Topics include walkability and sidewalk needs throughout our community
NACOGDOCHES- The City of Nacogdoches invites all residents to a discussion about sidewalks in our community. The meeting will be held at the Courthouse Annex on August 30th, 2016 at 5:30 p.m. to 6:30 p.m.
This will serve as an overview from the first discussion series that was based on the philosophy of sidewalks in our community. Residents are invited to share ideas to help shape the future of our community in regards to connectivity, walkability, and sidewalks in the proposed urban core overlay district.
The proposed urban care overlay district denotes an area of mixed institutional, retail, offices, multi-family residential, lodging, dining and entertainment establishments. If established, sidewalks will be required for development in these areas. Guidelines for these requirements will be discussed and reviewed at the meeting. The meeting will also address the question of where the urban core overlay district should lie.
“This draft ordinance is a starting point based on our previous discussions,” Steve Bartlett, City Engineer said. “There is a cost to sidewalks and wide-spread connectivity. This must be practically balanced with input from community members, creative strategies from all parties involved, and with the impact on businesses in mind.”
In the first meeting, 44 people attended and expressed strong support for sidewalk construction through public funding such as taxes, bonds and road maintenance funds. Many at the meeting also suggested sidewalk construction should be required in conjunction with commercial construction projects. From this feedback the draft ordinance has been created for public review in order to solicit feedback and changes prior to approval from Planning and Zoning Commission and City Council.
“This is a topic the city has been asked to address by many citizens and we feel it’s important to have a second discussion about sidewalks prior to sending the draft to city council,” Larissa Philpot, Director of Municipal Services said. “Although we have drafted this document, it is important we continue to seek feedback now that we’ve put the community’s ideas in writing.”
Draft Ordinance can be found here: http://www.ci.nacogdoches.tx.us/DocumentCenter/View/998
