The next incarnation of city council elected on Oct. 24 will decide whether to proceed with a Downtown Master Plan update.
Referred to as a “necessary” project by Ward 4 Coun. Geoff McCausland during Monday’s planning committee meeting of city council, an update to the city’s long-term downtown strategic plan will be on the table during 2023 budget deliberations.
The planning committee was unanimous Monday in urging city administration to proceed with a business case for future council’s consideration, with much having changed since the original Downtown Master Plan was adopted by city council 10 years ago.
Various points of progress are included in this week’s report on the Downtown Master Plan’s status, which Sudbury.com reported on last week.
During Monday’s meeting, the report’s author, city planner Ed Landry, cited city council’s approval of the Junction East Cultural Hub, an incarnation of which was mentioned in the original Downtown Master Plan, as offering ample grounds alone for updating the plan.
Various anticipated updates will prove “complementary” to the new library/art gallery project, he said. Early site preparation work for Junction East recently began, with a gas line in the process of being relocated.
“You could picture these conceptually as how people are moving from the downtown, from one area to the Junction East project,” Landry said. His report notes several safe pedestrian and active transportation-friendly movement efforts within the existing plan.
Pushing for a robust plan, McCausland said it shouldn’t be “an insular” project.
“We want to make sure we know that we’re going to be doing the right scope of work we need to bring the downtown forward,” he said.
WIth the new city council facing a steep financial hill in 2023 budget deliberations, McCausland inquired as to whether there were any alternative plans for the “necessary” plan update in the event the business case is not approved.
If the business case is voted down, city director of planning services Kris Longston said city administration will undertake the effort using existing staff resources.
“It takes up some significant capacity, so some things in our work plan would be delayed,” he cautioned.
The current plan being outlined in the business case will include what Longston referred to as a “robust public consultation strategy.”
Tyler Clarke covers city hall and political affairs for Sudbury.com.
