The goal is to create a vibrant and viable mixed-use downtown commercial district, brimming with a wide variety of stores and restaurants, and bustling with local shoppers and tourists.

And, as the goal line draws ever closer, the tough decisions regarding money, marketing and maintaining momentum will soon need to be made by stakeholders and policymakers in Canby.

After six design workshops and numerous other meetings, the public process is drawing to a close, and the project is scheduled to be completed by the end of April.

A draft of the Canby Downtown Redevelopment Plan, which was released last week, will be presented to the public during a Feb. 22 town hall meeting at the Canby Adult Center.

"It'll be the final town hall meeting," said Matilda Deas, the Canby Planning Department project manager in charge of the downtown aspect of the ongoing state-mandated Periodic Review process.

"(The draft plan) is a great start. It's going to take a lot of cooperation in the community between business owners, property owners and the city, but the plan has a lot of good information on marketing, and business retention, expansion and recruitment.

''It has a good design element, and it should provide good strategies and recommendations to move forward with."

The town hall meeting will be held at 7 p.m. Thursday at the 1250 S. Ivy St. center.

The report to be discussed includes information on land-use patterns, transportation, opportunities and constraints, marketing assessment and strategies, and downtown revitalization projects.

Through interviews with stakeholders, task force meetings, and design workshops, goals identified for the downtown project include beautification, economic health, connectivity to Highway 99E, and diversity of uses.

The next steps in the process are Canby Planning Commission review, followed by its recommendations to the Canby City Council. The council will review the plan, and then decide whether or not to adopt it.

The six main objectives of the plan are to: coordinate a design aesthetic and the physical development of the city's commercial core; to provide vehicular, pedestrian and bicycle connectivity throughout the commercial core, including connections between downtown and Highway 99E; to produce a prioritized list of revitalization projects, the first of which will be the Northwest Second Avenue streetscapes between Grant and Ivy streets in downtown Canby;

To develop marketing strategies for the downtown core based on identified target markets and Canby's local advantages, and to develop strategies to strengthen the existing business base in downtown; to incorporate the final plan into the city's Comprehensive Plan and its Land Development and Planning Ordinance (including design alternatives, development standards, and citywide policies.); to coordinate all existing planning efforts and to give a collective voice and direction to all organizations working toward downtown revitalization.

Following the workshops held last summer, which were led by Mark Seder, the city's contracted architect, Mary Bosch of Marketek presented results of the marketing analysis at a Nov. 8 public meeting.

Bosch, the city's contracted marketing consultant, defined a "trade area" around Canby with 12,093 households and a total population of more than 32,000 people, with a median age of 41, and with a median household income of almost $52,000 - all of which are forecast to grow by 2005.

"One of Canby's best-selling points to prospective businesses is that the trade area population will continue to grow at an above average rate for the foreseeable future," the report states. "This population growth translates into an increase in potential retail demand.

''In sum, population/marketplace growth is occurring and downtown Canby is poised to capture that growth opportunity through aggressive marketing and implementation of the downtown revitalization plan."

Among the desirable types of businesses mentioned in surveys were restaurants, a movie theater, live entertainment venues, craft supply stores, and book and music stores. Apparel stores for men and women topped the list.

The major advantages given for shopping downtown were convenience, no crowds, and supporting local businesses, while major disadvantages given were limited selection of stores and the hours they are open.

Canby's competitive advantages include: a growing market area and target markets; visible, but removed from Highway 99E; several strong, large traffic-generating (stores), and institutional anchors; significant investment and business growth; adjacent residential neighborhoods; an established Economic Improvement District; committed, positive business owners; and a walkable, friendly and green downtown.

The city's competitive disadvantages include: many blocks and many buildings are not conducive to retail; absence of critical mass of retail stores; a lack of a clear market identity; and a limited selection and limited store hours, she found.

Opportunities suggested were retail niche/cluster expansion and promotion, development of vacant properties, in-fill lots with mixed-use development, and cross-marketing with area visitor attractions.

Challenges observed were commercial expansion near 99E, the need to serve multiple target markets (residents, workers, visitors, seniors, etc.), property owner expectations, and unclear roles and responsibilities related to downtown marketing/business redevelopment among stakeholders.) Business opportunities outlined included specialty retailers, restaurants, a movie theater, and live entertainment at a restaurant, coffee house or microbrewery.

Also debuted at the November meeting was a demonstration of computer design software that can enable a property or business owner to look at how their building could look with the addition of specific design elements. Deas offered the design service free of charge as part of the downtown grant, and some merchants have taken the opportunity to see what their facades and store fronts could look like.

The state Transportation Growth Management program awarded Canby's downtown redevelopment project an $85,846 grant, with a $9,000 city match, and the state Department of Land Conservation and Development gave $15,000 to study downtown parking issues.

The state's TGM program seeks to strengthen the capability of local governments to effectively manage growth and to comply with the transportation planning rule, to integrate transportation and land-use planning, and to encourage transportation-efficient land uses.

