Forest Park is gearing up to update its comprehensive plan, which identifies goals for the village when it comes to its budget, facilities, land use, policy changes and transportation.
At the last November village council meeting, commissioners unanimously approved to start seeking proposals for a consultant to help them rewrite the comprehensive plan. The plan will outline key issues in Forest Park, desired goals and implementation strategies.
The village drafted its first comprehensive plan in 2001. The last time the village amended this plan was a decade ago, and many of the action items it outlined have either been completed or need to be reconsidered.
Some goals in the 2014 plan included:
- Developing the downtown business district along Madison Street
- Working with the park district to create parks and open spaces
- Encouraging the de-conversion of single family homes that have been converted to multiple units back to single units
- Continuing plans for an interconnected bike path system
- Improving police and fire facilities
Several players will assist the consultant team with developing a new comprehensive plan. These include village staff, the planning and zoning commission, the village’s planning consultant from MUSE Community and Design, and a steering committee made up of public officials and community representatives. Village Administrator Rachell Entler will manage the project.
The plan’s cost and timeline
The cost of developing a new comprehensive plan is partially coming out of funds the village received from the American Rescue Plan Act after Covid-19.
In October, the village council met to decide how to spend the last of Forest Park’s ARPA funds, designating $100,000 to the comprehensive plan.
Updating the plan will cost more than that, according to Entler. The $100,000 will likely only cover paying a consultant and doesn’t include the cost for Muse Community and Design to review the plan.
“It would help take $100,000 of pressure off of the general fund,” Entler said at the October meeting to discuss how to use the final ARPA funds.
The deadline to submit proposals is Dec. 20, but some commissioners urged others to extend the deadline slightly.
At the last village council meeting, Commissioner of Public Property Jessica Voogd asked the village council about extending the deadline into 2025 to give interested consultants a bit more time, and to account for what is often a busy holiday season for many people.
Voogd also wanted to know if the village would lose the $100,000 in ARPA funding if they didn’t use it before the end of the year. While the village’s ARPA funds had to be assigned by the end of this year – or the village would’ve had to return them to the United States Department of Treasury – the money doesn’t need to be spent until the end of 2026.
Commissioner of Streets and Public Improvements Michelle Melin Rogovin agreed with Voogd’s request to delay the deadline for proposal submissions so the village could get the maximum number of respondents.
Commissioner of Public Health and Safety Ryan Nero thought there was no reason to extend the deadline.
“Twenty-five days, almost a month, I think that’s more than reasonable,” Nero said.
But when Voogd suggested Jan. 6 as a deadline for proposals, the council unanimously agreed.
Officials intend to start drafting the new comprehensive plan in the spring.
One of the consultant’s first tasks will be summarizing the achievements and shortfalls of the 2014 plan, then interviewing local officials, property and business owners, and neighborhood representatives. After, there will be a community outreach survey and site analysis.
To approve the comprehensive plan, the consultant will present it to Forest Park’s planning and zoning commission and the village council.