Elgin's Gifford Park maps its future

Elgin's oldest neighborhood has a new plan for its future.

The Gifford Park Neighborhood Plan, which has been in the works since late 2003, has received final approval from city council members and various advisory boards.

"This is a momentous event for us," said Fran Cella, Gifford Park resident and chairwoman of the neighborhood's planning committee.

The plan was developed with the help of a city grant.

The plan puts forward a blueprint to address run-down properties, encourage rehabilitation work through city grants, improve parks, reach out to Hispanic neighbors and hold more activities for residents to create neighborly bonds.

Cella said some of the neighborhood's greatest assets also can be liabilities.

For example, residents love the stately houses, but dread when they are not maintained by renters who don't seem to have a stake in the community.

The neighborhood, started in the 1840s, is sheltered by large, mature trees, but leaf removal is often a problem.

"Being the oldest neighborhood makes us the richest and in many ways the poorest," Cella said. "My great hope and all of our hope it this isn't going to be a document out on the shelf. It will be a workable, viable plan."

City council members plan this to be a benchmark for future neighborhood groups and that the design guidelines could be a foundation for the city.

Council member John Walters said he was impressed with the plan's detail and vision.

The plan identifies several properties it wants the city to consider purchasing; aims to reinstate the neighborhood newsletter; wants to require apartment owners to provide more on-site parking; asks the city to consider what, if any, off-street parking rules are needed; find a Hispanic liaison; calls for re-establishing an annual summer event called Porchfest and hold a new event called the Taste of Gifford Park.

Mayor Ed Schock commended the group for its tenacity and commitment over the years.

"We're glad (they) stuck with it," he said. "We think the plan is going to be an asset not only for the neighborhood, but the community as well."