by Gary Nelson – Oct. 21, 2011 01:50 AM
Courtesy of the Arizona Republic
[Editor’s Note: Light Rail Advisors, owners of LightRailConnect.com, supports the continued development of light rail further east to Gilbert Drive in Mesa]
Downtown Mesa is going to change. Always has, always will.
The question, city planner Jeff McVay told the City Council on Thursday, is whether those coming changes will create a viable, livable city center or something less attractive.
That’s why he has overseen a citizens committee developing a comprehensive plan for the light-rail corridor from Country Club Drive to Gilbert Road
After 21 meetings over the past two years, that committee’s work is done and the plan is now headed toward council approval, probably early this coming winter.
As if to dispel any nostalgia for the downtown of old, McVay showed the council several pictures showing that there have been several such downtowns – the horse-and-buggy downtown, the downtown that existed when Main Street was actually U.S. 60, and the eclectic downtown of today.
The next one will be the downtown of light rail, possibly evolving into a dense urban core of mid-rise buildings with a variety of business and residential uses. The most intense uses are expected to be in the square-mile downtown area and next to future light-rail stops where Main Street intersects with Stapley Drive and Gilbert Road.
It’s not just light rail that will transform the area, McVay said. Baby Boomers are showing an increased proclivity for living in transit-rich urban areas with numerous amenities, so downtowns are likely to draw new residents in coming decades.
The plan outlines five basic goals, stressing that the light-rail corridor should be prosperous, people-friendly, diverse, “distinctive” and environmentally conscious.
Getting there, McVay said, is the hard part.
The first step is adoption of form-based zoning for the area. Form-based zoning pays more attention to the size and density of buildings rather than to their specific uses, and it provides transitions from intense urban areas to residential neighborhoods.
McVay said Mesa also needs a permanent citizens advisory committee to monitor the plan and assess how specific proposals fit into it.
The right kind of marketing and incentives will be essential, he said, if Mesa is to draw an appropriate mix of residents and businesses.
It’s also likely Mesa will have to continue investing heavily in infrastructure. For example, Mesa’s electric utility, which serves the downtown core, will have to deliver more power as the area fills in. The chilled-water cooling system also may have to be expanded, McVay said.
Just this year, the city is spending about $2 million to rebuild utilities under the alleys north and south of Main Street. The project includes fire-sprinkler stubs that will accommodate future redevelopment, including entertainment venues.
“We are proposing a very different environment in some instances than we have now,” McVay said.
Mayor Scott Smith said flexibility will be key to the plan’s success.
“A great overall plan can be stifled if we get too prescriptive as to what goes on exactly what piece” of land, he said. “The market has a pretty good way of determining what will go where, and that entices investment.”
At the same time, he said, “We should never shy away from requiring high standards. . . . We don’t want development just for development’s sake.”
Creation of the plan was financed by part of a federal energy-efficiency grant Mesa received through the 2009 federal stimulus program.
Scott Bouchie, who directs Mesa’s environmental programs, said the project qualified under the energy grant because it deals in part with how mass transit will reduce greenhouse-gas emissions.
The council will get a more detailed briefing Nov. 17 before the plan moves to the Planning and Zoning Board in December. The council will hold public hearings before voting on the proposal.
The plan is online at www.mesaaz.gov. Click on “Building a better Mesa” and follow the prompts.