The question is raised often as the city revises its master plan for the first time in 30 years. During public comment periods at city commission meetings, residents talk about what they believe is wrong with downtown and their neighborhoods in hopes of influencing the city road map for the next two decades. Mayor Dennis Cowan, city commissioners, planning and zoning officials, and business and neighborhood representatives make up the steering committee that is guiding the plan, now in draft form. The nine-member plan commission has final say on the plan and expects to adopt it by year's end, says Richard Beltz, the city's planning director. It is expected to take about another year for the city commission to adopt a new zoning ordinance, Beltz says.
City officials say they are walking a fine line between progress and preservation.
We're competing with malls. We're competing with other cities. We're competing for our piece of the pie. Restaurant row Cars are lined up at a Main Street stoplight on a Monday night. David Jaskey, who owns the cutting-edge clothing store Incognito, says you should see the traffic on weekends.