This story has been updated.
Decatur, GA — The Decatur Planning Commission, at its June 13 meeting, recommended approval of the downtown master plan.
The commission’s recommendation will go to the Decatur City Commission for their consideration on June 20. The planning commission considers matters related to land use and zoning. The board does not make final decisions on agenda items, but makes recommendations for the Decatur City Commission to consider.
The downtown master plan was first adopted in 1982, and this is the first comprehensive look at downtown Decatur since then. The city is working with MKSK, Inc. to develop the downtown master plan.
Luis Calvo, senior associate at MKSK, said the Town Center 2.0 plan is a fresh look at downtown Decatur. The plan thinks through the next 10–15 years.
“It’s an opportunity to reflect, think through the many successes of downtown Decatur in the last 40 years and think through how the community perceives that success, what it wants to take forward and what new things and ideas are needed to bring a fresh perspective into downtown,” Calvo said.
The master plan outlines seven goals, each with objectives and action items.
One of the goals is to create welcoming and vibrant open spaces, parks, and plazas.
“For that, our plan focuses on one, improving the Square, making sure that what works well today is maintained but also improving the things that are not quite working as well,” Calvo said. “Then extending this energy and activity that happens in the Square to surrounding streets and areas of downtown and making sure that open spaces in the future continue to be designed in a way that makes them meaningful not just to future residents but to existing residents.”
The plan also outlines concept designs for redesigning the Decatur Square. Ideas include relocating the gazebo bandstand, opening up the center portion of the Square, creating a new stage and pavilion, redesigning the MARTA bus terminal to…
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