Updated 7-27-10
Downtown Planning Efforts Prior to 2009
Some citizens and property owners may recall that there have been several downtown planning efforts over the past decades, and they will also be consulted in this process so as not to duplicate previous efforts. For more information on the previous efforts consulted, see the Project Diagnosis and Outline (described below).
DNA Roadshow Phase Completed: August through October 2009
Before the drafting of the plan could begin, a widely-publicized public comment phase of the project was held August through October 2009 by groups called Downtown Neighborhood Ambassadors, or DNA Teams for short. The DNA teams moved throughout the community with "Roadshows" to share the purpose of the study, but mostly they sought feedback from the community to help determine a shared vision of the square and its surrounding neighborhoods. One tool used to gather this information was an image preference survey (IPS) given throughout the community in 13 separate public forums, and a significant portion of the public input also came from comments and ideas recorded at the Roadshows. The final results of the Roadshow phase are shown below:
Steering Committee and Project Diagnosis and Outline: October 2009 to December 2009
The information from the DNA Team Roadshow has been complied and handed to a steering committee formed by Mayor Joyner on 11-6-09, a document called the Project Diagnosis and Outline. That document was endorsed by the steering committee in February 2010, with some revisions. It is being continually interpreted by the steering committee and staff serves as a "plan for the plan" and is guiding the development of the small area plan to its completion. the steering committee, which held a kick-off meeting on 12-10-09, is charged with forming the Downtown Collierville Small Area Plan and make a recommendation to Collierville's Planning Commission for formal adoption. Alderman Mike Russell was selected as the Chairman of the steering committee, with local businessman Alan Green selected as the vice-chair. The primary purpose of the kick-off meeting in December was to give guidance to the staff for the "Design Workshop Week," which is described below.
January 2010: Design Workshop Week
"Design Workshop Week" for the Downtown Collierville Small Area Plan was held January 11th through 14th. This public event was patterned after a design technique sometimes called a "charrette", which takes plan in many professional disciplines, including the fields of architecture, landscape architecture, and urban planning and design. The word "charrette" refers to a collaborative session in which a group of designers draft a solution to a design problem. For simplicity and clarity of terminology for non-designers, the "charrette" planned for Downtown Collierville Small Area Plan for January 2010 was referred to as the "Design Workshop". The ceremonial kick-off of Design Workshop Week was a well attended seminar held at Town Hall on January 11th from 2:30 pm to 4:30 pm on good streetscapes (click here for more info on the seminar).
In urban planning, such design workshops have been a common technique for consulting with all stakeholders. This type of design workshops, sometimes called "an inquiry by design", typically involves intense and possibly multi-day meetings, involving municipal officials, developers, and residents. Such was the case with our January Design Workshop.
The final product of the Design Workshop was drafts of maps, sketches, preferred pictures, notes, and policies that will eventually become the plan for downtown once they are refined into a single polished document. If you wish to see any of the raw documents from Design Workshop Week, please contact the Planning Division to arrange a time to view them.
February to July 2010: Draft of the Plan Created and Adopted by Town
During February, March, and April 2010, through extensive efforts of the Steering Committee, staff, and Technical Advisory Group, a rough draft of the plan was created. The June 2010 draft reflects the refined maps, sketches, preferred pictures, notes, and policies of Design Workshop Week. This document was designed to be a formally-adopted document of the Town, and was adopted by Collierville's Planning Commission on July 1, 2010, via Resolution 2010-15, based on a June 2010 recommendation from the Steering Committee, and formally made part of the Town's land use plan. The Steering Committee also recommended that it be adopted by the Town's elected officials, the Board of Mayor and Aldermen. The Board adopted the plan as the vision for downtown by Resolution 2010-34 on July 26, 2010. The following forums are provided for public comment at Town Hall, 500 Poplar View Parkway:
- Tuesday, April 27, 2010, 6:00-8:00 pm, open house to unveil Downtown Plan
- Thursday, May 6, 2010, 6:00 pm, public hearing at the Planning Commission
- Thursday, July 1, 2010, 6:00 pm, public hearing at the Planning Commission
- Monday, July 26, 2010, 6:00 pm, public hearing at the Board of Mayor and Aldermen
It is anticipated that there will be "clean copy" of the Small Area Plan released in late summer/early fall 2010 that concludes the project, and incorporates minor edits.
Additional Information about the Downtown Planning Effort:
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