Tiny homes to boardwalks: Cape city planning process draws many suggestions

A social-media-aided planning process to create a blueprint for Cape Girardeau's future has generated a lengthy list of suggestions from the public, including development of tiny, rent-to-own homes and boardwalks for bird watching.

Additional ideas include a botanical garden, a YMCA, a roundabout at Lexington Avenue and Perryville Road, and better street lighting.

These and other suggestions are listed on the Cape Vision 2040 website where the public also is invited to answer quick-poll questions.

It's all part of a planning process that city officials initiated last fall with the aid of consultants.

The Cape Girardeau City Council in June voted to spend up to $80,000 to develop a new comprehensive plan. The council hired Teska Associates Inc. of Evanston, Illinois, and Orion Planning + Design of Boulder, Colorado, to help craft the plan.

In addition to soliciting online suggestions, the consultants held a public meeting in October at Cape Girardeau Central Middle School and manned an "idea booth" at the annual Spaghetti Day event at the Arena Building.

A third public event is scheduled for Jan. 25 at 6:30 p.m. at the Osage Centre.

City planner Ryan Shrimplin said Tuesday this will be the last such public session as work continues on drafting a plan.

Shrimplin said the goal is to finish the plan by May and present it to the city's Planning and Zoning Commission for approval. Once approved, it would replace the city's existing, 10-year-old plan which is out of date, he said.

The meeting on Jan. 25 will focus on "central themes" including economic development, lifestyle and mobility, recreation and entertainment, and food and dining, Shrimplin said.

A number of suggestions have focused on dining, including a desire by some for more "mom-and-pop" restaurants, according to the Cape Vision 2040 website.

Shrimplin said the ability of residents to offer suggestions online has aided efforts to obtain public input.

"You really need to have that for any type of public engagement effort," Shrimplin said of social media.

Even after the plan is developed, the list of suggestions to better Cape Girardeau will be retained, Shrimplin said. Some of those ideas could be resurrected at a later date, he added.

The plan involves more than simply identifying future zoning uses. It encompasses a variety of themes that are linked to quality of life, he said.

"Quality of life is related to economic development," Shrimplin said, adding that it is important for attracting new businesses and jobs.

"It makes Cape a better place to live," he said.

mbliss@semissourian.com

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