Committee to Continue Review of Transitional District
We said it before and we’ll say it again… Join us, get involved, sharing is caring…
Reminder that our next Steering Committee Meeting is taking place today, Wednesday, June 1st at 4:30 pm. All meetings are open to the public and posted to the City Calendar. We invite you to join us virtually or in-person at the Human Services Building, 139 6th Street. Simply click the City Calendar link above to access the online Team’s meeting. Tonight we will be continuing our review and discussion of the Transitional District and have lots of great information and updates to share.
Per the information emailed, mailed, and posted — the Transitional District has been scaled back significantly (~50%) with entire blocks being removed on Maple and 6th Street. Further, restaurants and coffeehouses are no longer being proposed as an allowed use.
Given recent marketing pushes and ongoing outreach efforts, we hope to see new faces and will spend some time upfront recapping the process to date and addressing important FAQs. Community accomplishments and strides to celebrate and strengthen Historic West Des Moines’ character, values, and history are already tangible and taking root.
Master Plans and design guidelines are especially important in historic areas like Valley Junction.
Many Main Street Communities like ours experience growing pains in the form of new development. Not all development is appropriate for historic districts and thinking proactively about managing change helps ensure compatible uses, design and scale when potential development situations arise. The adopted guidelines for the Mixed Use Commercial District were created in response to such and already doing us big favors by limiting building heights and requiring high-quality, traditional architecture that is true to our story.
Since the 2016 Master Plan, over $37 million has been invested in the form of infrastructure and stormwater upgrades, alleyway paving, improvements to Holiday Park, trail connections, small business grants, public wifi throughout Valley Junction, and much, much more. Visit our FAQ page below to learn more about this plan and process, and feel free to join us tonight!
