P&Z panel set for deciding vote on growth plan

The Maryville City Council this week listened to a final summing up of a comprehensive growth and development plan set for a deciding vote next week by the municipal Planning and Zoning Commission.

Amy Haase of RDG Planning & Design, the consulting firm that helped write the lengthy document over the past two years, spent about half an hour going over its main sections, which embrace everything from bicycle paths to a proposed new headquarters for the city's fire and police departments.

In a reversal of the way local government usually works, the commission, not the council, will decide if the city accepts or rejects the plan. The same state law which gives the commission that authority, however, also allows Mayor Glenn Jonagan and one other council member to join the eight-member P&Z panel when the vote is taken.

At Monday's council meeting, Jonagan said he would exercise that option and appointed Councilman Jim Fall to serve as the other member. The commission is expected to decide the issue at its next meeting, scheduled for 5 p.m. Wednesday, Dec. 19, at City Hall.

Compiled at a cost of around $70,000, the comprehensive plan sets forth strategies for encouraging residential, commercial, industrial, recreational and infrastructure development in appropriate parts of the city over the next 15 or 20 years. The complete document can be viewed at www.rdgusa.com/crp/maryville

During her remarks, Haase mentioned such goals as a "looped" system of new streets that would provide more east-west access on Maryville's south end along with alternate routes designed to ease congestion on South Main during peak traffic hours.

The plan also calls for the city to continue developing opportunities for safe, efficient pedestrian and bicycle travel through signage, painted lanes and continued trail construction.

Though initial proposals for a new City Hall have been shelved, the plan does state that the current structure should be expanded at some point and calls for a new Public Safety facility to house Maryville's police and fire protection operations.

Noting that the Mozingo Lake Recreation Area places Maryville "out of the park" compared to similar cities in terms of recreational opportunities, Haase said there is still a need for more pedestrian-accessible park space inside the city limits, especially to the east and west of South Main. The plan also encourages the city to move forward with systematic efforts to upgrade streets and sidewalks.

A major focus of the plan is a new vision for downtown. Haase predicted the central business district will "never be predominantly retail as it once was," but encouraged the city to take steps that will encourage "a nice mix" of uses. Such development could include arts and entertainment venues, apartments, pedestrian corridors, and redevelopment of vacant or blighted areas such as Third and Main.

Following Haase's presentation, Councilman Ron Moss said while he found much in the plan to admire, he had doubts about recommendations calling for a lodging tax, which would be paid by hotel guests as part of their bill, and some form of public transportation.

A past effort to enact a "bed tax," he said, sparked widespread opposition from hotel owners, while an attempt several years ago to provide public bus service proved unsustainable.