Campustown could be facing some changes in the future, including more residential units.

“We’ve been working on a new plan for development in Campustown for three years,” said Jeff Benson, an Ames city planner, at a public forum Wednesday, despite comments made to the Ames Rotary by ISU President Gregory Geoffroy last week stating the image of Campustown is hurting the university’s recruiting.

“We’re making new development compatible with existing development there. The plan has been completed for the past year, now we’re just working on the standards.”

A crowd of mostly community members and some students filled a classroom Wednesday night in the Memorial Union to voice concern and listen to input during a public forum held Wednesday night on possible development of the Campustown area.

Benson said the core area of Campustown, which includes the area around Welch Avenue between Lincoln Way and Hunt Street, has seen a 2.8 percent annual growth rate in residential units during the past 34 years. He said by 2030, 225 units would be required to accommodate the growth.

Benson said there were several issues on the table, including preserving the buildings of the greek neighborhood, rezoning residential areas around Campustown and building standards for new developments in the area.

Geoffroy and several Campustown business owners said Campustown is a good place for students, but some changes are needed to make it better.

“I think overall Campustown is fairly typical of what you’d find around a university,” Geoffroy said. “There are many establishments that cater to students. My concern is that it looks a bit run down. I’d like to see an overall better appearance.”

Geoffroy said there needs to be different types of businesses in Campustown instead of primarily entertainment, such as bars and restaurants, but the decision of what types of businesses wasn’t up to him.

“That would be a great topic for our students to be engaged in because ultimately, Campustown is part of the university that serves students primarily,” he said.

Tim Reger, manager of Copyworks, 105 Welch Ave., said there aren’t enough service-oriented businesses in Campustown.

“Right now, we have a lot of businesses that are entertainment and you’re going to get a different type of traffic going there here if they’re for entertainment,” he said.

Reger also said a business like Dangerous Curves, 122 Welch Ave., might not give a good impression to prospective students.

“I don’t know if there’s a lot of parents that want to expose their kids to that atmosphere,” he said. “They might say, ‘Geez, there’s a strip club there?’ I’d like to project a real positive, upbeat, professional image of Campustown.”

Mohamed Ali, owner of Chicha Shack, 114 Welch Ave., said pollution is a major problem.

“If you come in on a Saturday after Friday night, there’s a lot of garbage on the streets,” said Ali, senior in management. “You’re here to have fun, but keep it clean. Give the good image of Campustown.”

Ali said because students get in fights sometimes, there needs to be better enforcement.

“If cops would just walk by, people would know there’s control,” he said “When there’s cops here, people will behave.”