The city of Valparaiso is trying to balance future downtown growth with the character of surrounding neighborhoods. The city council Monday formally accepted the Elevate Valpo plan as its vision for the downtown area.
Planning director Beth Shrader says growth can be exciting or scary. That may be most apparent in what neighbors want to see at the old YMCA site on the downtown's north end.
"So any development that happens in the block, we need to pay special attention to how it steps down in height, which is something we heard a lot about and in density, so that it meets the surrounding neighborhood in a context-sensitive way," Shrader told council members.
But residents worry that large-scale developers won't be held to those standards, citing the variances recently granted for the Linc apartments planned on Lincolnway.
The plan also looks to address traffic flow in downtown Valparaiso. Shrader says the goal is to funnel bike traffic onto Jefferson and Indiana, pedestrians onto Lincolnway, and cars into parking facilities just outside the central core.
"There's a high standard for pedestrian accessibility that is recommended in this plan. In most all the [street] cross-sections proposed, we're almost doubling the space that's devoted to pedestrians," Shrader added.
One of the most controversial traffic proposals is a roundabout at Lincolnway and Campbell — which isn't actually new to Elevate Valpo but was carried over from earlier plans. Resident JoAnn Mosby worries the roundabout would require the demolition of existing buildings and bring more car traffic downtown.
"Does the Elevate Valparaiso plan really elevate Valparaiso by forcing the closure of small businesses, tearing down longtime residences and historical buildings, and creating a traffic nightmare? How does that elevate anything?" Mosby asked the council.
Nearby residents are also concerned that visitors will continue parking in front of their homes, if the city chooses to charge for parking in garages and parking lots.
