2016.07.06 EDC Combined - Laserfiche WebLink

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Community Assets & Development Department MEMORANDUM DATE: June 30, 2016 TO: Economic Development Commission FROM: Janice Gundlach, Asst. Director of Community Assets & Development/Planning Director SUBJECT: Sense of Place Discussion Follow-Up During the June 1st Economic Development Commission meeting, Commissioners reviewed and discussed eight bullet points drafted by staff that attempted to capture reoccurring themes brought up by the Commission during various brainstorming discussions on the Sense of Place topic. Commissioners spoke more specifically about certain items, and based on that discussion staff has amended the bullet points as follows:  Interaction with Public Safety and traffic calming allowing people to more safely be out in the community.  Creation of gathering places or destinations, whether in plaza-type environments, at a local restaurant or bar, fraternal organizations, or in outdoor dining spaces.  Ensuring a connection with the schools, access to personal enrichment programs, and local sport team identification.  Creating walkable environments with connections to high quality public spaces, including parks, public art, and City entrance monument signage.  Creating better physical connections to local business through roads, trails, landscaping, lighting, etc.  Provide local support and visibility for public events, like Stockyard Days, a farmer’s market, and sporting events and providing ways for local business to be engaged in these events. The Commission might note there are only six bullets points above, where the original memo included eight points. Based on the discussion at the June 1st meeting, staff combined related items and/or revised the language to better align with Commissioner thoughts. While identifying Sense of Place principals, one must acknowledge that creating a sense of place isn’t something that happens overnight. Rather, the City must support smaller, incremental projects through public and private partnerships that over time build a sense of place. This requires support at the local level for sense of place initiatives.