Memorandum
City of Lawrence
Planning and Development Services
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TO: |
Thomas M. Markus, City Manager |
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FROM: |
Amy Miller, Assistant Director- Planning |
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CC: |
Diane Stoddard, Assistant City Manager and Scott McCullough, Director of Planning and Development Services |
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DATE: |
January 14, 2019 |
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RE: |
Update on Downtown Master Plan efforts |
Background
Through the City’s strategic planning process, the City Commission identified a priority initiative of creating a Downtown Master Plan that includes identifying needed and desirable assets, identifying existing infrastructure and uses, and discovering potential uses and obstacles in response to the critical success factor of Economic Growth and Security.
Staff developed a Request for Proposals (RFP) and through the selection process selected Houseal Lavigne Associates (HLA) as the firm that presented the most comprehensive proposal that fit the City’s needs.
Status and Next Steps
The consultant made their first trip to Lawrence at the beginning of November and met with staff and the Downtown Master Plan Steering Committee, as well as conducted field research. After this visit, HLA prepared a Project Initiation Memo (attached below) that serves as a kick-off memo for the project and lists out findings from the initial visit. Staff has been working with the consultant to plan their next visit and launch the project website. It is anticipated that the website will be launched in the next couple of weeks. The next consultant visit is planned for February 4-8 and will include multiple public workshops and stakeholder meetings. Details on these public events are being worked out and staff is planning a multi-faceted notification effort for these meetings. Anyone wishing to receive communication regarding these events and future events can sign up for the email subscription service.
Attachments: