A workshop on “what is a downtown business district and where is it in Brookings” is scheduled for Thursday, January 12.
The community workshop will be facilitated by City Manager Gary Milliman as a part of the City’s effort to review its downtown master plan and develop recommendations for both public improvements and marketing the downtown going forward.
The workshop will start at 6:30 p.m. at the Brookings Emergency Operations Center, located adjacent to the City Hall at 898 Elk Drive.
“At this workshop we will focus on discussing the attributes of a downtown business district, reviewing the current boundaries of the downtown as adopted in 2002,” Milliman said. “We want to hear from the public as to whether the City should remain on track with implementation of the now 14-year old plan, or whether we need to revisit certain aspects.”
Currently, “downtown Brookings” is defined geographically as the area from both sides of Chetco Avenue between Alder and Mill Streets extending to Railroad Street.
City staff will present a historical perspective of the City’s downtown, and then open the meeting to public discussion. “The purpose of this workshop is to hear from the public on how they perceive their downtown, now and in the future,” Milliman said.
“We are also continuing to gage the level of community interest in forming a Main Street project area in Brookings,” Milliman said. The Main Street approach to downtown development and marketing was the subject of a workshop hosted by the City in November. “If there is demonstrated interest in this concept, we will arrange for the Oregon Main Street program staff to return to Brookings and meet with interested parties,” Milliman said. “There needs to be strong interest from downtown merchants and property owners, and we are not ‘there’ yet.”