Naperville Park District applauds Mitchell land plan
The Naperville Park District had nothing but praise Thursday for the city's draft of recommendations for the Caroline Martin Mitchell land.
No commissioners suggested any changes to the plan for the 212-acre site near Aurora Avenue and West Street.
"I really applaud the efforts of city staff and park district staff in working cooperatively together and ... there's so many people that use this property," Commissioner Kristen Jungles said. "It's right in the middle of town so I think they've done an excellent job of incorporating everybody's comments."
The land was donated by Martin Mitchell in 1936 for public use and includes Naperville Central High School, Naper Settlement, Knoch Park, the Von Oven Scout Reservation, park district garden plots, the Naperville Sportsman's Club, the Naperville Cemetery and part of Edward Hospital.
The groups spent a year and a half discussing the possible reconfigurations of the land due largely to Naperville Unit District 203's consideration last year of rebuilding Naperville Central High School - a proposal that was nixed in favor of renovating the school.
In June, city planners announced they weren't recommending any major changes to the land due to lack of interest from the property owners. Instead, their central policy recommendation is to evaluate future changes in land use in the context of the entire site.
To that end, the Naperville Heritage Society would hold annual meetings to discuss upcoming projects related to the campus. Other recommendations for the property as a whole include increased signage and fencing, improved trails and walkways, additional area events and additional gathering spaces.
City council members recently reviewed the plan and agreed to distribute it to both the park district and Naperville Unit District 203 for further input. They also agreed to participate in an annual meeting and directed staff to prepare a formal lease agreement for the Von Oven property on the site. They did not, however, endorse the central policy recommendation for evaluating future changes in land use.
Park district commissioners gave the plan a positive review Thursday and agreed they would like to participate in an annual meeting to discuss the campus.
"We need to continue representing the park district community in terms of Knoch Park and how we utilize those facilities in conjunction with the whole ... land," Vice President Marie Todd said.
New Commissioner Gerry Heide said he would like to discuss any recommendations among commissioners before presenting them to the city but also spoke highly of the current proposal.
"I thought the plans were interesting," he said. "Obviously a lot of thought went into them."