PLANNING AND ZONING COMMISSION AGENDA ITEM
ACTION REQUESTED:
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Conduct the public hearing to consider the Land Use Master Plan - PZC 19-1-134
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DEPARTMENT: Transportation, Engineering and Development
SUBMITTED BY: Sara Kopinski, AICP
BOARD/COMMISSION REVIEW:
Official notice for the public hearing for PZC 19-1-134 was published in the Daily Herald on February 17, 2020, Wednesday, February 19, 2020, and Monday, February 24, 2020.
BACKGROUND:
Naperville's comprehensive master plan <https://www.naperville.il.us/projects-in-naperville/comprehensive-master-plan/>, first adopted in 1960, serves as a guide for growth and development in the City. It provides direction to those seeking to develop their land, as well as the decision makers who decide whether requests should be approved.
As Naperville has grown, so too has its plan - from a single document serving 12,933 residents when it was first developed in 1960, into three area plans and multiple sub-area plans and implementation tools that have helped shape Naperville into the dynamic destination city of today. The master plan update was undertaken to create in a new, user-friendly plan document that:
• takes into consideration rapidly changing development concepts and trends
• incorporates citizen input and ideas
• consolidates area and many sub-area plans into a single, streamlined master plan that provides clear guidance to citizens, developers and community leaders
Houseal Lavigne Associates <http://www.hlplanning.com/>, a Chicago-based consulting firm specializing in community planning, was contracted to update the plan to reflect current development and demographic conditions in Naperville and to identify future trends and opportunities. The plan is titled Land Use Master Plan to best reflect the recommendations it contains.
DISCUSSION:
For nearly 35 years, planning and policy in the City has been guided by a combination of sector and sub-sector plans that have addressed issues specific to different areas of the community. The Land Use Master Plan (Plan) builds on past planning efforts and provides a unified approach to planning in the community by accounting for current trends, issues, and opportunities. It establishes a single, forward-thinking, user-friendly plan for Naperville with a streamlined format (more than 1,000 pages of previous planning documents have been consolidated into a plan that is less than 100 pages in length).
The future land use recommendations contained within the Plan are not intended to be simply a reflection of existing conditions, though these conditions are an influencing factor. Rather, recommendations are based on best practices and trends, as well as goals that the City is seeking to achieve.
Goals of the Land Use Master Plan
The overarching goals of the Land Use Master Plan include:
• Serve as the single-reference tool for future land use planning in the City (with the exception of the Downtown, 5th Avenue, and the North Central College campus)
• Provide recommendations that are reflective of the City’s vision, as well as best practices, trends, goals, and opportunities related to sound land use planning
• Provide clear, concise, and focused land use recommendations based on professional planning expertise and community input
Community Input
Community input helped influence the recommendations contained in the Plan. The planning process for the Land Use Master Plan included multiple community outreach opportunities, including:
• In-person events:
§ Community Workshops on June 19, 2019: Two workshops were held concurrently at the Municipal Center and the 95th Street Library for the convenience of residents.
§ Elected and Appointed Officials Roundtable on June 24, 2019.
§ Naperville Development Partnership Workshop on June 18, 2019.
§ Public Meeting on December 9, 2019 to discuss the first draft of the Plan
§ Public Meeting on February 3, 2020 to discuss the second draft of the Plan
• Online Outreach: Available June through August 2019
§ Online Resident Questionnaire
§ Online Business & Development Questionnaire
§ Community Facilities & Service Provider Questionnaires
§ map.social (Community Issues Mapping Tool)
The final draft of the Plan has undergone significant changes based on feedback received at the December and February public meetings.
Key Recommendations
The Land Use Master Plan seeks to address and balance a variety of often competing interests. The process diagram below illustrates the different perspectives that were given equal weight and consideration in crafting a single vision for Naperville. Each tier shown helped shape subsequent steps, with the end result being the Future Land Use Plan.
Placemaking Approach
The Land Use Master Plan utilizes a “placemaking” approach that recognizes and promotes the city’s unique places, corridors, and districts. This approach promotes a sustainable and livable land use pattern, taking into consideration compatibility, flexibility, access, market viability, sense of place, and the daily delivery of essential and desirable goods and services.
