Public hearing on downtown plan set for Feb. 21
The Lombard Plan Commission will hold a public hearing to consider adopting the Downtown Plan as part of the village's comprehensive plan on Feb. 21.
Concluding an extensive public input process, the draft plan will have been reviewed by seven Village committees and commissions since it was discussed by the Village Board on November 18. The Plan Commission's recommendation is expected to be considered at the March 3 Village Board meeting, at which time the Downtown Plan could be officially adopted by the Village.
This Downtown Plan is the next step to a long-term solution for Downtown Lombard. With the assistance of a Community Planning Grant from the Regional Transportation Authority, the village hired a consultant team led by Teska Associates of Evanston. In June, the Teska team sat down with 45 Lombardians to get their thoughts and ideas about issues and concerns that are facing the downtown.
These focus group discussions led to the preliminary development concepts that were discussed at an open house in August. Comments from more than 70 attendees at the open house were used to select the development concepts that are included in the Downtown Plan, which covers the Central Business District as well as the East St. Charles Road area from Garfield to Grace Streets. The draft version of the plan was discussed by 60 interested citizens at an October open house held at the Helen Plum Library.
The Downtown Plan continues the efforts of the Community Development Department to improve the downtown area. In 2009, the village held visioning sessions that were attended by more than 100 residents, property owners, and business owners. The visioning served as a guide for downtown development policy and decision making, providing general recommendations as well as specific program actions directed toward guiding development decisions for the downtown.
The draft version of the plan may be viewed online on the Downtown Plan website at www.teskaassociates.com/lombard/index.htm.
The public is welcome to attend the Plan Commission meeting at 7:30 p.m. on Feb. 21 in the Village Hall Board Room or watch the meeting live on The Lombard Channel (Comcast Channel 6 or AT&T U-Verse Channel 99) or online at www.villageoflombard.org. For any questions related to the Downtown Plan, please contact the Department of Community Development at (630) 620-5749.