City to seek input on Downtown Master Plan

Published 10:37 am Tuesday, June 24, 2014

The city of Austin and community volunteers will seek community input for the city’s upcoming Downtown Master Plan.

Volunteers made it clear Monday night resident input will be a part of upcoming changes to the city’s master plan for its central business district. A community meeting will likely be held July 14 to allow residents to give input on what the changes and updates city’s downtown area should take on over the next few years.

The city recently hired two firms, CR Planning and SEH, to update its master plan after several major projects have been announced in the downtown area. Community Development Director Craig Hoium said downtown master plans are redone whenever unexpected major projects, such as Vision 2020 initiatives like the Downtown Utilities Plant Committee, or the Spam Museum relocation, take place. The last downtown master plan was done in 2005, to accommodate the city’s Main Street Project initiative.

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CR Planning and SEH staff will spend three months gathering input and research from the city and local organizations, creating a plan based on the city’s desires and trends, and getting community input on the master plan.

Yet many of the 20 or so residents, community leaders and Austin City Council members said they want to get the community involved as soon as possible. Laura Helle, Vision 2020’s Director of Vision Creation, said she hoped residents would contribute a “more objective view” of the community’s downtown hopes.

“As community leaders, it’s sometimes hard for us to see things without the subjective passions of the particular projects that we love,” she told the crowd.

Several volunteers agreed and stressed that more input should be given at the beginning of the process to ensure community buy-in.

“We really need to make sure that everybody feels included,” Lynn Spainhower said.

The increased emphasis on community participation comes after a Vision 2020 subcommittee proposed a change to the city’s logo as part of a new brand campaign to attract more businesses and professionals to Austin. The logo and the subcommittee came under fire after many residents didn’t like the logo’s look and learned the committee hired a Minneapolis-based consulting firm for $58,000.

City officials say the city hopes to get plenty of input on the downtown master plan, however.

“We’ll make every effort possible to get the public involved,” Hoium said.

City staff and consultants should complete the downtown master plan by October.