JAMESTOWN – The effort to Update Jamestown’s Urban Design Plan took another step forward on Wednesday with a public input session in downtown Jamestown.
Goody Clancy, the Boston-based consulting firm which created the original Urban Design Plan in 2006 and which has been hired to update the plan, hosted an input session at the Tarmac Café on Cherry Street.
According to the Post-Journal, the presenters recapped the previous 10 years of improvements to downtown Jamestown, which were guided by the Urban Design Plan, as well as asked for direction on development should continue during the next ten years.
Jamestown Mayor Sam Teresi says the Urban Design Plan is an essential component to developing an economic development strategy for the city.
“The notion is to build upon not only the general direction of the 2006 plan and what we’ve been able to implement, but also there’s a community process that we’re going through to get input, just like we did with the first plan. Who knows, there may be some bold new ideas that get thrown into the mix, some that might be implemented and others that we may pursue and not be able to implement,” Teresi explained to WRFA during a recent interview that will be broadcast Thursday at 5 p.m.
The 2006 Jamestown Urban Design Plan was so successful that it won the National Planning Achievement Award for Implementation, beating out other larger cities that had also been nominated for their plan.
“We won at the ‘gold level’ – which is the highest level – for the Best Implementation of a community plan,” Teresi said. “It was rewarding, number one, when the plan was first put together. It received a state recognition award for the design of the plan and how we went about putting it together. Ten years later, we received a national award for the best implemented plan in the country.”
Officials are hoping the updated Urban Design Plan will offer development guidance that builds off of previous successes, but also offers a strategy for new development that is inclusive for all residents and visitors alike.
The effort to update the plan is being coordinated by the Jamestown Renaissance Corporation, which received an $87,500 state grant through the Regional Economic Development Council program to fund the project.
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