Highland Park council adopts amendments to downtown redevelopment plan

The Highland Park Borough Council voted to adopt ordinance 26-21-24, which amends the downtown redevelopment plan for Tracts A–D, after a public hearing and comment from residents.

The measure, described by council members as a set of housekeeping and design-related updates, passed on a roll-call vote following public comment from multiple residents and advisory-committee members. Marsha Shipman, a local planner and vice chair of Main Street Highland Park, urged clearer limits on residential and incidental uses at ground level and recommended frontage-setback language ("10 to 15 feet") for offices and stronger coordination with the Shade Tree Advisory Committee on landscaping. "We really want to have a vibrant downtown and allow for uses that people walking by will use," Shipman said during public participation.

The ordinance as adopted keeps the amendments on track while leaving some site-specific programming decisions to ongoing negotiations with redevelopers. A borough staff member participating via Zoom said staff recommends adopting the ordinance now because certain aspects of building programming have already been negotiated with the developers and large-scale changes cannot be inserted at this stage, though landscaping items can still be discussed. "We can certainly take a look at those things, and as we negotiate these specific projects, we can see what ideas are workable," the staff member said.

Council members framed the ordinance as the next procedural step in an extended public process. Matt Hale, chair of the Economic Development Committee, described the changes as "housekeeping updates" that accommodate parking and streetscape improvements tied to the planned 3rd Avenue plaza and other public-space investments.

What happened: After closing public participation, the council moved to adopt Ordinance 26-21-24 on final reading and recorded an affirmative roll-call vote; the ordinance was adopted on final reading. The meeting record shows the council completed the reading, public hearing, motion and roll-call adoption.

Why it matters: The amendments affect zoning details for the downtown redevelopment tracts and will shape how ground-floor frontage, parking, and landscaping are implemented in future projects. Residents and advisory committees flagged concerns about preserving pedestrian-oriented retail and ensuring street-tree and stormwater coordination.

Next steps: With final adoption complete, staff will continue negotiations with redevelopers on project-level details, and public committees (including the Shade Tree Advisory Committee) will be engaged on landscaping and plant selection as projects advance. The council did not indicate any additional hearings tied to this ordinance in the meeting record.