Residents, business leaders, and land developers were on hand during a public meeting to discuss a master development plan for the City of Leeds.

The Regional Planning Commission of Greater Birmingham (RPCGB) is working with the city to design a master plan that will lead the way for future growth within the city.

The meeting included a discussion about the city as well as a survey designed to pinpoint the likes and dislikes of local residents from a development perspective.

According to the Regional Planning Commission, the plan will help set up guidelines that define the goals of the community with regards to development expectations for the next 10 to 20 years.

“The master plan will be a long-range vision of where Leeds wants to be 5 or 10 years in the future,” said Richard Amore, of the RPCGB and leader of the meeting.

Amore explained that a master plan is made up of four sections – Community Assessment, Community Visioning, Vision for Growth, and Plan Implementation. Tuesday’ meeting, held at the Leeds High School auditorium, is part of the Community Visioning portion when public input is needed to move the plan forward.

“Nobody knows it all. We are here tonight to get feedback in helping to establish a vision for the future of Leeds,” Amore said.

The audience was asked a series of questions that were openly discussed. The first of those questions was “What do you love about Leeds?”.

Among the answers to that question was the convenience to the Birmingham metropolitan area, the city’s efforts in preserving historical buildings, the unique downtown area, and the city’s residents.

The second question had to do with threats to the city. Responses included a disconnection between residents along racial lines and between the people and their government, the economy, population growth, blighted areas, and poor stewardship of the land.

The third question posed was what other city would serve as a good model in development for Leeds. Those answers included such cities as Fairhope, Ala., St. Charles, Mo., and Cartersville, Ga.

The final question posed was “What would you change about your city?”

The first answer came from a resident and business owner who said he would like to see the city re-establish R4 zoning, which was taken out of the most recently approved zoning ordinance. That ordinance ensured the residents could rebuild homes of the same size as their old homes on their property. The current zoning allows that only in the case of a home being destroyed by natural disaster or similar situations. Other than that, the property owner would have to meet current zoning laws.

Other changes those in attendance listed included: more activities for young people, enhancing downtown, recreation along the Cahaba River, resolve traffic problems at Leeds Elementary School, and creating and over/underpass at the railroad crossing.

Part of the electronic survey included demographics of the audience. The results indicated that nobody was in the audience ages 25-34 and nobody was on hand who had moved to the city within the past five years. There were a total of 33 participants in the survey.

Amore said the meeting was only the first in a series of public meetings to help the Regional Planning Commission develop a plan best suited for Leeds. He said the time and place of future meetings would be announced.

“We want to have an interactive dialog throughout this process,” he said.