R2009-148 APPROVING AND ADOPTING MACON COUNTY - DECATUR COMPREHENSIVE PLAN

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ECONOMIC AND URBAN DEVELOPMENT MEMORANDUM Memo No. 09-55 August 17, 2009 TO: Honorable Mayor Mike McElroy and City Council Members FROM: Ryan McCrady, City Manager Greg Crowe, Assistant City Manag Mark L. Smith, Senior Pl SUBJECT: Adoption of the Macon County Decatur Comprehensive Plan SUMMARY RECOMMENDATION: The Comprehensive Plan Steering Committee and Staff recommend approval and adoption of the Final Draft of the Macon Counry - Decatur Comprehensive Plan, dated May 22, 2009. BACKGROUND: The City's current Comprehensive Plan was last updated in 1990. The Macon County Comprehensive Plan was last updated in the early 1970's. Between 2002 and 2006 City and County staff sought funding to pay for this crucial, complex and expensive planning initiative. In early 2006, the Decatur Urbanized Area Transportation Study (DUATS), in cooperation with the Federal Highway Administration and Illinois Department of Transportation approved funding 80% of the project cost. On November 6, 2006, the City Council adopted Resolution R2006-170 which authorized paying one half(1/2) of the match in support of the creation of a joint Comprehensive Plan with Macon County, which likewise supported the project and contributed one half(1/2) of the match. In November 2006, a contract for professional planning services was approved and entered into by DUATS and the planning firm Camiros and then Mayor Paul Osborne and County Board Chair Dave Wolfe jointly appointed a Comprehensive Plan Steering Committee to oversee the planning process. Between January, 2007 and May, 2009, the Steering Committee oversaw creation of the Comprehensive Plan. The planning period included extensive public outreach and numerous public participation opportunities. A summary of the outreach and public participation is attached and made a part of this memo. On June 4, 2009, the Steering Committee unanimously adopted a Resolution recommending that the Final Draft Plan, dated May 22, 2009, be adopted by the Decatur City Council and the Macon County Board. A copy of the Steering Committee's Resolution is attached and is part of this memo. On July 9, 2009,the Macon County Board unanimously adopted the Final Draft. The Illinois Planning Technical Assistance Act of 1992. (Public Act 92-0768, Sec. 5) required that a detailed look at the following component areas be undertaken during the planning process. - Issues & Opportunities - Land Use & Development - Transportation