Shawnee considering new guidelines for mixed-use development downtown

As new projects for commercial and residential purposes begin cropping up in downtown Shawnee, city leaders and staff are creating a new land use category in its design guidelines for future downtown development.

The new category, “Townsquare Mixed-Use,” would reflect the city’s goals to build on existing development patterns while maintaining the downtown’s established historic, civic, commercial and residential core. The Shawnee planning commission on Monday discussed the new category with city staff.

“It’s long overdue to look at this downtown area and adjust some of the land uses we’ve called on here,” said Stephanie Malmborg, deputy community development director for Shawnee, citing a number of developments already underway downtown. “The land use guide doesn’t really reflect what the city’s looking for on some of those properties.”