Defining a New Downtown

Session 8E | Friday | 11:00 AM – 12:15 PM (PT)

The City of Maple Valley spent four years defining a vision, design guidelines and development standards for a new downtown in their growing community. With community input and much deliberation, City planning staff and their consultant team identified where, what and why a new downtown should be developed. Learn how early visioning informed the creation of a long-term downtown plan and how staff worked with property owners, the Planning Commission and City Council to gain approvals.

Kimberly Selby, AICP CUD

An urban planner and designer with NBBJ, Kim facilitated early visioning for downtown Maple Valley and oversaw the development of the Downtown Design Guidelines with the Planning Commission.

Amy Taylor, AICP

City of Maple Valley

Amy is a senior planner with the City of Maple Valley. She championed the downtown project from visioning through the planning commission and final approvals with the City Council.

Victoria Schroff

Victoria has a unique perspective of the Downtown Planning process. She was present at her city’s initial charrette lead by NBBJ where stakeholders gathered to establish a broad strokes vision for a redevelopment project that will eventually become a dedicated downtown, filling a void in an otherwise idyllic community. Following the charrette City Planning staff partnered with NBBJ to make preliminary recommendations for Downtown Design Standards and Guidelines which were then passed on to the Maple Valley Planning Commission where Victoria and six other commissioners, with the support of City Staff, deliberated for nearly two years. By the time the commission was ready to present their final recommendations Victoria had left the Planning Commission and was now one of seven City Council Members who deliberated for approximately another year and a half before adopting the final Design Standards and Guidelines for future Downtown. Her experience as both a Planning Commissioner and a City Council Member has given her the opportunity to view this process through multiple lenses and she eagerly (yet patiently) awaits the fulfillment of her community’s vision.

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