A group of

citizens and business owners is having a hand in deciding how downtown

Fayetteville should take shape.

Buoyed by a

$75,000 Livable Centers Initiative grant, city officials have organized

a series of workshops to determine how that money, along with an $18,500

city match, should be spent. The city was required to guarantee a 20 percent

match to be eligible for the grant.

The area being

studied includes the entire Main Street District, in addition to the Ga.

Highway 85 north corridor to Ga. Highway 314. City officials formed a

steering committee, consisting of people who live and/or work in the downtown

area, but participation in the last two meetings has been widespread,

according to city planning director Jahnee Prince.

Participants

have been asked, "What do you want downtown to be like?" The

first step in answering that question came during the first meeting, when

an outside consulting firm took a visual survey, showing slides of various

styles and ideas concerning landscapes, buildings, streetscapes, civic

art, and other features such as park benches.

Other questions

were asked, such as what types of businesses are needed downtown and what

should not be located there. A market study by another consulting firm

showed that Fayetteville contains more retail space than the city alone

can support, although many people come from outside the city to shop there,

and there is also a considerable amount of vacant space. "We're trying

to balance land uses," said Prince.

The second

workshop meeting, which convened last week, saw the results of the initial

survey unveiled. Prince said that there was considerable support for heavy

landscaping and parks in the downtown area, and there was also some sentiment

in favor of single-family homes downtown. Many people also like the idea

of two- and three-story buildings right up against the street, with retail

on the ground floor and residential space on upper floors.

During the

latter part of last week's meeting, the participants formed small groups

and discussed how these various uses should be configured, and what should

go where. Areas where those groups agree will form the basis of whatever

recommendation is made to the City Council.

The next public

hearing will take place sometime in November, after which a presentation

is made to the City Council, Prince said. The next step, whatever it is,

will require another grant application.

The entire

amount of the first grant was for planning and studies, and a construction

grant will be applied for after a concept is approved. That will be harder

to get, Prince said, as the process is very competitive and Fayetteville

would go up against many other municipalities.

A number of

homeowners associations are being represented during the workshops, but

the city does not have contact information for every neighborhood, Prince

said. All homeowners associations in and around Fayetteville are encouraged

to register with the city's Planning Department so that they can be informed

whenever important events such as these meetings are taking place.