The plan was adopted 5-1 by City Council on Tuesday night with council member Tom Hagedorn casting the lone “no” vote. Hagedorn questioned whether the city could finance such a plan when it struggles affording daily operations.
“What is the type of budget we’re looking at to do all the road repairs?” he asked before the vote.
“This is a long-term plan,” council member Ben Wagner responded.
“I fully understand that,” Hagedorn said. “This is a major task. We can’t repair our roads now or fix parks that we have. How are we to have the budget to do this?”
Smith, who made the presentation, told Hagedorn that most of the development would be private/public partnerships or funded through the city’s Capital Improvement Plan.
On April 29, 2023, KZF Design presented the final version of the master plan to the Downtown Steering Committee. That committee voted 5-1 to recommend the plan to the City Council for adoption.
The city held four open houses seeking residents’ thoughts on several proposals and the city also provided an interactive website that allowed residents to express their opinions. Smith called the website “a very key tool.”
He said it was important to solicit public input, present status updates and introduce proposals for the plan.
“Public engagement had to happen,” he said.
Smith said the master plan will create and guide a vision for the downtown; define the community’s preferred character; define the community’s scale for development; and provide tools to help implement the community’s vision such as funding opportunities.
He said the plan hopes to encourage a range of businesses; create active storefronts with first-floor and similar uses; and redevelop and revitalize non-contributing or aging buildings.
Goals related to transportation included improving traffic and safety; prioritizing walkability on all downtown streets; implementing best practices for parking to support a vibrant town center; and developing multi-use trails connecting downtown to the surrounding community.
The city also wants to generate year-round excitement with programmed unique events and activities; develop public amenities that invite people to spend more time downtown; and provide a central multi-use space for events, according to Smith.
Smith said it’s important to “brand” downtown Monroe by creating a sense of place with streetscape, signage, gateways and public art; highlight the city’s uniqueness; blend the new with the existing character and history; and establish development guidelines and incentives that help implement the vision.
The plan calls for a Downtown Multi-Use District that includes a variety of multi-family residential housing types to support future downtown development.
The Gateway District includes a mixed-use area that balances pedestrian and auto uses with commercial/retail on the first floor with on-site parking, Smith said.
The Town Center Residential District is an area with a mix of medium to low density residential building types and small offices within the historic town center.
The Main Street District is a pedestrian oriented, small to medium scale and density mixed-use area with active building frontages.
The Parks and Recreation District is an area with opportunity for public park and recreational amenities that support the downtown and the growing school district, according to Smith.
Mayor Keith Funk was excused from the meeting.
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