Focused topic meeting:
Economic Development
10-11:30 a.m.

Focused topic meeting:
Housing Choice/Affordability
1:30-3 p.m.

Focused topic meeting:
Sustainable Development
3:30-5 p.m.

Studio open for
Drop-By Discussions
5-7 p.m.

ALL ACTIVITIES OPEN TO THE PUBLIC

April 12, 2008 – With an opening presentation and the first two of five targeted meetings behind them, Winter Park citizens and two consulting teams – Canin Associates and PlaceMakers – continue with their charrette today at the Welcome Center. The three remaining topic-focused meetings tackle economic development, housing choice and affordability, and sustainable development, and begin at 10 a.m. (For a complete schedule, go here.)

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It’s an intensely collaborative effort. “At the end of the day, it’s your plan. We’re just the facilitators,” said Brian Canin, principal in Canin Associates and charrette leader. The goals of the five-day effort: To extract from community participants their vision for Winter Park’s unique “village character” and then to reasonably apply elements of that character to areas such as the Fairbanks Avenue and State Highway 17/92 corridors. Besides the opening presentation Friday night, the first day’s meetings included a focused session on village character and one on transportation and transit issues.

Especially helpful for narrowing in on a working definition of Winter Park character was Canin’s Friday-night presentation of results from a Community Values Survey (see the summary presentation in our RESOURCES section) taken by 350 people in 12 meetings. The Survey allowed for a ranking of alternative streetscapes and building facades to suggest the primary components of Winter Park character. Ranking highest were scenes that enjoyed lush landscaping, inviting building facades, and informal public gathering places.

The trick will be to take these suggestions, which are the most obvious components of Winter Park’s much-admired Central Business District, and apply them to corridors beyond the Park Avenue area. Citizens got their first shot at helping the consultants when PlaceMakers principal Susan Henderson led them through an exercise where they got to try out initial ideas in five map stations around the Welcome Center meeting room.

Among the ideas for the five study areas: Keep the Central Business District just as it is and expand it where appropriate along Park Avenue beyond Central Park; consider new versions of business districts where appropriate along Fairbanks Avenue and other gateway corridors; better connect neighborhoods with corridor businesses; come up with ideas for incubating affordable retail; signal gateways to Winter Park with design elements that let people know they are entering a unique place.

Many of these ideas will find their way into the planners’ first take on designs. That work-in-progress will be “pinned-up” for public review on Sunday night and at noon on Monday.