A public meeting will be held next week to discuss the future of downtown Huntsville as it embarks on a 10-year master plan update.

The City of Huntsville and Downtown Huntsville Inc. are inviting residents to participate in a public meeting on the master plan update at 6:30 p.m. March 8 at the Huntsville Museum of Art on 300 Church St. S.W.

Urban Design Associates, a Pennsylvania firm hired by the city to spearhead the master plan project, will have planning consultants on hand to discuss and share ideas on three key areas:

Clinton Avenue Gateway

Holmes Avenue North

Fountain Court

Ideas collected at the event will be incorporated into a three-day workshop in April.

The City of Huntsville approved a resolution in January allowing UDA to update the downtown master plan. The city will pay UDA $147,555 for the work and reimburse the company up to $10,000 for "reasonable expenses" incurred during the performance period.

Dennis Madsen, manager of urban and long-term planning for the city, told AL.com the three-phase process should take 6-10 months to complete.