Oak Street.
This could be brought to the planning and zoning commission for approval as early as May or June.
