We commend the city staff, council and residents for the tremendous amount of work and thought that went into the downtown sub area plan approved Monday night. This was truly a team effort and an example of how the public process is supposed to work.

City planning staff, under the leadership of senior planner Glen Pickus, has spent more than a year gathering information from consultants and residents as well as doing its own research. The goal: Reviving the floundering downtown business district while preserving the integrity of the surrounding residential areas.