ULI Chicago and the Campaign for Sensible Growth advise Elburn how to plan for growth for a transit-oriented development adjacent to a new Metra line extension, and conservation development within "the box" of streams that define the community.
Long-time residents of the
farming community of Elburn, Ill., located in western Kane County, have
talked about suburban growth reaching their village for decades. But nine
miles of undeveloped farmland between their village and St. Charles and other Fox
River communities to the east, and Spring Grove and I- 88 to the south, is no
longer enough to separate the community from growth pressure. Metra's construction of
a new extension line from Geneva is moving at a brisk pace, expected to open by
the end of 2005. Two new developments in the community, and far more in
surrounding communities, have brought development issues center stage.
On Sept. 29 and 30, the Urban Land Institute (ULI) Chicago
and the Campaign for Sensible Growth organized a technical assistance
panel for the community.
The panel met with village officials, business and community leaders
and intensively worked for the two-day visit to try to answer specific questions
posed by the village.
Members of the
panel included Gregory Hummel, panel chair and a partner
at Bell, Boyd & Lloyd; Robert E. Cowhey, president, Cowhey Gudmundson
Leder, Ltd.; Douglas Farr, founding principal and president, Farr Associates Architecture and
Urban Design; Stephen B. Friedman; president, S. B. Friedman &
Company; David K. Hill, chairman & CEO; Kimball Hill
Homes; William Humphrey, Illinois State director, The Conservation Fund; Diane Legge
Kemp, principal, DKL Architecture, Inc.; Joyce O'Keefe, assistant director,
Openlands Project; Randy Tharp, senior vice president - construction, A. Epstein
& Sons International, Inc.; and Nicholas F. Wilder, president, Waveland
Partners.
The Village of Elburn representation was led by David Morrison, village
administrator and Dr. James L. Willey, mayor, Village of Elburn.
The panel presented its
findings to the public on the afternoon of Sept. 30.
The panel divided its presentation into four areas:
Vision
The panel recommended proactively executing the vision of the village in
face of accelerating development through boundary agreements, protecting the
"emerald necklace," developing a detailed comprehensive plan establishing the
town framework and design principles (down to the block level), and using
regulatory and financial implementation tools to meet the above objectives.
Countryside conservation development
The panel recommended protecting the emerald
necklace by working with the Kane County Forest Preserve District to acquire land and/or easements,
retaining 250-foot buffers on both sides of
streams that make up "the box," and requiring developers to do
their part in the development of new proposals to connect bicycle
and pedestrians paths. Key to this is inventorying assets to save
and establishing a park district for both land acquisition and programming. Countryside development
should maintain the rural feel by creating true parkways along major collectors and along
Routes 38 and 47.
A healthy lifestyle can be encouraged by adopting a community-wide bicycle
trail plan and all paths should link into a village-wide network. Mixing uses
and clustering housing will free up usable open space and density bonuses
beyond two units per acre should be considered in exchange for reduced
impervious surfaces. Detention ponds (including existing ones) should be
naturalized and integrated throughout subdivisions, and landcaping can be
improved by adopting landscape and tree ordinances. The village needs to plan
its future, including streets and blocks to give developers a vision for how the
community develops, from small lots close to the transit-oriented development
site, to larger lots on the perimeter of the village.
In-town transit-oriented development
Adjacent to the new Metra station is a
large site that is being considered for transit-oriented development. The site must incorporate linkages to
the station, downtown, and the larger community and region. A major issue is how
to deal with north-south traffic that is currently at a standstill with 80
freight trains per day crossing Route 47. Metra service will only add
to the blockages on 47. The panel recommended two different schemes for
how to incorporate a new overpass over the train tracks east
of 47.
The plan concepts are to have higher densities close to the Metra station,
flexible uses to respond to market demand in the station zone, open space (such
as a soccer field) between the development and the new overpass that will extend
Anderson, and opening the north side as a secondary retail and infill park to
link the station to the existing downtown. Building types would include
mixed-use with residential and retail; mixed-use with flats over retail;
multi-family; duplex; townhomes; and single family. The transit-oriented
development "outside the box" ideas would call for moving the planned Anderson
Road overpass further east and building it as a context-sensitive boulevard
rather than as a typical highway that would bisect the community.
Implementation
There are a range of activities the village would
need to move forward on to meet its vision for the future, starting
with completing a detailed comprehensive plan/strategy document that
would meld physical planning, financing and project management together.
Tools that can be used to protect the emerald necklace include purchase and bonds, conservation easements, pre-annexation/annexation agreements, exactions, and incentives/density bonus/transferable development rights.
Financing sources include federal, stae and local grants, and partnerships with nonprofit
organizations. Financial tools for projects include a financial
plan and capital budget, general obligation bonding, alternative revenue bonds, developer
exactions, and special service areas. The panel recommended a TIF
for the downtown and transit-oriented
development site. The panel also listed over
a dozen sources for seed money and project financing sources.
A full report with the plans, drawings and detailed recommendations will be
made available on this Web site in the future.
For more information, contact Ellen Shubart , Campaign for Sensible
Growth Manager, at 312-863-6009.