Planning staff to publish final draft of county strategic land use plan; Western corridor outreach continues
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Summary
Regional planning staff said they will publish a polished final draft of the McLean County strategic land use plan next week for partner review after a second public comment period closed Oct. 22.
Regional planning staff told the McLean County Land Use and Transportation Committee on Nov. 4 that the second round of public comment on the draft strategic land use plan closed Oct. 22 and that staff expect to post a polished final draft next week for review by partner jurisdictions.
Anthony Baumann, a planner working on the draft, said the county received 16 additional online responses and two emailed comments during the second comment period and that many of the early concerns have been addressed. He said some issues remain. “There are still some concerns that members of the public have, such as the amount of ag land in the 1 and a half miles around the urban area of Bloomington-Normal being designated for non-ag use,” Baumann said.
Baumann also noted that the East Side Highway, east of Towanda Barnes Road, was removed from the plan and that staff have been coordinating smaller edits with partners. He said staff plan to distribute the final draft to elected officials and partners for about a week before posting it to the planning website and that each municipality will individually decide its review and adoption process; the county could present the plan to this board in December or January depending on timing.
Separately, staff described the Western corridor (Veterans Parkway) planning project’s second engagement round and urged attendance at multiple public open houses and a business-community session. Staff listed in-person events (business session at 3:30 p.m. and public open house at 6 p.m. at the Moose Lodge; a second in-person open house at 6 p.m. at the downtown public library) and a virtual open house set for Nov. 12 from 6–8 p.m.; the project website and Zoom link are posted at mcplan.org.
Committee members pressed about adoption timing; several said they expect the city and town to act in January and county action thereafter. Staff and administration said they can explore an intergovernmental agreement if the committee wants coordinated adoption, but each jurisdiction must adopt independently.
