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The Concept
Centers and Corridors is a newly adopted concept that is a key driving force
behind the City’s Comprehensive Plan. While cities must plan to accommodate
growth for the next 20-years, it is up to the cities to determine how they
will accommodate growth. The City of Spokane adopted the mixed-use centers &
corridors concept that focuses on the importance of mixed use development in
targeted areas that bring employment, shopping, and residential activities
into shared locations. The centers & corridors are typically designated
in places of historic business development that have fallen out of the limelight.
The purpose behind the Comprehensive Plan is to re-focus in these areas and to
encourage economic activity through new development and revitalization. The
result is to make these targeted areas and the Downtown a dynamic, vibrant,
and healthy urban centers.
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Making it
Happen
To make the centers & corridors concept a reality the Planning Services
Department is focusing its efforts specifically on the centers/corridors in
the city. A new center/corridor and sub-area planning position was created
by City Council in December 2007 as they made final adjustments to the
city’s budget. This position had been charged to complete 4 to 6
center/corridor and sub-area planning processes in 2007. To make good on
this position and its requirements immediate discussions have determined
that four centers/corridors were “ready” to plan in 2007. The
centers/corridors who have stated they are willing to work in harmony with
the city are the Garland Neighborhood Center and the North Monroe Corridor,
the sub-area is called the Lower South Hill and lays within the Cliff/Cannon
Neighborhood Council.
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Center/Corridor Planning in 2007
The first planning meeting for the Garland Neighborhood Center and the North
Monroe Corridor is planned for January 30, 2007 at City Hall. After this
date, regular meetings for each group will be published. A total of seven
meetings will take place with each group before a complete Land Use/Zoning
Proposal is completed and brought forward to the Plan Commission for
consideration. All public hearings, open houses, contact information, and
discussions will be posted, so stay tuned if you are a part of the process
or following along with the intention of using this process for your own
neighborhood planning process. |
