BACKGROUND: Recognizing the importance of preserving our Rural Area, the City established planning policies in 1979 and introduced the ‘Green Line’ urban growth management tool at that time to channel growth and infrastructure improvement to the northern half of the City. As developable land in this area built out over time in a sprawling suburban development pattern, the City Council recognized the need to accommodate future growth and preserve the established, stable residential neighborhoods in our Suburban Area. The solution was to identify areas that could be redeveloped into more urban-style areas, the Strategic Growth Areas (SGAs). The SGAs not only allow our City to continue to grow while preserving our Rural and Suburban Areas, they also create a third lifestyle option for our citizens to enjoy.
VISION: The vision of the SGAs embodies a vertical mix of urban uses, great streets and well-designed pedestrian connectivity, mobility and transit alternatives, urban gathering places, land use patterns that foster economic growth through efficient use and reuse of land, neighborhood protection, “green” building and infrastructure opportunities, and a variety of civic, commercial, artistic, and ethnically diverse areas.