A nice plan from the city's website, www.stillwater.org.
Summary of Draft Downtown Area Plan
The City of Stillwater, with assistance from a group of citizens, first developed a plan for the downtown area in 1989. As part of a recent effort to prepare a new comprehensive plan for the entire community, an update has been done for this planning area. A copy of the new plan is available for review at the Stillwater Public Library. A personal copy can be obtained from Cowboy Copy. Following is a summary of key elements of this draft plan.
Area
The area included for this planning study is the same as the previous plan: the area bounded by 3rd and 12th Avenues from Duck Street to Perkins Road. This total area is divided into several functional areas.
Major Goals
To be a downtown which functions as a cultural and civic center;
To be a downtown that serves as a center for high quality business services;
To be a retail center; and,
To be pedestrian oriented and unified in appearance.
Functional Locations
Retail, Service, Financial: generally along both sides of Main Street from 5th to 11th Avenues.
Government: generally the block which include city and county buildings and the post office.
Civic Center: generally the area from the community center to the library.
Residential: generally the areas south of 10th from Duncan to Fern except along the Main Street frontage.
Mixed use: Everywhere else, mostly north of 6th Avenue and along the railroad tracks.
Intensification
A key to accomplishing the goals for the downtown area is to provide a higher intensity of activity. Areas are identified for expansion, infill, and redevelopment. Intensification objectives include:
To maximize building lot coverage;
To have collective off-site parking provisions for the retail, service, and financial area;
To share parking provisions among major uses in the mixed use, government, and civic center areas;
To local retail at street level in the retail, service, financial area;
To group similar uses to maximize mutual customer attraction;
To locate dwelling units on the upper floors of commercial structures an in other locations;
To provide architectural compatibility between existing and new uses;
To provide pedestrian scale in building and streetscape provisions;
To prevent voids in building and block faces; and,
To ensure gateways and entry design guidelines in placement of new buildings.
Wayfinding
Improvements are recommended for gateways, entries, and directional signage. Specific improvements are recommended for the intersections of 6th and Main, 11th and Main, and 6th and Perkins.
Connections
Improvements in pedestrian connections are recommended to the greenway along Boomer Creek, to the university, and to the surrounding residential areas. Suggested improvements include such items as signage, trash receptacles, street lighting, and street furniture. Improvements for bicycle and transit connections are also made.
Vehicular Parking
Suggestions are made for parking locations and design.
Public Space and Art
Locations are suggested for public spaces and art. Pubic space and art provisions are essential to the economic and social vitality and visual attractiveness of downtown. Key public space locations include the library and community center, the county court house lawn, and a possible park between 8th and 9th, Duncan and Husband. A pedestrian campus with an amphitheater is proposed to connect all of the public buildings east of Lewis Street.
Building Resources
This section describes historical buildings in this area and suggests options for providing affordable housing.
Design Guidelines
Guidelines are provided for architectural elements to help provide a unified appearance. Suggestions area also made for streetscape elements.
Summary of Draft Downtown Area Plan
The City of Stillwater, with assistance from a group of citizens, first developed a plan for the downtown area in 1989. As part of a recent effort to prepare a new comprehensive plan for the entire community, an update has been done for this planning area. A copy of the new plan is available for review at the Stillwater Public Library. A personal copy can be obtained from Cowboy Copy. Following is a summary of key elements of this draft plan.
Area
The area included for this planning study is the same as the previous plan: the area bounded by 3rd and 12th Avenues from Duck Street to Perkins Road. This total area is divided into several functional areas.
Major Goals
To be a downtown which functions as a cultural and civic center;
To be a downtown that serves as a center for high quality business services;
To be a retail center; and,
To be pedestrian oriented and unified in appearance.
Functional Locations
Retail, Service, Financial: generally along both sides of Main Street from 5th to 11th Avenues.
Government: generally the block which include city and county buildings and the post office.
Civic Center: generally the area from the community center to the library.
Residential: generally the areas south of 10th from Duncan to Fern except along the Main Street frontage.
Mixed use: Everywhere else, mostly north of 6th Avenue and along the railroad tracks.
Intensification
A key to accomplishing the goals for the downtown area is to provide a higher intensity of activity. Areas are identified for expansion, infill, and redevelopment. Intensification objectives include:
To maximize building lot coverage;
To have collective off-site parking provisions for the retail, service, and financial area;
To share parking provisions among major uses in the mixed use, government, and civic center areas;
To local retail at street level in the retail, service, financial area;
To group similar uses to maximize mutual customer attraction;
To locate dwelling units on the upper floors of commercial structures an in other locations;
To provide architectural compatibility between existing and new uses;
To provide pedestrian scale in building and streetscape provisions;
To prevent voids in building and block faces; and,
To ensure gateways and entry design guidelines in placement of new buildings.
Wayfinding
Improvements are recommended for gateways, entries, and directional signage. Specific improvements are recommended for the intersections of 6th and Main, 11th and Main, and 6th and Perkins.
Connections
Improvements in pedestrian connections are recommended to the greenway along Boomer Creek, to the university, and to the surrounding residential areas. Suggested improvements include such items as signage, trash receptacles, street lighting, and street furniture. Improvements for bicycle and transit connections are also made.
Vehicular Parking
Suggestions are made for parking locations and design.
Public Space and Art
Locations are suggested for public spaces and art. Pubic space and art provisions are essential to the economic and social vitality and visual attractiveness of downtown. Key public space locations include the library and community center, the county court house lawn, and a possible park between 8th and 9th, Duncan and Husband. A pedestrian campus with an amphitheater is proposed to connect all of the public buildings east of Lewis Street.
Building Resources
This section describes historical buildings in this area and suggests options for providing affordable housing.
Design Guidelines
Guidelines are provided for architectural elements to help provide a unified appearance. Suggestions area also made for streetscape elements.