In June, Naperville residents were invited to workshops to share their vision for Naperville’s continued development as part of planned updates to the City’s Comprehensive Master Plan.
Using an image of reflections along the Riverwalk at the new Jaycees Park, PN’s website encouraged residents to attend and provide input that will guide officials, residents and developers. Several public workshops, I hoped, would provide opportunities to let imaginative ideas and reasonable input be considered as the process begins to welcome ideas.
Approximately 50 Naperville residents took time on June 17 to add their two cents to simultaneous discussions in City Council Chambers and the 95th Street Library regarding updates. concerns and greatest needs. First developed in 1960, the aging guideline had not changed much since it was updated during the 1990s when the City was experiencing rapid growth. The first two discussions attracted mostly happy campers and 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 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. Attendees opined about on-street parking, traffic, bike lanes, buried power lines and public safety as well as sustainability of Naperville’s quality of life that includes diverse and historic housing stock, cultural arts, balanced workplace, green space and about 40 more issues.
On June 24, another engaging roundtable was held for the City’s elected and appointed officials.
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
Click here for link to City’s information.
Residents are urged to fill out the resident questionnaire. Business owners are welcomed to participate, too.
Groups, friends, neighbors, service clubs, businesses, etc., also are encouraged to hold a “do-it-yourself workshop” to discuss the plan. Workshop kits are available for no charge at the Naperville Municipal Center.
PN aims to help create awareness
For us, the original notice of the workshop was reminiscent of January 2001 when Naperville friends, neighbors and business associates came together for a town hall meeting to address 15-plus local initiatives, including the Millennium Carillon, Community Concert Center, DuPage Children’s Museum, Martin-Mitchell Mansion, North Central College Performing Arts Center and Fredenhagen Park. Those projects and more were preparing to launch or were 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 Naperville’s 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 has 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 where many residents enjoy “aging in place.”
Participate in Comprehensive Master Plan
Considering anticipated growth, new technology and changing lifestyles, time still exists for input from all residents in all neighborhoods as this community shapes its future of needs, wants, must-haves and nice-to-haves.
Get together with friends and neighbors to talk face-to-face. Listen, learn and share. Be part of the process your hometown is scheduled to tackle from now through the beginning of 2020.
And be mindful that just as blueprints for a new house or rain that disrupts outdoor activities, plans sometimes change.
