Faced with an evolving array of plans and shifting needs, the City Commission is right to seek an updated master plan for downtown Lawrence.

The current plan “is old enough as to be out of date for some of the current issues and addressing some of the current needs,” said Scott McCullough, the city’s director of planning and development.

Among the most pressing needs are setting guidelines for building height and parking requirements. Last week, developers presented an initial plan for a hotel, conference center and condominiums at the intersection of Sixth and New Hampshire streets to the City Commission. The development plan included a 12-story building, even though the city’s current guidelines impose a 90-foot limit on building height, which would accommodate eight stories. The tallest building downtown is seven stories.

But given the limited space available, accommodating the city’s stated goals of downtown density with a mix of commercial and residential buildings will mean going up instead of going out.

Commissioner Matthew Herbert said that doesn’t mean the city necessarily needs a higher height cap; rather, the city needs to be open to different approaches.

“To some degree, you have to maintain that discretionary freedom to look at projects on a case-by-case basis, because there are going to be some larger projects that have a great community benefit,” Herbert said.

The city recently commissioned a parking study for downtown and surrounding neighborhoods that made specific recommendations about how parking downtown can be improved. One of the critical issues to consider is whether to require new residential development downtown to include parking. Herbert rightly believes it should.

“You’re putting all the parking burden on shop owners and neighbors, and that, to me, is inappropriate,” Herbert said.

City staff is working on the scope of the downtown plan, and a request for proposals for a consultant is expected to go before the Commission in January for consideration. Part of the study will include gathering input from the community.

Downtown has changed significantly since the last downtown master plan was developed more than 20 years ago. A new plan is needed to address important questions such as height limits and parking.