For those who care about the growth of Downtown Merced, and would like to voice their opinions about it — there’s a website, an online survey, and ongoing community meetings just for that.
Merced’s elected leaders, department heads, and staff members are working to update the city’s General Plan. This mandated, comprehensive, and long-range document — a blueprint, if you will — outlines the goals and policies for our community’s future development, land use, and conservation.
As a part of the process, the city has created a website — ImagineMerced.com — to help spread awareness and educate residents about the importance of the General Plan. There is also an online survey related to the “Downtown Station Area,” and listings of community events and workshops designed to gather public input and create discussion over priorities.
The most recent public workshop was held at the Merced Civic Center on Oct. 23 specifically to gather preferences and visioning on the Downtown Station Area Plan (DSAP).
The DSAP aims to help shape Merced’s historic downtown into a vibrant, connected destination centered around the proposed multimodal transportation station where Amtrak San Joaquins, Altamont Corridor Express, and future High-Speed Rail are expected to come together at some point in the future.
“This workshop gives residents a voice, and helps us establish what are our existing conditions and trends,” said Jonnie Lan, the city’s acting planning manager. “It’s our foundation, our baseline, from where we will begin our planning. We need to know our existing economic situation: Housing vacancy rates, vacancy rates of stores, income levels, demographics. … It’s a foundation from which we will then begin the planning of what the community envisions for itself.”
Lan added, “If you have questions contact us. We are also open to coming to you, your organization, or your house of faith — because we don’t necessarily expect everybody to come here to City Hall. But we just want to hear your voice, and hear your vision for your community. It’s very important to us, and I know that’s important to the City Council as well. So let us know, interact, give us the information, we want to hear from you.”
Merced Mayor Matthew Serratto, who was also in attendance at the workshop, echoed the same sentiments.
“It’s a big document that’ll guide the growth and development of this town for a generation,” he explained. “So it’s a long, multi-year, process to put it all together, and a big part of it is citizen input. So if people want their voices to be heard, this is their chance to do so.”
A link to the survey is available on the website at: ImagineMerced.com.
The direct URL address is: https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/NDDMVJ7
The city is asking residents to please respond to the survey before Sunday, Nov. 9.
Next up: Feedback
The city’s consultant team will facilitate a third meeting of the Citizens Advisory Focus Group (CAFG), who will provide guidance and feedback throughout the project to ensure the General Plan Update and Downtown Station Area Plan are in line with community needs and priorities. The CAFG includes local business stakeholders, community-based organizations, interested citizens, and City Council and Planning Commission representatives.
This meeting is scheduled for Monday, Nov. 10, starting at 6 p.m., inside the City Council Chamber, located on the second floor of the Merced Civic Center, 678 W. 18th Street.
The meeting will include a recap of the purpose, scope, and schedule of the Downtown Station Area Plan project, as well as a discussion on recent community and stakeholder engagement efforts. The consultant team will then present various scenario concepts for land use, open space, circulation, and economic development in the downtown area. Finally, the CAFG will discuss all community survey feedback heard so far on the proposed scenario concepts.