First meeting on new Springs master plan

“We are only limited by your comments and vision,” Supervisor Susan Gorin told the good-sized group that turned out for Monday’s community meeting for updating a master plan for the Springs. The meeting began with an informative presentation on the scope, goals and method for creating the new guidelines — officially called the Spring Specific Plan —  for the Highway 12 corridor.

Supervisor Susan and Gorin and representatives from The DeNovo Planning Group, the County’s consultant, set the stage: the process is all about reflecting the goals of the community. Meeting attendees were tasked with conceiving of the physical and cultural context of the neighborhood and imagining plans for the future.

The planning grant behind the SSP is transit related, and so the major emphasis will be on the physical design and management of public space. The SSP is basically a mini urban renewal project.

Public comments cautioned against gentrification and displacement of the existing community. There were many affirmations from the public that ethnic and economic diversity is the hallmark of the Springs.

The 15-member Community Action Team was introduced. Members will act as liaisons of the process to the community, with the specific task of canvassing the views of community members not able to attend meetings.

The public was led through a process to identify Springs assets, challenges and visions for the future. Emerging themes centered on issues beyond physical design: keeping and adding more affordable housing; gainful employment; diversity of commerce; and the importance in cultural and generational diversity. More specific planning items included: zoning considerations, transit related issues, connectivity of local resources such as parks and schools, a community hub area, parking problems, and aesthetics.

Commercial SSP aspects along the central project corridor will, as Supervisor Gorin said, be guided by private sector development tied to market conditions and a private property context. It was made clear on multiple occasions that the SSP is for a specific area. Project maps and other background context is available on the PRMD website: [email protected]

There will be four more community meetings to go deeper into the planning process.