After a successful first step in the City of Nelson’s Railtown district planning process, stakeholders in the neighbourhood revitalization project are gathering for a two-day session this week — followed by the public’s first opportunity to view progress on the effort thus far.
“We made some terrific headway in last month’s initial stakeholder session,” says Mayor Deb Kozak, “and we’re anticipating a significant amount of progress next week. But the most exciting, and important, is the chance to hear from Nelson residents and business owners.”
The public is being invited to an open house Thursday night, from 6 to 8 p.m. at the new Nelson and District Chamber of Commerce in the train station, immediately following the two-day charrette, which runs today and tomorrow.
The two-day workshop will be lead by Vancouver’s Modus planning and design firm, the company hired to oversee the Railtown planning process, along with a 20-member local stakeholder group.
Kozak explains Thursday’s open house is an opportunity for the community to provide input and feedback on preliminary design concepts developed over the past month.
“We really need to know what the public wants the district to look like,” she says. “We want to know what they feel works well now in Railtown, what they’d like to see, and how they feel we can make their visions a reality.”
Information on the Railtown project is available at nelsonrailtown.com. The site includes a link to a quick survey that everyone is being invited to fill out. The site also includes regular project updates, notifications and project deliverables.
Following this week’s planning sessions, concept options developed in Phase 2 will be followed by the selection of a preferred neighbourhood concept, in Phase 3. There’ll be a second open house slated for April/May.
The draft neighbourhood plan — including detailed policy, design and implementation components — will be presented at a second public open house this spring, before the final plan is presented for council adoption.
The Railtown sustainable neighourhood plan and recommendations are to be completed by the end of June, with council slated to approve the document in September.
Bordered by Highway 3A, Cottonwood Falls, Government Rd. and the CP rail tracks running parallel to the West Arm waterfront, the Railtown planning process is exploring a mix of light industrial, commercial and residential development.