SLO City Council is moving forward to refresh its 23-year-old Downtown Concept Plan with a new creative vision team. Original authors Chuck Crotser, Andrew Merriam, Pierre Rademaker and Ken Schwartz will be joined by five new design professionals. Recruitment for SLO residents with experience in architecture, graphic and design will begin soon. The group will be asked to draft a vision for the look and feel of the downtown core. The plan is meant to include housing options, multi-modal enhancements, tourism amenities and ideas for private and public development projects as well as open space investments that support the changing needs of the area. The task at hand is to provide updates that reflect successes achieved in the existing plan, and identify future opportunities. The plan was adopted as a flexible tool in guiding – but not regulating – different potential design elements. A Mission Plaza Master Plan is also scheduled to be developed within the 2015-17 budget cycle. The original Downtown Master Plan took three years to create and involved city staff guidance and significant resident input.