Proposal would expand Downtown Development District to include Courtney Hodges

A move is afoot to have the Downtown Development District expanded to include General Courtney Hodges Boulevard.

Deciding if that will indeed be the case will be up to the Perry City Council. The group heard from citizens in that regard Tuesday during its regular meeting. While no one from the community spoke in favor of the proposal, several spoke against. Although each said they were in favor of growth, they were also concerned about the new/additional restrictions – i.e. facades, signage, etc – that might now be placed on them.

One businessman said the sole reason he and his partner started their business on Courtney Hodges was because it was affordable – especially in relation to the bypass, which he said was not business “friendly”.

Main Street Coordinator Catherine Edgemon offered up that there were certain benefits the Downtown Development District, inherent with its rules/regulations, could bring to the table they ordinarily would not have access to. Those included incentive and media – for publicity purposes – opportunities.

“Right now we’re just looking for ways to work with the people to increase traffic to and from that area,” she said. “We all want to work together. It’s a team effort. The fairground is not out there by itself. The downtown is not over here by itself. We’re all connected and we’re all dependent upon each other for vitality and growth.

“And we want you to be involved and we want to help you. And that’s the origin of this.”

The proposal came in the form of amending the Perry Land Development Ordinance, Section 83.2, Downtown Development District. As such Tuesday was just the “first reading” and required no action by the council until its next meeting.

HHJ News