51° P/SUNNY, Comprehensive plan for Florence unveiled
Plan provides direction for development
Last Modified: Monday, April 23, 2007 at 11:00 p.m.
FLORENCE -- After seven months of public meetings and a year of drafting, officials unveiled the city's comprehensive plan Monday at the city hall auditorium.
development priorities for the next 15-20 years and includes:
Green space:
Maintaining parks and recreation areas, creating green
space in residential areas and developing a citywide
greenway
Transportation:
0-5 years: Finish the Patton Island bridge approach,
widen portions of Cloyd and Huff Roads;
5-10 years: Widen portions of Huntsville Road and
U.S. 72, connector road;
10-15 years: Widen portions of Florence Boulevard,
Chisholm Road and Helton Drive
Neighborhoods:
Working with developers to create pedestrian-friendly
integrated neighborhoods where people can eat, work,
live and play and that give people a sense of place,
such as downtown.
Annexation:
With growth, the city would likely annex property along
U.S. 72 to the east and Cox Creek Parkway to the west.
A byproduct of the U.S. 72-area annexation would likely
be straightening up the city's northeast boundary.
Gateways:
Plans include opening up the Patton Island bridge
approach as a city gateway, but also opening up
West Florence with a proposed College Street bridge.
"This is the citizens' plan; this is what they said they wanted for Florence," said city planning director Melissa Bailey of the plan that provides direction for the city's development for the next 15 to 20 years.
The plan provides a framework that includes urban green spaces, better connected transportation and integrated neighborhoods where residents can live, shop and play.
"Already with the zoning ordinance changes, the vision is starting," said consultant Darrell Meyer, who worked with the city, and also mentioned the recent zoning of the Sweetwater Arts and Entertainment District.
Resident Jean Mammen, who attended the meeting, said, "The only way they'll be able to implement the plan is to get the town involved."
The city last overhauled its comprehensive plan in 1996.
One of the biggest demands that came from residents was green space. "If that gets out of kilter, you're in bad shape," Meyer said.
The long-term vision includes a greenway around the city that would connect city parks along a transportation route for biking, walking and driving.
Bailey said another important focus was Florence's transportation system. In a city the size of Florence, "nothing is worse than congestion," she said.
One of the main priorities for transportation improvements is to bolster the city's gateways. A planned College Street bridge would connect west Florence; completion of the Patton Island bridge approach would provide an additional connection to the south; and the Shoal Creek Bridge on U.S. 72 would connect the east end of town.
Another possibility is to connect the industrial park with a more direct path to U.S. 72 for commercial traffic.
For residential areas, city planners hope to move away from conventional subdivisions "as they have been developed over the past few decades" and foster development of neighborhoods with pedestrian-oriented activity centers accessible to vehicles and with walkable interconnected streets.
"People want to be able to shop and do their business in their neighborhood," said Bailey. "We've almost come full circle," with the neighborhood concept of yore.
The plan also calls for denser commercial areas that avoid sprawl.
Annexation will also be an issue as the city grows in the future. "Obviously, annexation is going to take place, that is just the nature of cities," said Bailey.
She predicted most of Florence's annexation would take place to the west and east of the city.
With plan in hand, city officials will now have the challenge of putting the resident's vision back into the city.
"Long-range planning is not creating a plan and then -- whew -- we don't have to touch this plan for the next 10 years," said Bailey.
The planning department hopes that, as the city nears budgeting time, city departments will align their priorities with the plan that will gradually shape the city over the long term.
"We won't implement the entire plan this year -- there's no way," said Irons. "But there's got to be set what is our top priority in our action plan and what is our timeline."
Several factors beyond the city's physicality may play important roles in how Florence develops.
"For us to be a healthy community, we need to have a greater population than now," said John Rusevlyan, a commercial real estate developer who attended the meeting. "A lot of this can't be implemented without demographic changes."
Mayor Bobby Irons agreed that other factors would play a role as the plan evolves.
"My goal is to bring people back home that have had to leave and then to bring new people to see enough growth and economic development," said Irons.
"Our vision is to have population growth, new jobs, and opportunities for everyone," said Irons, "We would like to see tremendous growth in this area that we have not had the pleasure to see in the past 15 years."
