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Locals map out Dahlonega's next decade
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| A table full of citizen city planners pour over the provided info. (Staff photo by MATT AIKEN) |
By Matt Aiken
Piles of Crayola markers and wooden blocks littered a series of tables in the Lumpkin County Parks and Recreation meeting room last Tuesday.
And while it may have looked like arts-and-craft hour, these were, in fact, instruments of serious planning for a large group of local Dahlonega residents as they mapped out a 10-year vision for their town.
“We know it's going to grow,” said Mayor Gary McCullough. “We know it's going to change. But we'd like to guide these changes as best we can.”
As a result, representatives from the Urban Collage Inc. city planing group invited all locals to roll up their sleeves and map the future of Dahlonega in the second of a three-part series of downtown meetings.
The give and take flowed among the crowd of more than 60 attendees Tuesday evening as participants hunched around several satellite images of Dahlonega and pieced together the city they want to see.
“The group work was to actually take those things like the building blocks and actually put their recommendations as to what types of buildings and the look of things that need to go where,” said Downtown development director Joel Cordle.
This information will be processed and presented at the third and final planning meeting which will occur sometime in January.
Urban Collage representatives will then compose a final plan based on resulting feedback. The entire project is a joint effort between the city council and the downtown development authority.
So far, Cordle said he is pleased with the level of activity he's seen from concerned community members.
“Dahlonega had been lucky because it's always had people that cared about the look of downtown,” he said.
Prior to the planning exercises, John Skach of Urban Collage presented the assemblage with the results of the first brain-storming session in which, among other activities, attendees ranked numerous photos of downtowns streetscapes from least to most desirable.
The overwhelming answer seems to be that Dahlonega residents want more of the same from their downtown area. Literally.
Several of the pictures that received the highest rankings were actual pictures of Dahlonega itself.
As a result, Cordle said extending the look and feel of the Public Square will most likely be a top priority in the future.
“The bricks sidewalks, lamp posts, benches, trees,” he said. “Taking that out further to the edges of the downtown area so that you get that feeling of being in a historic commercial district, not just on the square but in the entire downtown area. One of the reasons for that is to let people know, at least subliminally, that the shopping district is not just on the square.”
Locals also seem to want wide, pedestrian-friendly sidewalks, outdoor dining, increased parking and ample green-space.
Skach reported that Dahlonega residents are also very interested in increasing the amount of livable space in the downtown area as well.
“We've heard a lot about new housing downtown and [research] shows strong support for lofts and single family homes,” he said.
Skach added that Dahlonega shows the potential to add an estimated 1,300 residential units in the downtown area over the next 10 years.
Cordle agreed that a larger permanent population would result in a more vibrant downtown.
“The more permanent residents we have living in the downtown area the more customers we have for downtown,” he said. “We'll get more local business year round. It's not subject to fluctuations in visitations.”
Participants seemed to caution that any new additions to Dahlonega's downtown should be handled with care. In fact, all suggestions of modern architecture received a collective thumbs down in the rankings.
“It has to be really carefully done,” surmised Skach. “And it has to blend in with the texture and the fabric of Dahlonega.”
And while it may have looked like arts-and-craft hour, these were, in fact, instruments of serious planning for a large group of local Dahlonega residents as they mapped out a 10-year vision for their town.
“We know it's going to grow,” said Mayor Gary McCullough. “We know it's going to change. But we'd like to guide these changes as best we can.”
As a result, representatives from the Urban Collage Inc. city planing group invited all locals to roll up their sleeves and map the future of Dahlonega in the second of a three-part series of downtown meetings.
The give and take flowed among the crowd of more than 60 attendees Tuesday evening as participants hunched around several satellite images of Dahlonega and pieced together the city they want to see.
“The group work was to actually take those things like the building blocks and actually put their recommendations as to what types of buildings and the look of things that need to go where,” said Downtown development director Joel Cordle.
This information will be processed and presented at the third and final planning meeting which will occur sometime in January.
Urban Collage representatives will then compose a final plan based on resulting feedback. The entire project is a joint effort between the city council and the downtown development authority.
So far, Cordle said he is pleased with the level of activity he's seen from concerned community members.
“Dahlonega had been lucky because it's always had people that cared about the look of downtown,” he said.
Prior to the planning exercises, John Skach of Urban Collage presented the assemblage with the results of the first brain-storming session in which, among other activities, attendees ranked numerous photos of downtowns streetscapes from least to most desirable.
The overwhelming answer seems to be that Dahlonega residents want more of the same from their downtown area. Literally.
Several of the pictures that received the highest rankings were actual pictures of Dahlonega itself.
As a result, Cordle said extending the look and feel of the Public Square will most likely be a top priority in the future.
“The bricks sidewalks, lamp posts, benches, trees,” he said. “Taking that out further to the edges of the downtown area so that you get that feeling of being in a historic commercial district, not just on the square but in the entire downtown area. One of the reasons for that is to let people know, at least subliminally, that the shopping district is not just on the square.”
Locals also seem to want wide, pedestrian-friendly sidewalks, outdoor dining, increased parking and ample green-space.
Skach reported that Dahlonega residents are also very interested in increasing the amount of livable space in the downtown area as well.
“We've heard a lot about new housing downtown and [research] shows strong support for lofts and single family homes,” he said.
Skach added that Dahlonega shows the potential to add an estimated 1,300 residential units in the downtown area over the next 10 years.
Cordle agreed that a larger permanent population would result in a more vibrant downtown.
“The more permanent residents we have living in the downtown area the more customers we have for downtown,” he said. “We'll get more local business year round. It's not subject to fluctuations in visitations.”
Participants seemed to caution that any new additions to Dahlonega's downtown should be handled with care. In fact, all suggestions of modern architecture received a collective thumbs down in the rankings.
“It has to be really carefully done,” surmised Skach. “And it has to blend in with the texture and the fabric of Dahlonega.”
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For example, if Mr. Fill-in-the-Blank says something you don't agree with, don't tell the world that Mr. Fill-in-the-Blank is a no good dirty scoundrel who cuts off people in traffic and has owed you $20 since 1997. The Nugget asks you to please just stick to the issues at hand. That way we'll keep the debate lively, without getting personal. And remember, above all else, keep it civil and directed at the topic that's being discussed. We encourage your feedback and dialog, all comments will be reviewed by our Web staff before appearing on the Web site.
