Help to shape look, feel of CR’s future

By Marty Rowlet

The look of Cedar Rapids changed forever with the flood of 2008.

Before the flood, the City Council had asked city staff to research options that create more consistent, quality designs to improve neighborhoods and business districts and provide a clear and streamlined process that is easy to understand for developers and the public alike. The public expressed a desire for these design principles after the flood, during the Neighborhood Planning Process.

Urban Design Principles cover such elements as the mass and scale of buildings, building orientation, parking lot design, compatibility, landscaping, storm water management, pedestrian orientation and other design issues that will influence the look and feel of our city as it continues to develop.

The City Planning Commission and City Council are working together to address concerns about buildings that are incompatible with surrounding neighborhoods and larger buildings that use the lowest level of design.

Design principles will help ensure quality development in the community.

Specific information about these elements of design is needed from the public to develop a preferred option to present to City Council. The City will be asking the community for feedback on different concepts at two open house sessions on Tuesday.

The goal of the open house is for the public to tell the city what they do or do not like about the different concepts that will be shown.

Three concepts will be presented at the open house: the Auto City, Traditional City, and Green City.

The Auto City option is based on the exclusive use of automobiles as the form of mobility with residential and business uses segregated to provide ease of access.

The Traditional City prioritizes pedestrian and transit use with commercial and employment centers embedded in neighborhoods.

The Green City uses technology and strategies to minimize the impact of development and promotes dense, compact development with a range of transportation options.

Feedback from the open house will be used to design a final preferred option and a basis for Urban Design Principles to be discussed at a final set of open houses on April 13.

More information can be found at www.cedar-rapids.org/development. Click on “Hot Topics” and the “Urban Design Principles” link.

It is important for everyone who cares about the future of the city for themselves and future generations to give their opinions on the future look and design of Cedar Rapids. Please plan to attend one of the open house sessions on Tuesday.

Marty Rowlet is an attorney at Shuttleworth & Ingersoll, P.L.C., and is a member of the City Planning Commission, which consists of nine volunteer members appointed by the mayor to help guide the orderly growth of the City by making recommendations to the City Council regarding requested zone changes, site plans, zoning ordinance amendments, plats, and other development matters.

Feedback sought

n The public is invited to attend and provide feedback on three Urban Design Principles concepts at either of two open house sessions conducted by city staff. They're scheduled for 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. and 4 p.m. to 7 p.m. Tuesday at the Crowne Plaza Hotel, located at 350 First Ave. NE, Cedar Rapids.

n For more information, call the Community Development Department at (319) 286-5041.