Marquette Neighborhood Center Master Plan
Williamson Street
IMPLEMENTATION
Implementation of the Marquette
Neighborhood Center Master Plan should focus on four areas, each
embodying the principles of the plan recommendation in their various
planning tools.
Ordinances
Ordinance revisions are recommended in
two areas: amending the Zoning Code to create a new mixed-use urban
village districts, and amending the Third Lake Ridge Historic District
Ordinance to strengthen the guidelines for rehabilitation and new
construction within the Historic District. Both of these revisions
should be based in three key principles:
- Respect and reinforce traditional
neighborhood qualities.
- Provide continuity in architectural
character.
- Provide new housing to enhance the neighborhood's character.
While the Design team believes that both
of these regulatory strategies should be pursued, one can be completed
now, while the other will require a longer time frame. Creating a new
zoning district is the longer-term strategy, the more immediate
regulatory step is to amend the guidelines for the Third Lake Ridge
Historic District. The Third Lake Ridge Historic District guidelines
should be revised to include the urban and architectural standards that
embody the principles and character of this plan.
Organizational Structure
The Design Team feels, however, that
because of the redevelopment opportunities identified in this Framework
Plan, as well as the architectural and urban codes
being recommended, a new organization should be created to oversee the
implementation of the plan in this smaller project area. In either case,
an oversight committee should be created, comprising residents, business
owners, property owners, GWABA, Marquette Neighborhood Association,
Landmarks Commission, City Staff and the Alderperson.
The Urban Main Street Program, a program
of the National Trust for Historic Preservation, is an excellent tool to
address issues such as design, economic restructuring, marketing and
promotion, organization and public safety.
Finally, as recommended above, the
implementation committee should consider creating a public-private
Williamson Street Parking Utility to manage the production, funding and
maintenance of off-street parking.
Financing
There are several financing tools
available to implement this plan. The Design Team is aware that a
previous proposal to create a Business Improvement District (BID)
failed, mostly due to opposition from a large property owner. The Design
Team suggests that a BID still be pursued. Tax increment financing, low
income housing tax credits and historic preservation tax credits are
also potential funding sources for the activities being recommended
here.
Neighborhood Center Standards
The urban and architectural standards are
intended to guide new construction of infill and redevelopment sites in
the 1200 and 1300 blocks of Williamson Street, and possibly be a model
for neighborhood center development elsewhere along the Williamson
Street corridor.
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