Staff Writer Trevor Stokes can be reached at 740-5728 or trevor.stokes@timesdaily.com.
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Comments
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April 24, 2007 3:16:07 pm
RE: http://www.timesdaily.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20.../NEWS/704240338/1011
YADA YADA YADA! This BOLD new plan has finally been presented! What does it include? Well, read it for yourselves, all I read into it was the "so-called" Sweetwater Entertainment district that so far has produced ONE bar and the same bunch of rundown buildings. Roads EVERYWHERE. Leading to what? An industrial park that is 60% vacant and the 40% that IS occupied are with either Anderson low paying jobs or other labor low paying manufacturing. If anyone happens to read it, check out the letter to the editor in your Courier Journal by Jim Brasfield. The man says he has only been here for less than 2 years (he has just begun to get his feet wet in terms of suffering and endurance by the City of Florence standards) BUT he is right on about the politics of the area WANTING to keep this place like it is; especially his remarks about SEDA (except: it is the SHOALS ECONOMIC DISASTER AUTHORITY) there was one other element that was mentioned in this article and in Mr. Brasfields letter also: population decline. Mr. Brasfield states it is 3%. I imagine he is going from the 1990 census to the 2000 one. 2000 was the year the last official census was taken. At that time, most of the displaced workers from the textile plants were either trying to hold on for dear life or attempting retraining. Well, when the 2010 census comes around, I believe it will be more like 15 to 20% decline, simply because most of the people who lost their jobs have relocated long ago and ARE NOT coming back. Dream on Booby Irons! No the time has past to rely on SEDA or the Chamber of Commerce to do any good for Florence or the Shoals. One other point he made was the "singing Senator". What has this "good Christian man" done for the voters the last 20 years? Allow this area to die on the vine! Instead of fiddling while Florence and the Shoals burned; Bobby Denton SANG! THAT IS WHERE WE NEED SCOTT CARRIER NEXT ELECTION! THE DOG
April 24, 2007 4:35:33 pm
THe people are coming back to do what? Work at a Bass Pro ?
April 26, 2007 2:58:45 pm
Florence Mayor Bob Hill and State Representative Bob Hill is a political dynamo. He has inhabited the bodies of Tammy Irons and Bobby Irons. It is incredible.
April 30, 2007 4:53:13 pm
Reports are circulating that Mr. Carrier announced he is running for Mayor in '08 at the American Legion where he spoke the other night. They cheered loud and long my sources tell me. Great!
May 2, 2007 1:55:21 pm
it is true scott made it official.... he told me himself.. get out and vote for the peoples choice.....SCOTT CARRIER.....
May 2, 2007 4:36:00 pm
Bobby Irons the CRONIES CHOICE. Scott Carrier the PEOPLE'S CHOICE. Not even close.
May 2, 2007 8:36:22 pm
Well GREAT! I hope with all my heart for the citizens of Florence will FINALLY have a decent mayor who has the interest of the AREA and the Citizens at the top of his list; not political cronies and the "families" that run this town. Some of you may have seen my posting under "miscellaneous" that I will be leaving the area if all goes well and my house closes as plans in June. I have a new job in Birmingham, at a desk thank God, that pays more than anything I could hope to make in the Shoals at present. I have enjoyed the good times and bad on this board, and really to tell the truth, will kind of miss the place (the way you miss your ex-wife when you are drunk LOL) BUT will check in from time to time and hope with all my heart that Scott wins. AND, be sure and look for my ad in the Courier Journal for my moving sale (EVERYTHING GOES, FURNITURE, COOKWARE, OUTDOOR PATIO FURNITURE, LAWNMOWERS AND ALL YARD WORK STUFF) Am buying new in B'ham and will be renting an apartment so in a way it is TRULY a GOING OUT OF FLORENCE SALE! YA'LL COME! AND this item may be considered a priceless object: I have the ORIGINAL VOTE EM ALL OUT yard sign from the 2004 Florence City Council and Mayorial election! Highest Bidder gets it! THE DOG
May 3, 2007 7:29:43 am
Hey Dawg: Scott said to tell you to keep in touch. Give him a call. It's in the book, Scott & Karla Carrier, N. Wood Ave.He wants to bid on the "Vote 'em All Out" sign!
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