On March 4, 2008 the City Council directed staff to collect information on implementing design principles in Cedar Rapids. This process was interrupted by the flood June 13, 2008. Phase II of the City's flood recovery planning, the Neighborhood Planning Process, took place between January 10, 2009 and May 13, 2009. At these eight meetings the public expressed their desire for compatible and better quality design in redevelopment.
The City hosted three open houses to collect feedback from the public on what they would like to see achieved by implementing Urban Design Principles in Cedar Rapids.
Open House #1
Open House #1 was designed to educate the public about the different ways design principles can be used, and collect their feedback on what they believe the goals of the end product should be and what they will be evaluated by.
Open House #2
At Open House #2 the City presented three different concepts or development scenarios; The Automobile City, the Traditional City, and the Green City. Each concept approaches design of the urban area differently, and the City asked participants what they liked and didn't like about these three concepts.
Open House #3
Participants of Open House #2 overwhelmingly supported a hybrid concept of the Traditional City and the Green City, while still maintaining the accessibility of the Automobile City. At Open House #3 the City presented these results along with a implementation plan, that would change the City's current ordinances and introduce new policy to achieve these results.
Implementation
City staff is currently working on an implementation work plan that will be presented to City Council in the Summer of 2010.