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Comp Plan Steering Committee Minutes 2016 01-28-16Page 1 of 3 APPROVED 6/16/16 UNITED CITY OF YORKVILLE COMP PLAN STEERING COMMITTEE MEETING Thursday, January 28, 2016 7:00pm Yorkville City Hall, Conference Room 800 Game Farm Road Welcome The meeting was called to order by Tom Kozlowicz at 7:03pm. Roll Call Roll call was taken and a quorum established. Mike Mann-present, Randy Harker-present, Anthony Hansen-present, Erin-Mikal Dickens-present, Russ Walter-present, Bob Delo-present, Deb Horaz-present, Joel Frieders-present, Tom Kozlowicz-present City Officials Krysti Barksdale-Noble, Community Development Director Chris Heinen, City Planner Lynn Dubajic, City Consultant Other Guests Justin Weidl, Lakota Group Jim Considine, T.Y. Lin International Previous Meeting Minutes September 29, 2015 The minutes were approved as read on a motion by Delo and second by Frieders. Voice vote approval. Citizen Comments None New Business The newly appointed members, Mr. Harker and Mr. Mann, were introduced and gave brief comments on their backgrounds. Mr. Kozlowicz thanked them for joining the committee. Mr. Weidl began the discussion for the fifth meeting of the committee. He presented the first draft of the Comp Plan and asked everyone to examine the document in the next two weeks. It is a compilation of feedback, analysis, site visits and research, etc. The first 3 sections of the document are a “state of the City” report and section 4 is the actual beginning of the plan. Mr. Weidl began the discussions with Section 4. Page 2 of 3 Section 4 Community Vision and Land Use Strategy Review of the overall goals starting from page 76. 1. Grow tax base 2. Revitalize downtown 3. Enhance well-defined corridors 4. Growth of neighborhoods and subdivisions 5. Meet design standards for public and private development 6. Enhance park and open space networks 7. Achieve complete transportation network 8. Address growth management Mr. Weidl focused on land use and reviewed the various categories from a color-coded map and land use matrix chart. Section 5 “Prosperous City” Twelve strategies were given to develop a successful downtown, shopping and commercial areas, some being near-term and some long-range. He asked for input on the priorities for these strategies and said it must be determined how aggressive the City should be in the downtown growth and whether growth should be spearheaded by the City or private developers. Different areas of the City were then reviewed. A priority is a grocery store at the south end of town as well as additional rooftops. The vacant commercial area in Countryside was also discussed. Raging Waves is an asset and commercial development is suggested here to encourage more spending. Commercial uses near the proposed Metra station would also be assets. Mr. Weidl talked about the industrial areas including Yorkville Business Center, Fox Industrial Park, Faxon Road area and Menards. Section 6 Yorkville Neighborhoods The core of this section is the neighborhoods, some of which need to be finished. Mr. Weidl said the older residential areas should be branded, marketed and preserved. Ultimately a national historic designation could be pursued. Capital improvements are also needed in the nearby downtown area. Section 7 Community Systems and Infrastructure Mr. Considine addressed this section and said overall the City and County are well-served with the roadways. There are many trails, but not all are connected and many were dependent on development to finish. He said IDOT is now doing shared use paths. He suggested using “complete streets” and connecting the trails by using roadways for bikes and walking. He also addressed the lack of downtown parking. Public parking is needed as well as rewriting downtown parking regulations. In another matter, Mr. Considine talked about the wastewater treatment plan being close to capacity and an infrastructure study should be done for expansion. Alderman Frieders added that the City has recently had a meeting with YBSD and they have funding, a plan for expansion and knowledgeable personnel to coordinate it. Mr. Considine cautioned against rapid southern expansion of any utilities due to so much infill building still needed. He noted that Joliet is within 1.5 miles of the planning area Page 3 of 3 It was noted that many unincorporated areas surrounding the City could be annexed. Ms. Noble said staff will calculate how many houses and commercial uses lie in those areas. Mr. Weidl said the Riverfront Park is a great asset to the downtown and also mentioned the possibility of more sports facilities near Raging Waves. In response to citizen comments, it was suggested to explore more Parks and Rec opportunities on the south side of the City. Additional conservation areas were also suggested. Section 8 Corridors Traveling on Rt. 47 appears as different “rooms” (business, commercial, residential), said Mr. Weidl. He expanded on each of the areas. Mr. Harker asked about the possibility of a Metra station on Eldamain or Rt. 47 near Boombah--easier to reach from the Rt. 47 corridor. Metra has recently reconsidered looking at the Rt. 47 location, said Mr. Considine. Mr. Frieders added that this location would be more convenient for industrial as well as for commuters. Mr. Dickens said he agreed with the concept of branding and had looked at a website called Livability which featured the top 100 small towns and what made them stand out. Each one had a brand and he said Yorkville needs that as well. The second thing he looked at was infrastructure and technology. He said Google fiber could be important to help bring companies here. He said the future is not always brick and mortar. He also suggested a data server to bring young people. They want high speed internet and Yorkville could provide the mix of big city/ Chicago and country living. He said the number of existing parks should be highlighted and cited the example of Geneva which has taken old farm buildings and mixed with their parks. He also cited the proximity to air travel. Mr. Frieders added that Yorkville High School uses technology very well and that they have a robotics club. He suggested asking the high school students for Comp Plan input. As a school board member, Mr. Kozlowicz said that was a great suggestion and that the students would provide valuable information. Mr. Weidl said perhaps the next open house could be at the school and to invite student participation. In conclusion, committee members were asked to forward suggestions or thoughts to staff by February 10th. A digital copy of the Comp Plan booklet was requested by Mr. Frieders. Mr. Heinen will work with EEI for map capabilities and by clicking on a particular site, story text would pop up. Mr. Kozlowicz thanked the committee for some great suggestions to make this a more realistic plan. He commented that the presentation and input was valuable and will make the Comp Plan more dynamic. He said this committee has a responsibility to bring forth information to guide Yorkville's future. Additional Business None Adjournment There was no further business and the meeting adjourned at 8:26pm on a motion by Mr. Frieders and second by Mr. Dickens. Minutes respectfully submitted by Marlys Young, Minute Taker