Above / Mindful of reflections along the Riverwalk at the new Jaycees Park, this publication encourages the community to provide input to help update Naperville’s Comprehensive Master Plan to guide officials, residents and developers. The first two public workshops were planned simultaneously on June 17, at the Naperville Municipal Center and the 95th Street Library. Next up, beginning at 7PM, Mon., June 24, City Council members as well as representatives from various boards, commissions and task forces will discuss important issues and challenges. Let imaginative ideas and reasonable input be considered and observed.
Council meets with boards & commissions to discuss Comprehensive Master Plan
Update, June 23, 2019 / Houseal Lavigne Associates LLC, the consultant team working on the Strategic Update to the City’s Comprehensive Master Plan, will host a joint City Council/Boards, Commissions and Task Forces Workshop at 7PM on Mon., June 24, 2019. The workshop will be held in Meeting Rooms A and B of the Naperville Municipal Center, as part of the project initiation and outreach phase.
This workshop will include a quorum of City Council members, as well as representatives from various boards, commissions and task forces, including Planning and Zoning Commission, Historic Preservation Commission, Housing Advisory Commission, Downtown Advisory Commission, Riverwalk Commission, Transportation Advisory Board, Advisory Commission on Disabilities, Accessible Community Task Force, Sustainability Task Force and Senior Task Force.
City Staff also will attend. The workshop is expected to last 2-2.5 hours and is open to the public.
Approximately 50 residents provided input for Comprehensive Master Plan
Update, June 18, 2019 / Approximately 50 Naperville residents took time Monday evening to add their two cents to simultaneous discussions regarding updates and greatest needs for the City’s Comprehensive Master Plan. First developed in 1960, the aging guideline had not had much input for changes since it was updated during the 1990s when the City was experiencing rapid growth. The two discussions that attracted mostly happy campers were led by representatives from consulting firm Houseal Lavigne Associates, a team experienced in leading interactive sessions in all areas of community planning, urban design, and economic development.
Residents in City Council Chambers and the 95th Street Library were welcomed to brainstorm ideas, one by one, at the two workshops. Suggestions were tallied and presented on big screens for discussion. Questionnaires collected at the conclusion of the 90-minute session were marked with ZIP Codes. Topics ranged from opinions about on-street parking, traffic, bike lanes, buried power lines and public safety to the sustainability of the Naperville’s quality of life that includes diverse and historic housing stock, cultural arts, balanced workplaces and green space.
The results will be presented on the City’s website to inspire further discussion about the planning process that will focus on 10 specific areas in Naperville:
- Property located North of I-88 and South of I-88 (to Diehl Road), West of Route 59 to the City’s Western Boundary
- Key sites along the Tollway Corridor (BP, Former DuPage County Transportation Property, Nokia Property)
- Key sites along East Ogden Avenue (Ogden Mall, Iroquois Center, Fair Oaks Ford, Regency Hotel)
- North Downtown, including the Washington Street corridor
- The area reserved for StarLine Station at 91st Street and 248th Avenue
- The City’s “South 20” property (southeast corner of 103rd and Route 59)
- Spring Avenue from Mill Street to western terminus
- The northwest corner of Naper Boulevard and Plank Road to Ogden Avenue
- The area near the intersection of 75th Street and Wehrli Road
- The southeast corner of Mill Street and Bauer Road
Any individual unable to attend the first meeting is urged to fill out the resident questionnaire at www.naperville.il.us. Business owners are encouraged to participate, too.
Groups, friends, neighbors, service clubs, etc., also could hold a “do-it-yourself workshop” to discuss the plan. Workshop kits are available for no charge at the Naperville Municipal Center.
Comprehensive Master Plan Simultaneous Workshops, 6:30-8:30PM June 17
Updated Post, June 15, 2019 / The notice of this workshop was reminiscent of January 2001 when Naperville friends, neighbors and business associates came together for a town hall meeting to address a large number of local initiatives such as the Millennium Carillon, Community Concert Center, DuPage Children’s Museum, Martin-Mitchell Mansion, North Central College Performing Arts Center, Fredenhagen Park, to name six of 15 projects. All ideas were considering or in the middle of major fundraising campaigns at the time. The public event organized by local citizens was titled “Challenges that Unite Us” to present an educational and historical overview of growth and development since 1831.
Looking through all the notes saved from that evening, Challenges that Unite Us attracted a standing-room-only crowd in City Council Chambers. Ten panelists from a wide range of backgrounds and service organizations filled the dais to showcase the evolution of Naperville’s generous “CAN-DO” spirit, volunteerism and grassroots fundraising that have benefited the local economy and lifestyles since the first risk-taking settlers arrived along the banks of the DuPage River in the early 19th century.
Community-wide education and participation had been hallmarks of this city. Back in 2001, Naperville boasted a population of 135,000. Obviously, times have changed. Communication methods have changed. Today about 148,000 individuals reside here in 53,500-plus households and plans for various new developments likely will increase the population in the fourth largest city in Illinois.
Participate in Comprehensive Master Plan
With that anticipated growth, new technology and all the changing lifestyles, the simultaneous workshops planned for Mon., June 17, welcome input from all residents in all neighborhoods as this community shapes its future of needs, wants, must-haves and nice-to-haves.
Come imagine with friends and neighbors face-to-face. Listen, learn and share. Be part of the process that’s scheduled from now through December 2019.
And be mindful that just as blueprints for a new house or rain that disrupts outdoor activities on a weekend, plans sometimes change.
Originally Posted, June 6, 2019 / Community members are invited to share their vision for Naperville’s continued development as part of planned updates to the City’s comprehensive master plan. The plan, first adopted in 1960, serves as a guide for growth and development in the City, providing direction to those seeking to develop their land, as well as the decision makers who decide whether requests should be approved.
Choice of simultaneous workshops 6:30-8:30PM Mon., June 17
Two workshops have been scheduled to provide residents with the chance to learn more about the planning process and to help identify valued development trends and concepts. They will be held simultaneously from 6:30 to 8:30PM on Monday, June 17, at Council Chambers of the Naperville Municipal Center, 400 S. Eagle St., and at the 95th Street Public Library, 3015 Cedar Glade Road. Workshop content will be the same at both locations.
Community members are also invited to visit the project website at naperville.il.us/master-plan-update/ for project news.
New Comprehensive Master Plan will reflect growth since 1960
As Naperville has grown, so too has its plan — from a single document serving 12,933 residents in 1960, into three area plans and 27 sub-area plans that have helped shape Naperville into the dynamic destination City of today.
The comprehensive master plan update will result in a new, user-friendly plan document that:
- takes into consideration rapidly changing development concepts and trends
- incorporates citizen input and ideas
- consolidates area and many sub-area plans into a single, streamlined master plan that provides clear guidance to citizens, developers and community leaders
Updated plan could recommend land-use in 10 geographic areas
The updated plan will recommend land-use designations for 10 geographic areas within the City’s planning boundaries. The plan will also provide goals and recommendations that will apply City-wide for topics such as gaps in the City’s housing market, aging commercial areas, environmental sustainability and changing technology. Houseal Lavigne Associates LLC, a consulting firm specializing in community planning, has been contracted to update the plan.
Do-It-Yourself Workshop Kits
Once the planning process is underway, do-it-yourself workshop kits will be available at the Municipal Center. These kits will offer residents the ability to host their own workshops, posing similar questions to those asked at the community workshops. The kits will be key in gathering input from specific segments of the City’s population, while helping to bolster interest in the planning process through citizen-led outreach.
Submitted by Kari Richardson, Communications Specialist, for the City of Naperville.
