A plan to guide the future development of downtown Richmond appears nearly ready for its final round of review.

The city Planning Commission held its fourth public hearing on the draft Downtown Master Plan tonight and exhausted public comment after an hour. Several speakers urged the commission to vote on the plan and avoid a further whittling away of its recommendations by special interests.

Chairman Robert Mills said afterward that he hopes the commission can vote July 21 to send the plan to City Council for final consideration. The process to update the city's master plan for downtown started last summer.

As they did at previous hearings, residents and other advocates praised the plan for offering a bold vision for an urban downtown area, with enlivened, pedestrian-friendly streets and expanded public access to the James River. Several land owners and corporations, including Dominion Virginia Power and NewMarket Corp., as well as the state government continued to object to certain recommendations for their properties.