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East Frederick Rising, a group of volunteers looking to redevelop the mostly industrial corridor on East Street in Frederick, unveiled its vision for that part of the city on Wednesday night.

The power-point presentation at the Frederick County Law Enforcement Center shared highlights from a recently published booklet, "A Vision for East Frederick."

"With this document, we want to change the conversation about growth and development in the county," said East Frederick Rising founder and certified planner Alan Feinberg.

This is the second time in Frederick's modern history that volunteers were the catalyst in planning for substantial redevelopment in the city, according to Krista McGowan, president of East Frederick Rising. The first, started in the 1970s, was the rebirth of Frederick's downtown proper.

"We are calling this a second renaissance," McGowan said. "Frederick was in pretty bad shape in the early '70s and there was a lot of push from the private sector to change that. They weren't as organized as we are, though."

The East Frederick Rising document is available on the organization's website (eastfrederickrising.org). McGowan describes it as a concept of what can happen on the east side of the city to make it compatible to downtown. The main principles focus on the reuse of land, including an increased tax base, economic development and urban revitalization.

"Frederick has all the tools, networks and people to make a regional economic hub possible," the booklet reads. "East Frederick is the logical location."

The concept is to rework existing neighborhoods into a more modern version of an urban community, including narrower streets that are easier for cyclists and pedestrians to navigate, and a mix of office, housing and commercial space.

City of Frederick planner Nick Colonna assisted East Frederick Rising, and the city provided some seed money in a $25,000 matching grant and a $12,000 contribution, but the bulk of the work fell to East Frederick Rising members, area property owners and residents.

The city Planning Commission is set to review the document on Sept. 13 and make revisions or recommendations before sending it on to the mayor and Board of Aldermen to workshop on Sept. 22. "The city doesn't have to approve it," McGowan said, "but we would like their blessing on it."

City planning director Joe Adkins said the city plans to use the document in conjunction with its Small Area Business Plan, but because East Frederick Rising's vision includes 1,800 acres, the city has to break it down into manageable parts.

To make it work, the city must approve zoning changes. Most of the zoning on East Street is industrial and when changes were recommended during the comprehensive rezoning plan in 2005, property owners were upset, Adkins said.

McGowan stressed that the vision plan does not include individual properties, but is rather a potentially new way to look at redevelopment with buy-in from the community to culminate in a better overall product.

"It's important for people to know that we are not looking to tell them what should or could happen in that property, either residences or businesses," McGowan said.

kheerbrandt@gazette.net