Comprehensive Plan Advances to St. Charles Council Committee

The St. Charles Plan Commission late Tuesday voted 6-0 to send the 2013 draft Comprehensive Plan, along with the commission’s discussion points, to the City Council Planning & Development Committee, which could begin its review of the document in April.

The commission began its review of the document after the first of the year, delving into the plan in sometimes painstaking detail. But it was apparent Tuesday that the commissioners wanted to conclude their work on the plan, in part at least, as Commissioner Brian Doyle pointed out, because there are some pending projects awaiting completion of the document.

The draft plan, which was 18 months in the making even before it was passed on to the Plan Commission in January, is considered a policy statement and a guideline for future development. Commissioners at one point noted that concept should have greater emphasis in the plan, which some have confused as a regulatory document.

It is not.

Devin Lavigne, of Houseal Lavigne Associates, the consultants the city hired to shepherd the drafting of the plan, told commissioners the Comprehensive Plan is not intended to be used as a rule of law to dictate future development and how it occurs. Rather, he said, it’s a guide for what the city envisions.

Later during Tuesday’s meeting, he pointed to the plan’s Chapter 11, which is about implementing the plan. That chapter is not about making the plan a large capital project, he said, but about incremental steps and need. Some of the implementation steps, he noted, would include making regulatory changes over time to support the vision set in the plan.

Some steps for implementing the plan including adopting it, and then using it daily. City planners would use the plan as a guide while reviewing the city’s zoning and development controls for changes that might be needed to support the comprehensive plan.

Other aspects of implementing the plan, he said, include cooperation, public communication and regular updates to the plan to keep it aligned with the city’s needs as conditions change.

The plan, along with a handful of “talking points” commissioners discussed Tuesday night, as well as minutes from their meetings and public hearings on the plan, now will head to the St. Charles City Council Planning & Development Committee for its review and public hearing process.

Assuming the committee is satisfied with the results, the plan then would advance to the City Council for formal adoption.

Also on Tuesday, Doyle informed the commission that he would have to step down for 10 weeks to complete the final course in his field of study. Commission Chairman Todd Wallace suggested he or the mayor might consider finding a replacement for Doyle due to the long absence.

Related:

• Feb. 9, 2013: St. Charles Comprehensive Plan Review Continues
• Dec. 13, 2012: Panel Ends Work on St. Charles Comprehensive Plan
• Dec. 5, 2012: St. Charles Plan Commission Braces for Comprehensive Plan
• Nov. 16, 2012: End in Sight for St. Charles Plan Panel
• Oct. 26, 2012: St. Charles Task Force Works to Polish Comprehensive Plan
• Aug. 31, 2011: City of St. Charles First Comprehensive Plan Workshop Aug. 31

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