Mayor-President Melvin “Kip” Holden is inviting Baton Rouge residents to attend one of three parish-wide planning workshops in early March that will help plan the future of Baton Rouge. The workshops, which will be lead by Fregonese Associates, are part of the new comprehensive plan: FUTUREBR.

“The success of this comprehensive plan depends on how engaged our citizens are over the next year,” Mayor Holden said.  “Over 500 people attended our kick-off event and we have had hundreds of others signing up to be citizen planners in the process.  It’s clear that our community is excited about planning for the future.”

The workshops will be held as follows:

Tuesday, March 2, 2010

Baton Rouge River Center

Downtown Baton Rouge

6:00 – 8:30 p.m.

Thursday, March 4, 2010

Redemptorist High School Cafeteria

3800 St. Katherine Street

6:00 – 8:30 p.m.

Woodlawn High School Cafeteria

15755 Jefferson Highway

6:00 – 8:30 p.m.

The workshops will begin with a brief presentation to introduce participants to the goals of the evening, explain the maps and tools available to them and give them their mission. Participants will use detailed maps of the parish along with chipsets developed from real local data to plan different growth scenarios. Residents from across the parish are encouraged to come work together on determining how Baton Rouge could look in the future.

At the end of the workshop, the tables will present their ideas to the rest of the group. Fregonese Associates will take the maps and notes produced at the workshops to build complete scenarios. In addition to working on the maps, the attendees will also have the opportunity to fill out comment cards to provide additional input for going forward.

To register for a workshop please call (225) 389-3144 or visit www.FUTUREBR.com. Space is limited at the workshops, so it is important to register in advance to guarantee your spot. East Baton Rouge Parish residents can attend any workshop of their choice.