Minton Road Corridor Study

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Located on the central Florida Atlantic coast, West Melbourne has no downtown and no identifying locations or physical features to separate it from neighboring cities to the north and south. Amid a resurgence of development activity along the Minton Road corridor, including a new and unique community park, the city council directed staff to change codes and determine incentives that would partner the city with private investors to create a town center. West Melbourne reached out to CPAT for help in guiding the city's efforts.

Since no historical development pattern created any obvious site nor enabled any specific design or theme, the team's report explores principles important to a successful town center to serve as a framework for continued dialogue with the community and as a basis for the city's continued planning, design expectations, and negotiations with private land owners and developers. The principles explored include connectivity, pedestrian orientation, variety, public space, local flavor, and identity. The team presents four infill development opportunities in the corridor that provide the land area needed to undertake a development with "town center" characteristics, each with a unique set of opportunities and challenges. Finally, the report lists action steps.

Meet the Team

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Team Leader

Bruce Knight, FAICP

Bruce Knight has served as planning director of Champaign, Illinois, for 25 years and as an adjunct lecturer at the University of Illinois in the Department of Urban and Regional Planning for 10 years. He previously worked in Liberty, Missouri, and Iowa City, Iowa, and at the Mid-Iowa Development Association Council of Governments in Fort Dodge Iowa. Knight was named to the AICP College of Fellows in 2003. Among his APA leadership positions, he served as APA Board President, two terms on the APA Board of Directors, and two terms as president of APA's Illinois Chapter. He co-chaired the Host Committees of the 2002 and 2013 National Planning Conferences in Chicago and served on the APA Mission Statement Task Force. Knight has a BS in Urban Planning from Iowa State University and an MA in Public Affairs from the University of Iowa.

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Team Member

Whit Blanton, FAICP

Whit Blanton is executive director of Forward Pinellas, the countywide land use and transportation planning agency serving the St. Petersburg-Clearwater urbanized area in Florida. His 28-year planning career spans experience in the public and private sector, primarily focusing on multimodal transportation, transit-oriented development, and community visioning and redevelopment planning. Blanton was a co-founder of Renaissance Planning Group in Orlando, Florida, and was the firm's vice president until 2015. He served two terms on the APA Board of Directors and has served as chair of APA's Education Task Force, Legislative and Policy Committee, Divisions Council, and Transportation Planning Division. He was inducted into the AICP College of Fellows in 2012. Blanton has a bachelor's degree in journalism and communications from the University of Florida and completed master's degree coursework at Florida State University.

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Team Member

Jason Epley, AICP

Jason Epley brings 20 years of national experience in the planning profession to the consulting team. Currently the president of Benchmark CMR, Inc., Epley's past positions have included working with municipal, county, regional, and state government planning programs throughout North Carolina. He specializes in comprehensive planning, military planning, urban design, public involvement, and meeting facilitation. He brings expertise and experience with downtown development and design, and currently serves in the role of executive director of the North Carolina Downtown Development Association. Epley has a wealth of experience helping communities develop meaningful plans and sound implementation strategies, with project experience in well over 100 communities across the country.

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Team Member

Cynthia L. Hoyle, FAICP

Cynthia Hoyle has over 30 years of planning experience working at the local, state, and national levels. Cynthia is currently a consultant in Urbana, Illinois, with Alta Planning + Design. She specializes in transportation, creating community mobility, Complete Streets, bicycle planning, Safe Routes to School, comprehensive planning, and visioning. Her passion is promoting choice and livability. Hoyle is a Fellow of the Institute of Transportation Engineers (ITE). She served on the ITE 1998 Outstanding Traffic Engineering Council Project for the Recommended Practice entitled "Design and Safety of Pedestrian Facilities." She is a Complete Streets Instructor with the National Complete Streets Coalition and a League Certified Instructor through the League of American Bicyclists. Hoyle is also the chair of C-U Safe Routes to School Project and serves on the Urbana Bicycle and Pedestrian Advisory Commission.

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