Councilmembers Toni Atkins and Kevin Faulconer sponsored the Uptown Community Plan Issues Workshop on Oct. 14 in hopes of clearing up concerns about development and to get community input about the Uptown neighborhood.

“We have to take a look at what works, then at what hasn’t worked and what we want for the future,” Faulconer said.

After a cheerful introduction, county planning director William Anderson and Uptown Planners chair Leo Wilson outlined the ideas for a general plan update. The current Uptown community plan is 18 years old and, according to Anderson, is outdated and in need of changes.

The first step the county has taken is to combine the city planning department with community investments. With only 4 percent of the city left undeveloped, it has become the county’s responsibility to ensure that financial growth and development go hand in hand.

“We are in the process of integrating the general functions of both departments,” Anderson said, “and we are serious about getting back to our community plans.”

Wilson outlined the four crucial issues they’d like the new plan to take into account, the first being transit, especially around Fourth, Fifth and Sixth avenues. Following transportation is urban design and the issues with monotonous development. The third concern Uptown wants recognized is historic preservation of the community’s notable buildings and homes. Lastly, the plan must include futuristic progress such as solar and green buildings.

“Redevelopment is our growth plan,” Wilson said.

By March or early April, the final draft of the community plan should be finished, Anderson said. However, “a comprehensive community plan update takes about two years, maybe longer from the day it starts,” he added.

Following the overview of the city’s current strategy was a discussion forum designed to get public input. From creating an Uptown village to parking and the 301 University development, all the public’s concerns, said Faulconer, will be taken into account when the new plan is written.

One Mission Hills resident argued that city planning needs to be proactive instead of reactive and take into account just how fast Uptown is growing.

City developers also participated in the workshop and voiced opinions similar to residents about development being key for growth.

Development is “part of the solution as well as the problem,” one contractor noted.

“Our community plan lacks common ground,” a member of the Uptown Planning Committee said. He went on to say the community would not be as upset about the 301 University project had they been invited to the decision-making table.

Many residents voiced their concern about the height ordinance the city is looking to impose on the community. Residents and Bankers Hill developers said they felt the ordinance would stifle growth, while Hillcrest, University Heights and Mission Hills neighbors saw the height regulations as critical for community cohesion.

While the meeting didn’t adopt any final strategies, the mood of the group was positive as the final remarks were made, with city officials promising more workshops to get the public’s opinion.

“We really can’t do it,” Councilmember Atkins said, “unless we do it together!”