Experience Downtown Master Plan update

Completed steps:

• Community Engagement
  After months of community and stakeholder engagement, the first draft of the Elevate Downtown Plan was made available to the public in early December 2025. The project team launched the final opportunity for feedback with an in-person engagement the night of the Holiday Stroll. The interactive online platform was available for public review and feedback through Jan 11, 2026 and garnered nearly 1,000 participants.
• Review: 
  Downtown Development Authority: Sept. 16, 2025 
  Downtown Review Board: Oct. 7, 2025
  Planning Commission: Oct. 2, 2025
  City Council: Oct. 27, 2025
• Community Events: 
  Tuesday, Aug. 12 Pop Up event at Food Truck Tuesday on the lawn of the Pioneers Museum. Learn more and give feedback on the plan. 
• Friday, Aug. 1 Pop Up event outside Auric Gallery during First Friday art walk. Learn more and give feedback on the plan.
• Pop-Up Event:
  On June 6th during the First Friday Scavenger Hunt there were QR codes at all the stations for people to participate in the Virtual Open House.
• Topic Specific Focus Groups:
  • Housing & homelessness
  • Downtown residents
  • Catalytic sites

• Open Houses: On May 8th, the project team hosted two open houses/events to discuss the draft catalytic opportunities, assets, opportunities, and challenges with the community. The community will also have opportunities to review and provide input on the vision, goals, and action steps.
  • Coffee and Chat from 7:30 to 9:30 am on the southern lawn of the Pioneers Museum to meet the broader project team, learn about the plan update, and provide input on the vision, priority topics, and catalytic sites.
  • Walk and Talk from 5:00 to 7:00 pm to provide an additional opportunity to learn about the update, visit some relevant and potentially catalytic sites, and share their own experiences and wishes for Downtown in a candid and casual setting.
  • Focus groups:
    Utilities and Infrastructure, Urban Design

View open house and focus group summary document here. 

• Work Session presentation to City Council on March 10, 2025.
  

  View briefing powerpoint document here.

• Community Survey (closed March 5):  The Downtown Partnership kicked off the update to the Experience Downtown Master Plan with a public survey. This was just the first step of public outreach in the year long process as we work to ensure that Downtown is a safe, welcoming, and prosperous destination for years to come. We need community participation to ensure this is a community-centered plan. By listening closely to community input and building on past efforts, we will make an actionable plan that includes all of us. The survey focused on Downtown’s assets, opportunities, and challenges.
  

  View March 2025 survey summary results here

• Stakeholder Interviews and Focus Groups:  In late February and early March the consultant team hosted stakeholder interviews and focus groups to introduce the project and the effort to come, familiarize the group with the existing document and then dive into discussion on Downtown’s current assets and challenges and the vision and goals to better inform the plan update. Example of focus groups include but are not limited to small business owners, property owners, housing and homelessness service providers, residents and neighborhood representatives, arts, events, and culture organizations, office tenants, large employers, educational institutions, and mobility and transit groups.
  

  View Focus Groups summary here