The Town of Fountain Hills is holding an open house for residents, businesses and visitors to provide input on developing a new Downtown Strategy.

The open house is set for Wednesday, May 15, from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. in the Fountain Hills Community Center, Ballroom 1, located at 13001 N. La Montana Drive.

The New Downtown Strategy initiative, a pivotal component of the Town Council-approved 2023-2026 Community Economic Development Strategy, is poised to shape the future of the downtown area. The Fountain Hills downtown area is east of La Montana Drive, west of Saguaro Boulevard, and north of El Lago Boulevard.

Over the last couple of months, town staff held focus group meetings to gain input from businesses, property owners and residents in the downtown area. Topics of these meetings have included land use (housing, mix of uses, zoning, design guidelines, streetscape, property maintenance), infrastructure (streets, sidewalks, shade, connectivity, lighting), economic (infill, business mix, marketing, recruitment, retention, tourism, arts and culture) and public space (parks, sidewalks, events, town campus, wayfinding, placemaking) needs for the area.

In addition to the focus groups, the town has recently conducted online surveys to gain information from residents on their vision and hopes for the downtown area.

The open house is a community-wide event, inviting every town resident to contribute their thoughts and ideas. It will provide an opportunity to glimpse the concepts for the future downtown strategy. Staff will use the information gained at this open house to prepare a plan for Town Council consideration in September.

The Times Independent invites readers to submit their civil comments on this issue. Email AZOpinions@iniusa.org. Bob Burns can be reached at bburns@iniusa.org.