The Plan

Few endeavors are as successful as those involve a good plan.

If St. Petersburg’s neighborhoods represent the soul of the city downtown represents its heart. Over the years Downtown has had many successes and its share of challenges.

In the last twenty years we’ve seen remarkable change, a tribute to good geography, good people and their adherence to established community values.

With downtown facing a combination of challenges and opportunities how do we ensure that future developments do not disturb recent momentum, despite the economy and budget constraints?

My answer is that the City must establish a Downtown Master Plan. Through such a process downtowns many goals and objectives (developments), and their influencing effects, can be evaluated against each other.

If we don’t look holistically at the whole, adverse effects may not be recognized and opportunities may not be achieved.

A Downtown Master Plan will naturally take time. It will involve a healthy cross section of stakeholders and community representatives. But it will be worth it. When the plan is finished priorities will be identified and actions implemented, based on their relative importance and influence on the actions that follow.

The following bullets list only a few of the actions that a plan might include. A more elaborate outline (a sample) is provided at the end.

Generally a Master Plan for Downtown would include:

  • Assembling the team of professionals, stakeholders and community participants
  • Identify downtown’s boundaries, history, issues and opportunities.
  • Information gathering- participant education-
  • Conduct a series of leadoff forums and charettes, where topics, discussions and light debates occur between multiple presenters. The purpose will be to broaden participant awareness on a wide range of topics that could strengthen participant perspectives and insights. Subjects might include current urban trends, technologies (IT and Green) that are influencing developments/ infrastructure; urban mobility options, streetscape enhancements- lighting, landscaping and public furniture, etc., etc..
  • Establish committees and chairs to look at downtowns individual components. Evenly assign participants to committees/ workshops. Each committee would be aided by a member of City staff and an outside facilitator. Chair and facilitator will coordinate committee activities with Project Manager.
  • Consolidate committee reports. Schedule a series of presentations of individual committee reports to all participants. Hold public presentations. Revise drafts……

Downtown Master Plan

SCOPE OF WORK – a sample outline

  1. 1 Activities

    STARTING -- Downtown Resource Inventory and Assessment

    1. I.A Finalize Project Management and Oversight/Downtown Action Team I.B Establish Study Area
    2. I.C Review Background Materials /Inventory Resources and Assets I.D Identify Opportunities and Constraints
    3. I.E Workshop #1-- Establish Objectives

  2. 2 Activities

    DESIGNING - Downtown Future Alternative Analysis

    1. II.A Consolidate Key Development Components into Major Themes
    2. II.B Compare Themes with Prevailing Downtown Vision
    3. II.C Develop up to Three Alternative Concepts for the Downtown
    4. II.D Evaluate Alternative Concepts
    5. II.E Workshop #2 B Public Review of Alternatives
    6. II.F Refine One Preferred Alternative
    7. II.G Workshop #3 B Public Review of Refined Alternative
    8. II.H Prepare Final Master Plan Framework

  3. 3 Activities

    IMPLEMENTATION B Downtown Master Plan Formulation

    1. III.A Prepare Implementation Program
      • Prepare Draft Implementation Program
      • Prepare Refined Implementation Program
      • Prepare Final Implementation Program
    2. III.B Prepare Design Guideline
      • Prepare Draft Design Guidelines
      • Prepare Refined Design Guidelines
      • Prepare Final Design Guidelines
    3. III.C Prepare Final Plan Documents
    4. III.D Public Presentation #4 B Final Plan

  4. 4 Activities

    SUPPLEMENTAL STUDY TASKS -- Downtown Future Alternative Analysis

    1. IV.A Develop Downtown Bicycle Facilities Plan
      • Workshop #la -- Establish Objectives
      • Workshop #2a -- Develop and Review Alternatives
      • Workshop #3a -- Develop and Review Draft Plan
    2. IV.B Develop Downtown Transit Services Plan
      • Workshop # I b -- Establish Objectives
      • Workshop #2b -- Develop and Review Alternatives
      • Workshop #3b -- Develop and Review Draft Plan