Ideas into Action: The Comprehensive Development Plan

A Renewed Comprehensive Development Plan. In 1992 the City Council approved the 2010 Comprehensive Development Plan. As with most plans aspects have changed over time due to circumstances. I believe it is time to make an overall reassessment of future development in the City. - 2013 Campaign Platform, Christopher Fischer for Commissioner

When I first started exploring the possibility of running for Commissioner in the City of Zion, I put a great deal of research and thought into my platform.  Focusing not only on addressing current concerns, but also what steps need to be taken to build the future of the city. One of the key parts was a renewed comprehensive development plan to chart a path for the city for the next 20 years.

Just a couple of months after the April 2013 election, the City announced that they had applied to the Chicago Metropolitan Agency for Planning for a Local Technical Assistance grant develop a new Comprehensive Development Plan. Then, just a couple of months ago it was announced that the grant had been awarded, and the process of selecting a consulting agency to facilitate the creation of the plan had begun.

Last week, I received a letter from Sonolito Bronson, Economic Development Coordinator for the City of Zion, inviting me to participate in the kickoff meeting for the development plan process, where the consultants from Teska Associates, Inc. would provide an overview of the process, and the invitees would be asked for their interest in participating in the Planning Committee.

I attended the meeting, found it very informative, and indicated my willingness to be a part of the Planning Committee.  Currently I am waiting to hear if I will be included.  While I am waiting, I thought I would share with you, a copy of the meeting handout. Please excuse my scribbled notes.

Part of the process outlined is the solicitation of citizen input to the plan, so if after looking these pages over, you have any ideas, feel free to share them here if you like.

The goal is to have a plan that the City Council can vote to approve (or not) in April of 2015.  

Ideas and Action are required if we want to build a City we can take pride in, without them, it's just a pile of paper on a shelf.   Speaking for myself, I'm ready to get to work.