City Council Approves Downtown Plan to Guide Growth and Revitalization
Published on October 30, 2025
The Medford City Council unanimously approved an ordinance on Oct. 15 to amend the City’s Comprehensive Plan, officially adopting the Downtown Plan into its Neighborhood Element. This marks the first comprehensive planning effort focused on downtown Medford in more than 20 years.
The Downtown Plan outlines a strategic vision to increase housing options for all, support existing businesses and attract new ones, expand multimodal transportation choices, and foster a vibrant and inclusive downtown that reflects Medford’s unique character.
The plan represents a collective vision shaped through extensive collaboration among the City Council, Public Advisory Committee, City staff, and a broad spectrum of community members whose insights and dedication have been invaluable throughout the planning process.
The plan was funded primarily through a grant from the Transportation and Growth Management program, which is a joint initiative of the Oregon Department of Transportation and Oregon Department of Land Conservation and Development.
Community Engagement and Planning Process
Development of the plan began in spring 2024 and concluded in summer 2025. The process included seven key phases focused on topics such as visioning, land use, parking, and transportation. Each phase was shaped by public input through community events, survey responses, interviews with community partners, and Public Advisory Committee meetings.
“Big Moves” and Implementation Timing
The plan identifies six "Big Moves"—transformational actions and strategies to guide downtown revitalization:
- Integrate Bear Creek into Downtown
- Activate the Evergreen Corridor
- Improve Downtown Gateways
- Create Energy Around the Holly Theatre
- Create a Community Food Hub
- Activate the Alley Network
Implementation timing ranges from short-term “quick wins” to long-term strategies that will require significant planning, investment, or dependencies on prior actions.
View the full Downtown Plan here.(PDF, 54MB)