Jackson officials, consultants want more public input on comprehensive plan

With the process of developing Jackson's new comprehensive plan underway, city officials and consultants agree more input from the public is needed.

Merchants in the uptown Jackson business district hope the next plan, which will serve as a guide for growth and development in the city for the next 10 years, will include such things as the renovation of High Street between Main and Adams streets. That renovation, which is expected to get underway in the spring, is designed to make the historic district more appealing to shoppers, make the street one way going south and provide easier parking.

The improvements will also provide a facelift for the street, including historic lighting, sidewalk pavers, benches, bike racks and waste receptacles. Jackson will fund 22 percent of the $309,847 project, with the balance paid by the Missouri Department of Transportation.

"Consensus among our merchants is that since High Street is the center of the historic district, it is the best place to start," said Tom Strickland, Jackson engineer and committee chairman of the Uptown Jackson Historic District.

Uptown merchants would like to see more of the area get similar treatment, Strickland said. On their wish list are more historic lighting and decor, an uptown parking garage and public restrooms.

Because Jackson issued 320 fewer business licenses in 2008 as it did 20 years before, commercial development is a high priority for city leaders, merchants and residents.

Jackson's last comprehensive plan was completed in 1998. The most visible project to result from that plan is the East Main Street interchange at Interstate 55.

The city spent roughly $2.2 million to extend East Main Street from Shawnee Boulevard across Oak Hill Road and out to Interstate 55. MoDOT picked up the tab of nearly $8.2 million to develop the interchange, which opened to traffic in January.

Jackson-area merchant Robin Cole of The Rite Group would like to see development of an artery parallel to I-55 on the largely undeveloped west side of the highway.

Cole was one of 26 people who braved icy weather Dec. 17 to express their views at a public meeting. Those people were given a survey asking them to identify issues and concerns important to them and voice what they felt should be priorities for future planning. Traffic flow and commercial and industrial development were the most common concerns mentioned.

Consultant Dan Gardner's firm, Houseal Lavigne Associates of Naperville, Ill., is joining Jackson officials in soliciting community input into the development of the comprehensive plan.

Gardner described the first sessions in Jackson as productive, providing a solid foundation on which to build. The next round of meetings will likely be in late January, said Gardner, whose firm is being paid $85,000 by the city for its services.

When the consulting team returns, it will conduct additional public meetings, including focus groups made up of city officials and residents. "Residents and business owners will have an opportunity to create a vision for the long-term reflecting projects and improvements desired for the future," Gardner said.

A website, www,hlplanning.com/jackson, includes project information and additional survey questions for residents.

Long-term planning allows more cost-efficient development than short-term planning, according to Mike Ferencak, city planner for Sugar Grove, Ill., a rapidly growing city of more than 8,000 people about 40 miles west of Chicago.

Houseal Lavigne wrote Sugar Grove's comprehensive plan in 1998. "We have had several developments built in 2005-2007 that used the comprehensive plan in day-to-day development," Ferencak said.

Cape Girardeau officials say a good comprehensive plan is necessary for a city to properly prepare for the future. Assistant city manager Heather Brooks said the aquatic park scheduled to open in spring of 2010 is a result of Cape Girardeau's plan.

Jackson Alderman Joe Bob Baker said the benefit of a comprehensive plan easily outweighs the cost. He was part of a steering committee that in 2006 began discussing Jackson's next plan and the consultants who would write it. The committee recommended Houseal Lavigne because "we wanted a company that could think outside the box, one that could bring in some new ideas."

Jackson by the numbers

1990 population 9,256 2008 population 14,000 (est.)

1988 area 7.7 square miles 2008 area 10.2 square miles

1994 business licenses 1,383 2008 busisness licenses 1,063

1988 budget $9,111,304 2008 budget $32,897,733

Source: City of Jackson