FAIRFIELD — More roads and economic development, and preserving Village Green for upscale development and entertainment are among key recommendations unveiled this week from a citizen committee mapping out Fairfield's future.

        City Council is expected to adopt the plan at the Feb. 25 council meeting.

        The vision comes from a group of about 55 residents challenged by council in October 2000 to create a blueprint for Fairfield, which has been focusing more on economic development and culture as its demographics swell and become more diverse.

        “The people have put their hearts and souls into this,” City Council Member Steve Miller said. “After the amount of time they put into this, it would be wrong for the city council and administration to ignore it.”

        Major suggestions call for:

        • A community cultural arts center in Village Green, the city's new downtown.

        • Retail and office buildings instead of a justice center in the Kroger shopping plaza across Wessel Drive from City Hall. The city tentatively agreed to buy the site recently, with plans to turn it into a justice center.

        But committee leaders said residents don't want the justice center in Village Green, which they envision as an entertainment and ritzy shopping district. The Lane Public Library, a park and amphitheater already are located there, and a Kroger and Applebee's Neighborhood Grill & Bar are under construction.

        “The idea behind the whole Village Green project is to develop that as the downtown identity,” said Chris Kendall, a committee leader. “The community would like to have more of an area where they can do things like window shopping and have more attractions and possibly put the justice center somewhere else.”

        The city's facility, which holds the police department and courts in a former restaurant site on Route 4, is overcrowded and outdated.

        Last month, council agreed to spend $636,620 to purchase property in Village Green to build the cultural and justice centers. It will decide later this year which to build first or whether to begin building them both at the same time.

        The committee also recommended the city or the Fairfield Chamber of Commerce offer a business incubator to help new businesses get on their feet. Their recommendation that the city hire an economic development manager already is under way; a manager is expected to be hired within the next two weeks.

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