This planner's work is good to the last draft
No cake, no handshakes, no hugs.
Such is the finale of one's civic career under COVID. Tom Poupard was at his desk, working.
"I am writing zoning code interpretations, documenting some of the decisions I've made over the years so it's written down on paper and not just stuck in my head," Poupard said on Jan. 29, his last day as Northbrook's director of Development & Planning Services.
A Northbrook planner since 1990, that would be a fascinating document.
Poupard could include notes about the central business area, which in 1999 won an award by the Illinois chapter of the American Planning Association. Or about the Techny Overlay District. Or helping the sustainability discussion gain traction, or another of his favorites, the transformation of the Skokie Boulevard corridor.
Then there's all that zoning code people don't think about, yet it affects how they live, work and shop in Northbrook. It's his town, too.
One of the things Poupard is proudest of is the work put into the Affordable Housing Plan the board approved in December. The plan saw its first application during the board's Jan. 12 preliminary discussion of a subdivision proposed for 3000-3080 Willow Road.
"As a planner, I sort of had a code of ethics where I was always trying to make the world a better place, and housing is such an important element in people's lives. As Northbrook has become a nicer community, it's become less affordable, even for people like me," said Poupard, who will be succeeded by Michaela Kohlstadt.
"It's always been very important to me that the community had policies that reflect the desire of the community, not my desires. That's what a representative democracy is all about. I'm probably most proud of the fact that we even had the discussion, is this something we wanted to do or not. I'm very pleased with the outcome. But there were many years where we chose not to have that discussion," he said.
A pair of native Midwesterners, Poupard and his wife, Clare, and their then 1-year-old daughter Constance, arrived in Northbrook after Tom's two years as a private-sector planner in Leesburg, Virginia.
Before that he served for the Town of Leesburg and with a consulting firm in Vero Beach, Florida. His work won awards in those places as well.
Constance is now an aerospace engineer in California; their son, Joseph, works in cybersecurity in Boston.
Tom himself, a member of the APA and of the American Institute of Certified Planners, graduated with honors from Iowa State in community and regional planning. He got his master's in urban planning from the University of Illinois.
"Trying to figure out what should be built has always been somewhat of a moving target," said Poupard, who looks forward in retirement to exploring volunteer and social activism opportunities.
Over 31 years in Northbrook, he hit the bull's-eye many times.
"I always felt that, living here, I was very vested in the community," Poupard said. "I think over the course of 30 years Northbrook has only gotten better. I don't attribute that to me, but I think the change has, for the large part, been extremely positive. It was really a nice community when I moved here 30 years ago, and I think it's a really special place. I think it's really a great community to live in and raise kids and work."