master plan - City of Central

PROPOSED RETAIL NODES
PROPOSED ORD NODES
Identifi ed as a key need for the City of Central in all phases
of the planning was the development of a strong retail
presence. Retail growth will help the City in several ways:
building a strong tax base from which other improvements
can be fi nanced; providing shopping and services to Central
residents; reducing the need to drive into surrounding cities;
and providing a source of jobs. However, developing a
sustainable retail presence requires a careful balancing
of market forces and careful attention must be paid to
coordinated growth of infrastructure capacity. Finally, in order
to avoid the unsightly and wasteful land consumption practice
of strip development, and strengthen the positive benefi ts of
Smart Growth practices, commercial development must be
harnessed.
The approach in the land use plan is to designate a three tier
system of Retail Nodes including:
City Center - This designation is given to what is intended
to be the most important retail and mixed use cluster in the
community. Envisioned as the future “downtown” of the City of
Central, this area is expected to serve a variety of roles critical
to the success of the City. In addition to being the business
and retail center, it also has potential to provide a cultural and
civic “heart” of the community. Its success will require that
competing use be restrained so as not to dillute the market. It
is intended to be designed as an integrated complex of retail,
offi ce, entertainment and residential with ample open and
civic space accessible to the core area via roads and trails
within a fi ve minute trip.
Village Centers- This designation includes some existing and
some new proposed retail nodes along major traffi c routes or
at main intersections around the City and will provide easy
access to neighborhoods outside the core development area.
Village Centers provide opportunities for more traditional
development but should also be required to conform to high
community design standards occurring as they do along major
roadways and at several city gateways. In most cases, these
nodes are positioned to take advantage of existing residential
Village Centers
City Center
Neighborhood
Nodes
areas and provide for convenient access to shopping by
neighborhood residents in the Moderate Density Zone.
Neighborhood Nodes - These relatively small nodes are located
strategically in the Rural Density Zone and are intended to
provide for convenience shopping and business opportunities in
the out-lying areas. As with the Village Centers these too should
be required to conform to community standards in siting and
architectural quality in order to insure that they remain assets to
the overall community.
ORD node designation are for areas with the necessary
suitability, land area, and access to infrastructures that would
support important job and value-creating offi ce and research
campus development. These should be reserved and used
to attract clean industry from the technology, science and
medical sector. Typically these uses bring with them downstream
support businesses which can be integrated into the
campus facilities avoiding fragmentation and unnecessary
duplication of facilities and services. These site may also
be ideal locations for medical and educational facilities -
hospitals, clinics, branch campuses, community college, and
technical schools - all of which provide support and training for
the more traditional ORD uses.
As might be expected, competition for this kind of investment
is intense and will require:
• A strong marketing effort on behalf of the City to attract
investors, and
• A dedication to providing a high level of quality of life
amenities throughout the community demanded by
employers and employees in this sector.
• Development of sophisticated technology infrastructure
capacity at high levels.
The competition is fi erce but the payoff for even developing a
niche presence in this industry is enormous.
“The creative-class analysis suggests that rural growth depends greatly on the attractiveness of rural communities, their
landscapes, and their climates. Visits to websites of chambers of commerce and local development organizations in rural areas
show that many rural communities are advertising their quality-of-life amenities to prospective businesses and residents. However,
economic evaluations of the impact of public and private investments on growth still rarely consider quality-of-life factors. The
creative-class study suggests rural growth impacts cannot be understood without taking these factors into consideration.
Despite an urban affi nity, the creative class—perhaps more able and apt than others in the workforce to choose where to live
based on quality-of-life considerations—can be drawn out of cities to high-amenity rural locations. Their activities, in turn, appear
to generate new jobs and local growth. Rural areas lack the business and consumer services available to urban businesses and
residents, but rural areas tend to have the upper hand in landscape, which may service the creative temperament. “
Excerpt from “The Creative Class: A Key to Rural Growth”, 2007
http://www.creativeclass.com/creative_class_communities/
CITY OF
Central
a community that cares