Slight Change in Plans, Not to Worry

After discussion with the City regarding the draft Woodlawn Redevelopment Plan, we are moving forward with only a slight change in plans:

During the first community meeting this summer, meeting participants made it clear that they wanted the ideas, concerns and priorities for their own parts of the Woodlawn community to be addressed through the Redevelopment Plan process. All agreed this was important! At the same time, our City Councilors recommended that the redevelopment district be kept modest for a number of good reasons. So it was agreed the "plan area" would address the bulk of Woodlawn (the parts that are bounded by the railroads and interstates) and that the redevelopment district would include a smaller area where specific investments and zoning changes are being considered for the immediate future. This sounded reasonable to everyone and so we proceeded in that fashion. A plan document reflecting that strategy was put together and posted recently on this blog.

Then we met with city staff to review and make sure all of the i's are dotted and t's are crossed. That is when it comes up that the City has never done things this way before. Having a large plan area but a small redevelopment district could cause confusion during the review and approval process. Thinking quickly, we've split the plan into two. The overall plan has now been converted into a Community Revitalization Plan...without all of the legal and political baggage sometimes associated with redevelopment plans. Certain parts of that overall plan were then carved out to create a smaller redevelopment plan document, which will be the legal backbone for the proposed Woodlawn Redevelopment District.

In this way, the City Planning Commission will have the opportunity to adopt the Community Revitalization Plan as city planning policy for the larger Woodlawn area. And, the City Council will consider for adoption the Urban Renewal and Redevelopment Plan and designation of the Redevelopment District to facilitate private investments in good quality, affordable housing and the zoning changes that are needed to accommodate it.

Read the draft Community Revitalization Plan here.

Read the draft Woodlawn Urban Renewal and Redevelopment Plan here.