Maitland City Talk

CRA hosts a Downtown Master Plan update meeting

On Thursday, March 31, approximately 50 residents took seats around a number of circular tables to share their vision for Maitland’s downtown.

The Community Redevelopment Agency (CRA) hosted a kickoff event at Venue on the Lake to gather resident input on the Downtown Maitland Master Plan Update. The purpose of the event is to explain the process and solicit initial perspectives on the development of downtown Maitland from the public.

The downtown area includes Maitland Avenue and the Cultural Corridor to the west; the Maitland Boulevard ramp and bridge to the north; U.S. Highway 17-92 to the east; and the southern train trestle to the south.

Blake Drury, of GAI Consultants Inc., kicked off the event with a brief presentation about the basics of consensus-based planning. During his talk he described two models: silver bullet and working. The silver bullet model is driven by a single developer creating an “instant downtown.” An example of this model is the city of Boca Raton’s Mizner Park.

The working model uses existing structures and features within the municipality and enhances them. A good example of the working model is Winter Garden’s downtown.

Each table had a very large piece of paper with a blown-up map of the downtown area and space for notes. Residents were asked to work together at their respective tables to place green, blue, and red round stickers on the maps. Green stickers represented what residents liked in the downtown. Red stickers represented what they didn’t like in the downtown, and blue stickers represented areas that could benefit from improvement.

When the exercise was done, each table appointed a spokesperson to share their top priority with the entire group. Top priorities included specialty retail, more green space, bike trails, and a unique sense of place. GAI Consultants Inc. will compile the results and will present their findings at a future meeting.

Reminder: City Council members take office April 11

On Monday, April 11, Councilwoman Joy Goff-Marcil and Councilman-Elect Mike Thomas will be sworn into office.

The Inaugural Ceremony will take place on Monday, April 11, at 6:30 p.m. in the Maitland City Hall Council Chambers, 1776 Independence Lane. The general public is invited to attend this event.

For additional information, please contact the City Clerk's Office at 407-539-6219.

New addition to Minnehaha Park

Patrons of all sizes visiting the tot lot at Minnehaha Park will enjoy some comfort from Florida's sunshine thanks to a sun shade recently installed there. A 2015 Parks and Recreation community survey showed that residents desired upgraded amenities at parks such as sun shades.