City-Eyed Comp Plan Has Wide-Ranging Goals
The city of Jamestown is hoping to bank on its rich history, current infrastructure and low cost of living as it eyes an updated set of wide-ranging objectives for the future.
And an effort to establish a new comprehensive plan and zoning code that is expected to take more than a year is now underway.
The Jamestown City Council on Monday approved a resolution for the city to contract with C&S Companies at a cost of $200,000 to draft and deliver both updates. Funds for the costly, yet much-needed, process will come from a $100,000 grant from the state Department of State and $100,000 from the American Rescue Plan Act.
Crystal Surdyk, city director of development, said the last comprehensive plan and major update to the city’s zoning code both came in 1998.
“Comp plans and zoning codes are not one-size-fits-all,” Surdyk told reporters after Monday’s City Council meeting. “There’s a lot of background work that will have to go into getting ready to actually present to the public. There’s a lot of conversations and engagement that happens that will be leading up to what those will really start to look like and what shape they will start to take.”
What the comprehensive plan may entail is not yet known; its adoption will follow months of meetings and input from the public and other stakeholders.
However, the city’s request for proposals for the update does shed light on its potential. It makes clear that a vision for the future will include redevelopment of the city’s aging building stock, thought to be the oldest in the region.
At present, 56% of the city’s homes are at least 100 years old; 76% are at least 75 years old; and the median housing value is $66,000.
“Those with gumption, savvy, and pluck see exciting prospects for bold visions and even bolder actions,” the city states in its request for proposals. “Others will be dissuaded by homes whose structural integrity is depleted or lack curb appeal. Whatever the lens, the seasoned housing stock overalls means that Jamestown neighborhoods breathe stories steeped in history and character.”
Jamestown, the request notes, has been impacted by ongoing population loss, generational economic decline, inadequate educational and employment opportunities and access, and other social determinants of health.
“To some, the city’s low cost of living is symptomatic of a distressed economy and subsequent inadequate quality of life,” the city said. “To others, it offers the prospect for building savings and the benefits of disposable income, while discovering the city’s wealth of cultural and recreational amenities.”
With funding approved to contract with C&S Companies, Surdyk said initial steps toward adopting a new comprehensive plan and zoning code will include finalizing a schedule before the public is engaged.
Regarding the zoning code, which has been amended a number of times over the years, Surdyk said it “needs to be completely overhauled.”
“As things come up, codes get changed or they get updated to reflect needs of today,” she said.
“One code will point to another code, to another code, to another code. You start to lose where all those different connections are, so it really needs to be completely pulled apart and evaluated for its accuracy.”
Together, a new comprehensive plan and zoning code will help the city “prepare for future needs, while preserving the historical and architectural significance of the community and improve the quality of life for its residents.”
The city’s vision for a new plan, as outlined in its request for proposals, includes: leveraging its “good bones” of compact blocks, tight street grids and urban density; capitalizing on its low cost of living in attracting new residents, remote workers and lowering the barrier to entry for entrepreneurs; and “framing lived experiences holistically in elevating its visibility as an inclusive and auspicious community, and a well-connected urban center for commerce and business.”
The city’s last comprehensive plan was initiated in 1994 under the direction of the Jamestown Urban Renewal Agency. That plan highlighted the underutilization of the Chadakoin River, considered “one of Jamestown’s most valuable assets.”
The resulting comprehensive plan, released in 1998, recommended improvements to the river to boost its recreational, aesthetic and other public benefits.
Surdyk pointed to the development of the Riverwalk and its impact on Jamestown.
“There are bits of the comprehensive plan that were very successful,” she said. “We made quite a bit of headway with the Riverwalk itself. The Urban Design Plan and the subsequent Urban Design Plan update that really, I think, built upon that outdated comprehensive plan — kind of brought us into where we are today.”
The most recent plan also acknowledged the weakening of the downtown commercial corridor due to the loss of retailers. The gradual loss of once-prominent department stores and the replacement of smaller specialty businesses with big box stores “has caused a generational change in the use of the downtown.”
A recommendation in the 1998 comprehensive plan called for the redevelopment of the downtown area with mixed uses of office, housing, government, entertainment, recreation and tourism.
On the entertainment and tourism front has been the arrival of the National Comedy Center. Coupled with its annual comedy festival, the center has been able to bank on one of the city’s most famous natives, Lucille Ball, to draw tourists to the area.
Among the goals outlined for the next comprehensive plan includes “increasing the vitality of the downtown and waterfront areas, encouraging a stable and enduring economic base, and promoting economically viable development for a diverse community.”
Other objectives outlined include:
— identifying land use, zoning, housing and residential development principles that reflect the needs of the community.
— improving transportation and parking.
— investing in “resilient” public infrastructure, utilities and storm management.
— preserving the natural, cultural, recreational and historic assets in the city.