Decatur Next

Decatur Diary | November 16, 2010

Getting the Love We Want,
By Design

Let’s start with the givens: Decatur is a fairly dense, compact and mixed-use kind of town. And while the definitions of those terms may have evolved somewhat over time, that’s what we were historically and that’s the basis for who we are today.

That’s not a bad thing. Such qualities play a very large part in our overall quality of life, not to mention the growing economic advantages associated with walk and bike-friendly environments. We’ve got something a lot of places aspire to, and we’ve all worked hard to get here. But that doesn’t mean such strengths don’t also come with challenges.

Bottom line, all those different uses need to get along.

Tightly knit variety works well when all the pieces fit together comfortably.

Join us Wednesday night, November 17, from 7-9pm, as we consider the prospect of development and how we can get the most out of it. From attracting the right projects to leveraging good design, we’ll move beyond tired discussions of whether new development is good or bad and start to look at the big gray reality in between.

During the meeting at the Holiday Inn Conference Center, participants will examine how much development is currently allowed under Decatur’s existing zoning, how much of that is already built, and what our prospects are for future growth. Then, in focused table discussions, we’ll take on the questions of how we attract the type(s) of development we want the most, along with what design tools or regulations might be necessary to ensure we all keep getting along.

Please join us. We look forward to seeing you there.

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