County seeks public input for Los Alamos and White Rock downtown master plans. Photo by Vint Miller/LAC
By KIRSTEN LASKEY
Los Alamos Daily Post
kirsten@ladailypost.com
Los Alamos County wants to hear what the community envisions for the downtown areas in Los Alamos and White Rock.
The public is encouraged to share ideas and suggestions during two virtual visioning workshops:
- 5:30 p.m. Wednesday, Aug. 19 (White Rock); and
- 5:30 p.m. Thursday, Aug. 20 (Los Alamos).
The meetings take place on GoToWebinar, a virtual conference platform, and participants must register in advance at https://losalamosconnect.org/get-involved/virtual-visioning-workshop-white-rock/
Input from residents will help form and shape both master plans. Community Development Department (CDD) Principal Planner Ryan Foster said hopefully the community will share its visions for these two downtown areas.
“Think big picture ideas,” he said. “We are looking to get a vision and goals from the community. It is to think of that vision out 20 years (and find out) what the community would like the downtown to look like and be like.”
Will Gleason with the consulting firm Dekker/Perich/Sabatini (DPS), which is assisting the County in developing the master plans, said there are several issues to consider such as housing, transportation, sustainability and economic vitality.
“My major focus is to really figure out how to make both these downtowns more vibrant and attract more investment,” Gleason said.
Gleason pointed out that Los Alamos is different from other municipalities. Here, there is a scarcity of land and people feel an element of risk with everything that is done because so much rests on the laboratory’s fate, he said.
The workshops “are going to get these issues out … I think it is a really good discussion for the community to have,” Gleason said.
Foster added that the input received during these two workshops will be a stepping block for the public design workshops planned for September.
“It is really these visioning workshops that we build upon and use for the workshops in September,” Foster said.
These public input sessions play a vital role in creating the downtown master plans for Los Alamos and White Rock, he said.
“There is a lot of public outreach involved for both downtown master plan processes and we strongly encourage the public to participate in the process,” Foster said.
Foster said the County and DPS have already started work on the master plans. They are two months into the project, he said. During this time, an analysis was done on existing conditions of the two downtowns, background research was conducted, and information was gathered on the downtown areas.
Ultimately, the goal is to develop two downtown master plans and have Los Alamos County Council adopt the plans as components in the County’s comprehensive plan.
The comprehensive plan, Foster said, addresses long range planning.
It tends to focus on big picture visions and goals. Adopting the master plans into the comprehensive plan is just one phase of the whole project.
The second phase, he said, is to update the County’s Chapter 16 Development Code, which is the County’s zoning. The two documents – the comprehensive plan and the development code – work together, Foster said. The comprehensive plan offers a path to follow to develop the downtown areas and the developmental code makes the comprehensive plan implementable, Foster said. Master plans for the two downtowns are a longtime need in the County.
“The existing 2016 comprehensive plan does have goals and policies regarding the downtowns and this is what we are certainly looking to update with these two master plans,” Foster said. “There have been some downtown plans in the past – I believe there was one in the early 2000’s but it was never adopted by Council …”
CDD Director Paul Andrus agreed.
“Los Alamos downtown has not had a living, breathing plan in recent memory,” he said.
Andrus said previously while addressing White Rock town center some recommendations were made regarding White Rock’s downtown.
“This is something that has long been needed. Things change … conditions change,” he said.
Andrus pointed out that one of the major changing factors is Los Alamos National Laboratory. He said the laboratory may increase its hiring and as a result the County needs to look at how to respond to this growth. The County needs to plan for its future, he said.
To learn more about the project, visit https://losalamosconnect.org/
