A meager crowd met Thursday evening at the Trotter Convention Center to discuss the comprehensive plan that will guide the city”s development over the next decade.
The public workshop — the first organized by the city and its planning and design firm, the Birmingham, Ala.-based KPS Group — was intended to gauge residents” perceptions of their city.
Darrell Meyer, one of the designers, pointed out that Columbus is not a “growth community,” having lost ground in the 2010 U.S. Census.
That”s why a long-term plan and vision for the city is important, Meyer emphasized.
By September, the city should have a document that outlines short-term and long-term goals, said Interim City Planner Christina Berry.
“That”s really what the comprehensive plan points out is need,” she said. “The city is honestly trying to make a lot of improvements, which is why we started this plan.”
To determine the needs of the city, Meyer asked the 10 or so citizens a series of probing questions, including what they liked and didn”t like about Columbus.
The list of dislikes was long. From traffic and lighting to retail options and dilapidated housing, residents vented about the need for changes.
But the city also has many assets, citizens said, including a thriving Main Street, significant industry in the area and the Riverwalk.
The plan, which will be discussed at the Trotter every second Thursday over the next four months, is expected to capitalize on the positives and work out the negatives, Berry said.
Now that planners have a feel for what some citizens” think, they will begin looking at how feasible it will be to include them in the plan.
“The next thing they”re really going to do is really get detailed,” she said. “It all just depends on funding. Everything has a cost to it … You”ve got to look at the short term and the long term projects.”
As the public adds more likes and dislikes to the list over the next four workshops, the plan will change to reflect that, Berry said.
“It”s going to be a building document,” she added.
Even though the crowd was small Thursday — no more than 15 citizens not affiliated with city or county governments — it was from around the city, Berry said.
“I think we got a good idea of issues going on in their communities and the city,” she said. “If we”d had 100 people, I think they would have raised the same issues.”
Future meetings would be more heavily advertised, she said.
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