Published: June 24, 2009 10:13 pm      

Task force to look at master plan

EDMOND — The Central Edmond Urban Development Board selected names for a proposed task force Tuesday evening to review the 1998 Downtown Master Plan.

The task force would offer an opinion as to whether the sub-areas defined in the 1998 Master Plan are still valid or need to be changed, said David Forrest, chairman of the Urban Board. The task force would recommend the best use for city-owned properties in the district in context with the 1998 Master Plan.

The task forc’s membership must be decided by the Edmond City Council. Prospective members include Clay Coldiron, David Hornbeek, Tony Small, Ray Hibbard, Janet Hoppe, David Forrest, a member of Citizens Bank and a member of The Edmond Sun, Forrest said.

Businessman David Allen and former City Councilman Barry Rice had been considered to serve on the task force but are ineligible because neither individual lives in Edmond, said Janet Fees, of the planning department.

The task force would focus on development of areas between Second Street and Ninth Street, Forrest said.

“I plan on each meeting more or less tackling a particular subject or a particular focus,” Forrest said. “And I think it will just be a half a dozen meetings.”

Forrest said the 1998 Master Plan calls for a review every five years for revisions. The item will be decided by the Edmond City Council.

“I think it’s something we need to re-look at,” Mayor Patrice Douglas told The Edmond Sun. “1998 is a long time ago and we’ve grown a whole lot.”

Downtowns in other mid-size cities like Edmond are really being renovated and redeveloped, Douglas said. Downtown urban districts are being allowed to keep their personality but are being redeveloped in a way to bring in quaint mom-and-pop shops, she added.

“I think that a really important piece of Edmond is the downtown,” Douglas said. “It’s quaint. It’s charming. It’s the hub of our city festivals.”



jcoburn@edmondsun.com | 341-2121, ext. 114