The Village of Park Forest is developing a sustainability plan that will maintain and enhance residents’ quality of life for decades to come. As part of that effort, the Village invites local residents, business owners, community leaders, and other stakeholders to attend a special community planning event.
The public will have two opportunities in July to attend evening events to contribute to the sustainability plan by sharing their goals for sustainability. The first public event will be for young adults (ages 13 to 20) on Tuesday, July 12, 2011, from 7:00 to 9:00 p.m. at the Dining on the Green Banquet Hall (349 Main Street, Park Forest, IL 60466). The second public event is open to participants of all ages on Thursday, July 14, 2011, from 7:00 to 9:00 p.m. at the Dining on the Green Banquet Hall. Each session will feature a brainstorming exercise in which participants can share their preferences on sustainability issues and goals for the future of Park Forest.
Park Forest’s sustainability plan will consider topics such as:
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· Planning and design
· Natural systems
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· Energy and climate
· Economic development
· Equity and social issues
A grant to the Chicago Metropolitan Agency for Planning (CMAP) from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) is enabling CMAP staff to provide technical assistance to Park Forest, including help with public participation in the plan’s development.
July 12 and 14 events let residents have their say
To begin, the Village will ask residents to answer the question: What does sustainability mean to you? The July 12 and July 14 meetings are a chance for people to have their voices be heard. At these initial public meetings, residents can weigh in about the goals they think the plan should set. Should the Village have more safe and convenient bicycle and walking paths? Is it important to preserve the open spaces in the Village? Could new energy initiatives help cut the cost of your home’s utility bills?
For more information or to RSVP for one of these public events, please contact Jessica Simoncelli, Community Outreach Planner at CMAP (jsimoncelli@cmap.illinois.gov or 312-386-8631). Both events are free to the public. Sign-in begins at 6:30 p.m. and light refreshments will be served.
HUD and CMAP build capacity for local planning
Especially in challenging economic times, many communities have difficulty allocating enough resources to plan as proactively as they would prefer. At the same time, proactive planning is necessary for economic prosperity and protecting community assets. The HUD-funded effort is helping fill this gap by making staff resources and grants available to assist with local planning projects that help to implement GO TO 2040, the first comprehensive plan for metropolitan Chicago in more than 100 years.
The HUD grant to CMAP was announced one day after leaders of the seven-county region, on October 13, 2010, unanimously adopted GO TO 2040. The region’s plan establishes coordinated strategies that help the region’s 284 communities address transportation, housing, economic development, open space, the environment, and other quality-of-life issues. See www.cmap.illinois.gov for more information.
With the three-year $4.25 million HUD award (http://www.cmap.illinois.gov/press-release-10-14-10), CMAP has begun a new Local Technical Assistance program sponsored by HUD as part of the federal interagency Partnership for Sustainable Communities. CMAP issued a call for projects in early 2011, prompting more than 220 proposals from over 130 municipalities, counties, interjurisdictional groups, and nongovernmental organizations – an indication of significant unmet demand for local planning capacity.
In March, CMAP began partnering with the first wave of 62 local governments, nonprofits, and intergovernmental organizations selected for assistance. Like the Park Forest effort, these projects address local issues at the intersection of transportation, land use, and housing, including the natural environment, economic growth, and community development. Download a full list of projects at http://goo.gl/1nYBM.
CMAP is the official regional planning organization for the northeastern Illinois counties of Cook, DuPage, Kane, Kendall, Lake, McHenry, and Will.
Media contact: Justine Reisinger, 312-386-8802 or jreisinger@cmap.illinois.gov
Program contact: Pete Saunders, 312-386-8654 or psaunders@cmap.illinois.gov
