Planning Commission Agenda and Packet 2012 03 22

Home Browse Search

Planning Commission Staff Report March 22, 2012 Louisville location among all the alternatives available in the area— and the region. Using this understanding to formulate guiding policies is critical to the City’s future economic health. d.Neighborhood issues and concerns – The current Comprehensive Plan is silent on neighborhood issues and concerns. The City’s residential housing stock is aging and rehabilitation issues within residential areas challenge the Planning and Building Safety Department on a daily basis. Outside of Old Town, the City’s residential areas are governed by independent PUDs. While these PUDs are comprehensive, they are not equipped to assist the City in providing coherent neighborhood plans and strategies for issues such as: housing rehabilitation, cut-through traffic, safe routes to school, aging infrastructure, and monitoring and maintenance of community services. 2) Better clarify the Community’s Vision in terms of community character and physical design to provide staff with a tool to review redevelopment requests – The City of Louisville is a diverse community with a number of unique character areas. Other than Downtown and Old Town, the current Comprehensive Plan does not identify, differentiate, or celebrate, these unique character areas as they relate to the Community Vision. Clearly, South Boulder Road and its proximity to adjacent land uses are very different than Centennial Valley and its adjacent land uses. The neighborhoods near Davidson Mesa are different from those near Fireside Elementary. The Community Vision and the Comprehensive Plan should be clarified and celebrate these differences and outline policies which guide the form of buildings and community character in each of Louisville’s neighborhoods. 3) Better align principles and policies to support the Community Vision – There are many inconsistencies between the Community Vision and the established Principles and Policies for various sections of the Comprehensive Plan. Updating the Comprehensive Plan SCHEDULE Staff expects a nine month effort to draft the 2012 Update and an additional one to two months for the 2012 Update’s recommendation/adoption by the Planning Commission and City Council. The proposed work effort is integrated into a comprehensive public outreach and involvement effort. The work plan is divided into five phases. Phase 1 – Community Outreach - first phase The of work is designed to review the current Comprehensive Plan’s vision statement, update the City’s core values, and identify issues and concerns that need to be addressed during the update. The first phase of work will allow the community to actively influence the study’s work efforts and take ownership in the project. Staff will meet with all the of the City’s Boards and Commissions as well as lead a community workshop to advance this phase of work Phase 2 – Existing Conditions Assessment - second phase The of work allows Staff to examine and document the functioning of the community . . . its physical characteristics, its economic variables, and regulatory framework. After updating the community’s vision statement and core values in Phase 1, staff will conduct a more focused data collection and existing conditions assessment. The second phase of the work will identify the key trends and issues as well as map areas of stability and areas of opportunity that need community discussion and policy direction. 3