Lancaster seeks participation in workshop for Southeast Transit Village Planning Area
July 28th Workshop
The city of Lancaster is inviting the public to attend a community workshop on July 28 to discuss the future of Central Lancaster’s Southeast Transit Village Planning Area.
“The BLVD transformation had a profound impact on Downtown Lancaster,” said Mayor R. Rex Parris. “We are continuing our revitalization efforts throughout the city, including this vision plan targeting the Southeast Transit Village Planning Area. To construct a successful plan, we must consider the project from multiple perspectives—and we invite you to share yours.”
Lancaster is currently creating a vision plan to assist in the long-term revitalization of the area surrounding the Lancaster Metrolink Station. With a grant from the Southern California Association of Governments, the city has retained a team of consultants led by Sargent Town Planning to help identify ways to:
• Extend the success of Lancaster Boulevard (The BLVD) to the east side of the railroad tracks, transforming the Southeast Transit Village Planning Area into a mixed-use urban neighborhood, well connected to the Downtown area.
• Rethink the Metrolink station as a pedestrian-oriented, multi-modal, urban transit facility at the hub of the downtown area and the Plan Area.
• Establish better pedestrian, bicycle, and bus connections to the Metrolink Station from both sides of the railroad tracks, in addition to convenient access by car.
• Target the station area for mixed-use development that provides transit-convenient housing, employment, and retail uses that complement those on the BLVD.
During this public workshop, the consultant team will present a short presentation of the project objectives, some initial concepts for the area, and lead a discussion regarding the Plan Area’s constraints and opportunities.
The public workshop will be held Saturday, July 28, from 9 a.m. to 11 a.m., at the Antelope Valley Christian Center West Annex (located at 44839 Trevor Avenue). Refreshments and child care will be provided.
“Please make plans to attend this important workshop,” said Parris. “This is your city, and your participation is vital during this planning process. We hope that you will share with us your ideas and hopes for the future of this important area of central Lancaster.”
For more information regarding the workshop, please call Elma Watson, city of Lancaster Planning Department, at (661) 723-6100.
The city of Lancaster is now accepting applications for the fourth annual Uniting Neighbors in a Team Effort (UNITE) program.
Applications for the UNITE program are available on the city’s website at www.cityoflancasterca.org/unite and must be submitted by Friday, June 14 at 5 p.m. (postmark dates will not be accepted).
The program, which aims to help build safer and stronger neighborhoods, offers residents an opportunity to propose neighborhood improvement projects and compete for the resources and funding needed to make those projects a reality.
The city of Lancaster has invited all members of the public to attend a workshop on May 18, to discuss a zoning code update for the areas located to the east and to the south of the Metrolink Station. The changes to city zoning ordinances are aimed at expanding the Downtown Lancaster Transit Village District around the Metrolink Station near Lancaster Blvd., while creating a more business friendly climate in the area.
On Saturday, the Community Oriented Policing Services (COPS) Bureau, along with numerous teams, volunteers and city of Lancaster staff will conduct a survey in a specific Lancaster neighborhood with the purpose of identifying local crime and nuisance problems.
Teams will begin the door-to-door survey around 9 a.m. and continue until they have reached out to the nearly 600 homes in the area. The area to be surveyed is 10th Street West to Beech Avenue, and Avenue I to Avenue H-8. The area was identified after analysis of call and crime volume was conducted.
Participants in Lancaster’s Youth in Government program met for the second of their three meetings recently to suggest designs for the area of the city located at Ave. 15th West, from Avenue K to Avenue J-8. The city’s Youth in Government program has been in existence for 22 years and helps high-achieving high school students build skills through a series of activities regarding city operations.
After years of planning, followed by delays, lawsuits, recession and a slow economic recovery, the California High Speed Rail Project will at last begin construction this summer. The first major leg will stretch from Madera to Fresno in the Central Valley, and then extend 114 miles south to Bakersfield. A second portion will run from Palmdale, through Victorville and onto Las Vegas, Nev.
