Residents can comment Thursday on the goals for the Central West (Estes-MLK) planning process in a drop-by session at the Chapel Hill Public Library.

The event will be held from 5:30 to 7 p.m. in Meeting Room B. The Central West Focus Area Steering Committee has defined several important goals, including connectivity, pedestrian and bicycle safety, identity and sense of place, mixed uses, diversity, and environmental sustainability.

Steering Committee members and town staff will be at the event to answer questions and listen to concerns. The committee is drafting a small-area plan to guide development and potential rezonings.

For more information about the Central West Focus Area process, go online to www.townofchapelhill.org/centralwest.

The Town Council appointed 16 members of the Central West steering committee Monday. They dropped a 17th seat, because no one from public housing applied.

The Central West planning area is immediately adjacent to the intersection of Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard and Estes Drive. The impact area runs from Carrboro east to Franklin Street and Homestead Road south to Hillsborough Road.

The steering committee will begin meeting at 6 p.m. Dec. 19. It also will hold a community design charette Feb. 15-16 and community workshops before updating the council in June. The final plan is due next December.

Before the council's decision, Former Transportation Board Chairman Rudy Juliano raised eyebrows by asking to dropped from consideration and recommending his replacement. He and others asked the council to appoint community advocate and former Town Council member Julie McClintock instead.

"I honestly feel that there are other people who would really serve the community better in the context of the Central West study," including McClintock, he said.

Neither Juliano nor McClintock was named to the steering committee. A complete list of members is available at http://bit.ly/SH6WiW