President James Encourages The Community To Get Involved With A New Planning Process For The California/Victory Park Neighborhood

Photo: Louisville Metro Council

President David James (D-6) is moving forward with developing a new neighborhood plan for the California/Victory Park community and is asking the people of area to participate in a process that will maintain the area’s culture, history and community goals.

“The California neighborhood was first created back in the mid 1800’s and as you can imagine there have been significant changes over the years. The last time the neighborhood saw a finalized plan of action was more than 30 years ago. Now, I am asking the residents and businesses in the area to have a say as to where we go from here,” said James.

The current plan was finalized in 1982. It covers an area consisting of Broadway to the north, Oak Street to the south, 9th Street to the east and 26th Street to the west.

This new planning process will be managed by Louisville Forward’s Office of Advanced Planning and a team of local planning and neighborhood advocacy consultants with a history of working in the neighborhood. But before any plan can be fashioned, there must be comments from those the plan will serve.

“If you have lived here all your life or just moved into the neighborhood, we want to hear from you. I want to hear from everyone, both homeowners and businesses leaders, young and old,” said President James.

The process, which is anticipated to take 9-12 months to complete, will begin with an inclusive, community engagement process. During this initial phase, the team of consultants will spend two to three months actively canvasing the neighborhood, encouraging community participation in the planning process.

The finished plan will focus on maintain the community’s strengths of culture and heritage and how can neighborhood health, economic opportunity and environmental resilience be improved.

Neighborhood plans provide a means to identify, preserve and build on the positive qualities of the neighborhood and set goals and priorities that will shape the future of the area in the years to come.  Other benefits of a neighborhood plan include adoption into metro government; a plan can guide future development, encourage public-private partnerships, and provide the opportunity to leverage dedicated funding.

“So I want to encourage everyone to get involved. The goal is to help the California/Victory Park maintain its uniqueness while look towards the needs of the future,” says James. “We need your thoughts and ideas and together we can continue to make this area one of the best in Metro Louisville.”