MIDTOWN MOVING FORWARD
Agenda: Midtown District
Public Planning Sessions
Opportunities for Public Engagement:
Listening Sessions in July,
Workshops in September
As part of a citywide public engagement initiative to plan the Midtown District, the City of Santa Fe is sponsoring two Public Planning Sessions to inform the future land uses and development plans for the Midtown Site and the surrounding District. These sessions will facilitate the exchange of ideas, priorities and objectives for the Planning Phase.
These Public Planning Sessions will occur in two steps: Listening Sessions (July 20-22) will serve as the basis for Workshop Sessions (September 23-25). The process is designed to effectively engage Santa Feans and coordinate with key Çity departments to develop land use and development plans that will serve as the foundation for zoning and master plan applications that will regulate the development of the Midtown District.
The required applications are scheduled to be submitted in early 2022 to the City Land Use Department, Planning Commission, City Council and Advisory Committees, and to the Governing Body for review, hearings, and approval in late summer 2022.
Through ongoing public engagement events and activities sponsored by the City and facilitated by its public engagement consultant team, UNM Design & Planning Assistance Center, and local community non-profit organizations, a Community Development Plan will be created that will include policies, priorities, and strategies for ensuring that public objectives are achieved as development plans are implemented. A variety of methods, opportunities, and access will be available to include all Santa Fe voices in creating an equitable and sustainable Midtown District.
This phase of planning builds on the Midtown Planning Guidelines, approved by Resolution in 2018. The July and September Sessions, plus the public engagement events, are ongoing opportunities to learn about and discuss various development topics, such as:
- How will the Midtown Site be connected to adjacent neighborhoods and commercial areas to create a new city center?
- What kinds of public open spaces can and should be in Midtown?
- How will existing buildings be incorporated and reused?
- Where and what kinds of new housing can be accommodated?
- What type of commercial development is possible to generate new jobs and career paths?
- What green building and environmentally responsible site planning strategies can be implemented at the Midtown Site?
- How can the land be reused to create a place that is truly Santa Fe in recognition of its culture, people and history?
Midtown District Public Planning Session 1
Listening Sessions – July 20-22
The July Listening Sessions begin on Tuesday, July 20, with the City’s planning team engaging in focused conversations with key City department staff to gather specific technical information.
The Wednesday and Thursday (July 21 and 22) sessions include conversations with industry leaders and residents who will dig into land use and development issues. These are all-day sessions.
On Wednesday, July 21, the City’s planning team will host an evening session that begins with a Midtown Site tour so participants can visualize and understand the site, followed by a public working session and presentation.
The Public Planning Sessions will be facilitated by the City’s planning team and structured to encourage interactions with a site model, presentation boards, and planners in an open studio to share ideas, aspirations, and priorities for the future of the Midtown District. Translators and light refreshments will be provided.
The public, stakeholders, and media are invited to attend.
Registration here is preferred but not required.
July 21
Daytime Session: 9:00 a.m.–12 p.m. and 1 p.m.–4:00 p.m.
Where: Community Convention Center Nambe Room, 201 W. Marcy Street, Santa Fe. Parking at 119 South Federal Place .
Evening Session: 5:00 p.m. – 6:00 p.m. (Site Walk) and 6:00 p.m. – 8:00 p.m. (Workshop and Presentation)
Where: Midtown Site, 1600 St. Michaels Drive, Santa Fe, Building location to be determined.
July 22
Daytime Session: 9:00 am – 12:00 p.m.
Where: Community Convention Center Nambe Room, 201 W. Marcy Street , Santa Fe. Parking at 119 South Federal Place.
Note: Local public health orders and guidelines will be observed.
Information: MidtownDistrictSantaFe.com
Midtown District Public Planning Session 2
Workshop Sessions – September 23, 24, 25
The Workshops will include discussions, meetings, presentations, and open studios that will enable participants to interact with planners, as land use and development plans begin to unfold. These plans will be the basis of zoning and master plan applications that will require regulatory public reviews, hearings, and comment periods that conclude with approvals by the Planning Commission and Governing Body.
When: September 23 - 25 (Thursday-Saturday)
Daytime Sessions: 9:00 a.m. - 4:00 p.m. at Convention Center
Evening Sessions: 6:00 p.m. - 8:00 p.m. at Midtown Site
Presentation: Saturday, 10:00 – Noon at Midtown Site
Invited: Members of the Public and the Media.
Note: Local public health orders and guidelines will be observed.
Information: MidtownDistrictSantaFe.com
Mayor Alan Webber encourages the public to participate: "The Midtown District is the geographic heart of the city and the Public Planning sessions will literally give residents the opportunity to participate in shaping the landscape of Santa Fe for decades to come. I invite and urge residents to participate in these sessions to listen, learn and share their own ideas and aspirations for the development of the Midtown Site and its neighborhood."
Rich Brown, Community and Economic Development Director describes the process: “The summer listening sessions will help shape the September workshops that will give greater depth and detail to the 2018 Midtown Planning Guidelines the public initially determined were uses and values for creating the future Midtown District."
Midtown District Plans
Land Use Plan: Identifies the types of uses that can and cannot be developed within the Midtown District. The Land Use Plan will be the basis for a regulatory zoning application.
Development Plan: Establishes the block, parcel, circulation, open space, and building patterns within the Midtown District. The Development Plan will be the basis for a regulatory master plan.
Community Development Plan: Establishes, through a Governing Body Resolution, the requirements, and priorities for the type of development that achieves shared public objectives, such as housing affordability; jobs, employment, and training; community arts and culture programming; green building and site sustainability; and other important policies for creating an equitable and sustainable development. This Community Development Plan is a commitment that the City will make to the public to ensure that community development and public policy objectives are integrated into the redevelopment of the Midtown Site. This Plan will memorialize policy and programmatic elements that move beyond land use and physical development. It addresses broader social objectives that are the basis of equitable and sustainable development focused on the intersection of: environment, equity, economics, and culture.
City Vision and Midtown Planning Guidelines: The City began the Midtown District process with a Vision Phase for the future of the Midtown Site that included publicly held civic design workshops and discussions. Establishing the Midtown Vision was the first step, which resulted in the Governing Body’s approval of the Midtown Planning Guidelines in 2018.
In the operative vision articulated by Resolution adopted in 2018 the City envisions a vibrant, people-oriented, mixed-use district with a variety of uses including residential, higher education, film and media, arts and culture and programmed open spaces, with a vision of entrepreneurship, creativity, innovation, and job development and training.
Public engagement events be ongoing during and after the Public Planning Sessions. Those who are unable to participate in these Public Planning Sessions will have other opportunities to engage with the process throughout the summer and fall, and in future public hearings.
Sign up here to stay in touch and updated on upcoming events.
Contact: Liz Camacho, Economic Development and Communication Administrator; excamacho@santafenm.gov; (505) 955-6042