The Mount Hood Economic Alliance is providing a $34,000 grant for downtown facade improvements - such as awnings, painted window treatments, and landscaping - and Canby Business Revitalization offered matching funds of $17,000 for building facade improvements.

The Canby Downtown Redevelopment Plan was prepared for the city of Canby by David Evans and Associates of Bend, Seder Architects of Portland, and Marketek of Portland.

Copies of the plan draft report are available for review at the Planning Department, the Canby Area Chamber of Commerce, and the Canby Public Library. For more information, call Deas at 503-266-9404.

The city of Canby continues to be a safe place to live, work and play, with few reported serious physical crimes in the last two years, but with an apparent growing number of property crimes and some other offenses. According to the Canby Police Department's activity summaries for 1999 and 2000, residential burglary calls rose from 44 to 63, thefts jumped from 316 to 362, fraud increased from 69 to 81, and harassment jumped from 86 to 124.

Meanwhile, reported disturbances dropped from 118 to 82, commercial burglaries declined from 23 to 18, prowler cases dropped from 31 to 19, and trespassing incidents declined from 54 to 36.

Fifteen motor vehicle thefts were reported in 1999, and 17 in 2000. Two kidnappings were reported in 1999, and one in 2000. Three arsons were reported in 1999, and four in 2000.

The number of adults arrested rose from 987 in 1999 to 1,046 in 2000, while the number of juveniles arrested increased from 186 to 238 during the same period.

Domestic disturbances increased by two cases to 142 in 2000, driving under the influence arrests rose by 11 to 93 in 2000, and motor vehicle thefts increased by two to 17 in 2000.

After 29 years of police experience, including 18 years as Canby's chief, Giger said he considers the city has fared well regarding criminal activity, especially given the population growth Canby has experienced during the last decade.

Officers are assigned to the city's four quadrants - northeast, northwest, southeast and southwest - and call statistics are compiled to assess criminal activity citywide. In 2000, Northwest Canby residents reported 132 crimes, which represented 50 percent fewer crimes than the other three areas each reported.

"I believe that the level of crime here is lower than the average Oregon city," Giger said. "Some of this can be attributed to planned development growth, the relationships between the community, the churches, the schools, and the year-around youth activities here."

Giger explained how his department's call statistics are tabulated. "We put out a sheet called an activity summary that lists every single call our department responded to, according to the category of the call," he said.

"In some cases, this information proves to be misleading. For example, a call comes in stating a vehicle was stolen, which is how it is logged. After the officers arrive, it may not be stolen at all. It may have been taken by a relative, sometimes teen-agers are the culprits, or we have had repossessed cars listed as stolen by the owners."

Giger said actual crime statistics are assembled only after arrests are made. This information is prepared annually by the Oregon Crime Reporting system.

"I prefer to compare information gathered over a five-year period to determine trends, rather than making comparisons from one year to the next," he said. "That is not to say I don't analyze data constantly. I get an activity sheet every month and go over the statistics with my lieutenants and sergeants.

''We talk of all activities and decide on areas of the most concern. If there is an increase in any area, we devise a plan to counter that problem. We look at programs, personnel, patrol patterns, and any other fact we can assess.

''A few years ago, we were having an increase in traffic accidents. After looking at all the data, we decided to hire three extra personnel, specifically for traffic control, and also determined we weren't patrolling the right areas to stabilize this problem.

''We also instituted neighborhood speed control programs, and seat belt classes for violators who chose the option. The effects were dramatic - our accidents went down."

Giger said yearly statistics on calls received do not tell the whole law-and-order story, but do help create a better understanding of local criminal trends in the longer term.

"I refuse to jump on the numbers game and use it to perpetuate fear or concern in our community," he said. "I am determined to look at our situation over a longer period of time to determine any trends. We find out from one year to the next (what type of problem) has increased and, over a five-year period, we look at each category to determine if there is a trend."

The chief also points out the changes in legislation and at the ballot box have had a great impact on crime statistics.

Giger said new laws requiring mandatory arrests and tightening the reigns on certain types of possible criminal behavior - such as molestation, certain types of assault, and repeat offenders - can cause the pendulum of statistics to swing heavily toward what appears to be increased levels of crime.

For instance, comparing categories on the activity summary sheets between 1999 and 2000, juvenile abuse or neglect calls increased from 25 to 42. "These are calls from an entire range of society," Giger said. "We get calls from schools, family members, or the apparent victims themselves. The calls relate to physical or mental abuse allegations. They are usually inter-family occurrences that are noticed outside the family, or another member might call because they can't stand the situation any longer."

In these cases, Giger cautions citizens to realize that each call does not necessarily end with an arrest, let alone a conviction.

In addition, one person can commit several crimes, which can skew statistics, he added.

"As we investigate the crimes, we determine similar methods of operation by most criminals," Giger said. "That helps us link crimes to the same person, which actually affects the statistics."

Vehicle thefts are a problem in many communities nationwide, and Canby is no different.

"Stolen cars are usually a crime of opportunity," Giger said. "Keys are left in vehicles and young people often get involved. Most of the cars stolen here are recovered, and we find only about 10 percent are taken and stripped for their contents."