Great Streets

The American Planning Association has released their list of Great Streets for 2011. Click the link below to see the streets and read a description of what makes them great. What elements can we include to make Downtown Marble Falls a Great Street?

Great Places Great Streets 2011

August Committee Meeting

The Downtown Master Plan Committee will meet on Wednesday, August 17, 2011, at 3:00 PM in the City Council Chambers, 800 Third Street. Among other things, the Committee will discuss public-private partnerships, including areas suitable for PPP development and appropriate project types within Downtown.
We are busy wrapping up the planning process and the Committee will receive a substantial portion of the draft plan for review at the meeting.
Please join us!

Meeting Today

Join us today (June 15) at 3:00 PM for the Downtown Master Plan Committee monthly meeting. We will discuss parking, street intersection materials, and classification of streets.
The meeting is located at 800 Third Street, in the Council Chambers.

New Question of the Week

Check out the new question of the week at the right! (You can still answer old questions, just leave a comment below.)

Updates

There is a NEW question of the week. Downtown Marble Falls continues to grow and change. If you could keep one thing the same, what would it be? Click on the question to answer it.

The next meeting of the Downtown Master Plan Committee will be May 18, 2011, at 3:00 PM. Check back soon for items to be discussed at the meeting.

Updates

There is a NEW question of the week! Click on the question to answer:
 What Downtown event is your favorite? What is a new Downtown event you would like to see happen?

The next meeting of the Downtown Committee will take place on Wednesday, April 20, 2011, at 3:00 PM. The location for this meeting is in the Council Chambers, 800 Third Street, Marble Falls.

District Names

The Downtown District names originated from geographic distinctions between the Districts. As we move forward with the Plan, we are interested in new, creative names for the Districts. You can view the Districts here.

Current names:

Core 

Rail

Bluebonnet

North End

Johnson

South Lake

Please leave your suggestions in the comments below. We look forward to seeing them!

Downtown Committee Meeting

Last week's meeting was rescheduled for TODAY, March 23, 2011, at 3:00 PM. This meeting will occur in the Development Services Conference Room, 801 Fourth Street. See you there!

March 16 meeting

The next meeting of the Downtown Master Plan Committee is March 16. Check back later this week for a summary of  that meeting's content.

January meeting summary

The January meeting of the Committee went well. The Committee discussed the land use matrix and decided to have a workshop meeting in February to explore the land use matrix in greater depth. The purpose of the matrix is to determine which land uses are appropriate in each of the Downtown Districts, and declare any conditions that might be applicable to various uses. In combination with the text of the plan, the matrix will provide a starting point for the development of a zoning overlay district once the plan is complete.
In addition, the Committee discussed various streetscape issues and possibilities. Some of these include on-street parallel parking, angled parking, wide sidewalks, benches, trees and plantings, and other street improvements. The rights-of-way in the Original Township are 80' and 100' wide and the Committee would like to take full advantage of this space in the plan.

The next meeting of the Committee will be February 16, 2011, at 3:00 PM in the City Hall Council Chambers. This will be a workshop meeting.

January Meeting

The January meeting of the Downtown Committee will be at 3:00 PM on January 19, 2011. The location is the City Hall Council Chambers, 800 Third Street.
Items that will be discussed include land use and streetscapes within the Core District.
Click here to view the agenda.

December Committee Meeting

At the December meeting, the Committee began with a conversation about conveying information to the general public about the committee's activities. The blog was presented and it was agreed that the blog should be used as an informational tool.

The Committee handed in their land use matrices for Staff review and compilation. The land use matrix will serve as a guide as to which land uses are appropriate in different areas of Downtown. In addition, some land uses may have certain conditions on them. For example, a fast food restaurant may be desired Downtown, but only with no drive-thru facilities, as those tend to disrupt the pedestrian experience. The Committee had two months to consider appropriate uses prior to completing the matrix. A compiled version of the matrix (that takes into account all committee member input) will be presented and reviewed at a future meeting.

The Committee also was presented with development guidelines for the Core District. These guidelines were based on previous committee discussions, and, of course, prompted more discussion. The following is the text from the minutes of the meeting. (At the time of posting, the minutes have not been approved by the Committee and remain a draft version.)

The date of the next meeting is tentatively scheduled for January 19. Check back here to see if we will actually have the meeting, or if we will postpone until next month.

From Agenda Item 3D, a discussion regarding the Core District Development Guidelines

       It was brought to the Committee’s attention that some of the the current conditions in the Core District does not meet the new criteria.   An example given was the properties on the south end of Main Street across from the library.  Although these buildings meet the architectural guidelines they do not meet height and set back guidelines. Committee Member Borgeson suggested that the guidelines include a statement that buildings built prior to a specific year do not have to comply with all of the guidelines. Committee Member  Borgenson stated if all the buildings are two stories she feels the area would have a “cookie cutter” look. She questioned if it would be unrealistic to have a percentage of two story buildings and when that percentage is met allow one story buildings with strict guidelines. Committee Member Buster stated that economics will dictate that the property will eventually be redeveloped to get the maximum square foot usage. The Committee agreed that guidelines need to take in consideration the property owner. If the guidelines require a major remodel for a new business, the owners will not be able to rent the property. Committee Member Fletcher stated we do not want owners to stop improving their property. Committee Member Russell suggested that instead of using the dollar amount as the trigger point offer a remodel percentage of the footprint and offer some exchanges such as allowances for creating green space and improvement of the site such as benches, plaza, etc. Chairman Reitz and Committee Member Garrett stated their biggest concern as there is no connectivity in the Core District. After reviewing plans for a new building under construction in the Core District, Committee Member Buster and Chairman Reitz suggested that hardy plank not be allowed in the Core District even though it is defined as a masonry product.