An update to the Farmington's Downtown Master Plan is imminent. It's the first update since 2009 and the Downtown Master Plan 2016 Steering Team is asking for public input as they seek to improve and grow downtown Farmington.
An online survey requests the opinions of citizens and other stakeholders on a range of topics, from pedestrian safety to business growth, art installations, and public parking.
The online survey closes Wednesday, Aug. 10.
For those preferring an informative in-person session, a community gathering and open house will be held from 5:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. at the Mike Greer Photography space at 33316 Grand River Ave. on Tuesday, Aug. 9. It's an opportunity for interested parties to get a preview of current design concepts.
Annette Knowles, Farmington's Downtown Development Authority Executive Director, says that the public input stage is important, giving stakeholders and citizens both better understanding and ownership of the process.
Mayor William Galvin, also a member of the Farmington DDA, says that the most recent master plan resulted in real progress.
"Ordinances were updated. Streetscapes were installed. Studies were completed. Now, it’s time to coalesce those resources in a plan that will grow the downtown economy and tax base," he says.
The City of Farmington and the Farmington DDA retained OHM Advisors to complete the master plan. The Livonia-based architecture, engineering, and planning firm has worked on projects throughout the region, state, and country. Recent projects include the redeveloped city hall in nearby Westland and a redesigned freeway interchange at M-52 and 26 Mile Rd.
A 15-member committee of city officials and local stakeholders is supervising the project.
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