AMHERST — Residents and business owners say they appreciate that downtown Amherst has plentiful restaurants and few empty storefronts, even as they debate the best ways to improve the variety of shops, dining options and attractions.

While the more than 90 people who attended a meeting planning the downtown last week want the commercial center to continue to thrive, there was little consensus on whether it is appropriate to encourage development of new mixed-use buildings and have more people, especially college students, living in the center.

These tensions were among sentiments expressed during the two-hour session, reflecting that even though there was unanimity on wanting a vibrant and safe downtown, how to achieve that now and in the future remains a challenge.

Planning Director Christine Brestrup said the objective of the meeting, expected to be one of at least three focused on downtown this year, was to give information allowing for a shared vision for Amherst center, and to direct and guide future developments in ways that are acceptable to large segments of the community.

“We’re here tonight to talk about planning downtown Amherst, and planning implies change,” Brestrup said.

Rob Crowner, a member of the Planning Board, said the center commercial district is changing more rapidly than many have been accustomed to, and planners need more information so decisions can be made that are responsible and respect the wishes of residents.

During the meeting held at Woodbury Room in Jones Library, both people who live and work downtown, broke into groups, beginning with an exercise in which they placed red dots on large maps to identify what they most liked about downtown, and also drew lines on maps showing what they considered to be the downtown district.

They then elaborated by talking about what is working and what needs improvement in terms of housing, businesses and attractions.

Many said they appreciated the small-town feel, with independent shops and a cinema; the plentiful green spaces of the Town Common, Sweetser Park and Kendrick Park; and good public transportation.

But they cited as problems the condition of sidewalks and crosswalks, lack of parking and no dedicated performance venue.

There appeared to be mixed support for the high rise developments Kendrick Place and Boltwood Place, with even some who like the “in-fill” development arguing it needs to be more attractive and fit in better with the streetscape through “design integration.”

This divide was clear in other ways. Some would like to see downtown extend to the edge of the University of Massachusetts campus, a plan previously abandoned that would have developed the so-called Gateway, while others seek to protect the core from students and off-campus dormitories.

Town Manager Paul Bockelman said the Planning Department will identify the commonalities and differences and use this as the basis for future planning.

Brestrup said in a follow-up email that people seemed to be engaged and excited to share their views.

“We will be analyzing what we heard and what was written and recorded over the next few weeks and putting a lot of the material online,” Brestrup said.

Planners, she said, hope to have a comment box on the town website and create a way to replicate the same tabletop exercises for people who were unable to attend.

Scott Merzbach can be reached at smerzbach@gazettenet.com.

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