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The "Downtown Delray Beach Master Plan", adopted March, 19, 2002, represents the citizens' plan for the unification and future growth of the downtown area. The Plan provides a blueprint for the development of the City's oldest business districts and the surrounding neighborhoods. It encompasses the entire Atlantic Avenue commercial corridor east of I-95, while recognizing the distinct character of its three main sectors: the West Atlantic Neighborhood from Interstate 95 to Swinton Avenue, the Central Core District from Swinton Avenue to the Intracoastal Waterway, and the Beach District east of the Intracoastal Waterway to the beach.
The planning process took place over an eighteen month period and involved hundreds of representatives from all stakeholder groups: residents, businesses, youth, the development community, religious institutions, service providers and government. The plan was primarily funded through a grant from the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation, with additional funds contributed by the City of Delray Beach and the Delray Beach Community Redevelopment Agency.
The Downtown Plan is significant to the planning field because it weds solid planning principles and architectural design with the dreams and aspirations of a community. The plan outlines physical improvements such as beautification, traffic calming, a significant gateway feature off of I-95, the placement of parks and plazas, and the adoption of design guidelines. However, unlike the City's past planning efforts, the Downtown Master Plan also addressed social issues such as racism and gentrification, and the fears of the community regarding both the positive and negative aspects of growth and redevelopment. And while consultants and city staff participated in creating the plan, the process was driven—and continues to be driven—by residents and other stakeholders. As a result, the plan enjoys broad community support. The Downtown Master Plan is a unique planning effort because community members, working closely with staff, are charged with taking the plan from vision to reality. The process utilized for development of the Plan has been documented in a brochure entitled, "creating inclusive partnerships" .
Black and white copies of the Plan are available from the Planning and Zoning Department for $10.00 plus tax. Printable, high resolution color files are available on CD for $15.00 plus tax.
The Plan is also available online in low resolution PDF (Portable Document Format) files. Please select a link below to view the plan:
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Chapter I - The West Atlantic Neighborhood (933 kb)
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Chapter IV - Implementation and Management (94 kb)
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