The Land Use Master Plan divides each area of the City into one of the following six place types:
1. Residential Neighborhood
2. Neighborhood Center
3. Urban Center
4. Regional Center
5. City Corridor
6. Employment Center
Implementing place types, as opposed to specific land use designations, allows greater flexibility in the development process. It will enable development proposals to be considered on a case-by-case basis by using the Plan’s policies and recommendations to evaluate the appropriateness and desirability of potential development.
Residential Neighborhood Place Type
One of the most significant recommendations in the Land Use Master Plan is a philosophy change pertaining to the City’s residential areas. The Plan identifies only one residential place type to accommodate all housing types and densities. The intention of the Residential Neighborhood Place Type is not to reclassify established single-family areas for multi-family development, or to eliminate the City’s existing residential zoning districts. Rather, the residential place type is intended to provide flexibility to Naperville residents and their families as they go through various stages of life/needs, and to address gaps in the City’s housing stock. The updated land use plan encourages better integration of differing housing types and recognizes the need to change the mindset that single family and multi-family residential are not appropriate adjacent to one another.
Concurrent with the City’s efforts to update the Land Use Master Plan, the City has hired consultant SB Friedman to conduct a Housing Needs Assessment (Assessment) for Naperville. Houseal Lavigne has been in contact with SB Friedman to understand their recommendations and ensure that the recommendations of the Land Use Master Plan are compatible with those in the Housing Needs Assessment. The full version of the Housing Needs Assessment that is currently being reviewed by the City’s Housing Advisory Commission can be viewed here <https://naperville.legistar.com/LegislationDetail.aspx?ID=4344668&GUID=0B6D265C-4CB3-499B-A2CD-04FD4B550CD5&Options=&Search> on the City’s website. An excerpt from the document highlighting the conclusions of the Assessment can be viewed in the attachments.
The residential recommendations contained in the Land Use Master Plan complement the data and analysis provided in the Housing Needs Assessment in more general terms. Key findings outlined in the Housing Needs Assessment, which support the Land Use Master Plan’s recommendations for diversifying the City’s housing stock and providing affordable housing options, include:
• Housing affordability appears to be a challenge - approximately 20-22% of existing homeowners and 38-44% of renters are currently paying more than 30% of their gross income on housing. Therefore, there appears to be a considerable need for both owner- and renter-occupied affordable and income-restricted housing throughout the City to meet current residents’ needs.
• In recent years, population growth has slowed, and the City has become nearly built-out. The lack of additional developable land, combined with the desirability of the community, is driving several housing-related issues, particularly in terms of housing affordability and constrained supply at certain price points.
• A lack of developable land has increased property values to a level where building new housing at lower price points is challenging. Key informants indicated that housing affordability challenges are impacting not only lower-income households, but middle- and working-class households as well, particularly seniors looking to downsize, entry-level home buyers, and Naperville workers who wish to live closer to their workplace. Key informants also indicated unmet housing needs for people with special needs, those currently facing or at risk of homelessness, and veterans.
• A constrained supply of land available for residential development is likely to impact the type of new product that can be built in Naperville going forward. Much of the residential growth will need to occur through changes in land use and redevelopment of existing sites. This is likely to result in a shift to more dense and small-lot development, including additional multifamily product and attached single-family homes.
Consistent with the recommendations of the Housing Needs Assessment, the proposed Land Use Master Plan establishes recommendations which seek to increase housing diversity. This includes recommendations for small lot single-family developments, tiny homes, and accessory dwelling units, and encourages additional townhome and multi-family development to occur throughout the City. Residential components are also recommended to be introduced as supporting uses in the City’s commercial areas in response to the changing nature of retail.
Ten Geographic Areas
At the onset of the Land Use Master Plan Update process, the City provided a list of 10 geographic areas that were anticipated to develop or redevelop at some point in the next 20 years. Unlike many areas of the City which have been established with residential, commercial, office, industrial, or other uses, these 10 areas are either vacant, underutilized, or improved with an outdated building, making them suitable for development or redevelopment in the future.
The Land Use Master Plan addresses each of these areas in Chapter 5 by applying their recommended place types along with additional context (i.e. why the specific place type was selected and other specific or unique considerations).
Implementation
The Implementation chapter of the Plan presents a list of actions to potentially improve existing land use tools and further efforts to support to the Plan’s guiding principles. Implementation actions have been identified for each of the five guiding principles and include potential zoning code updates, zoning incentives for affordable and senior housing, programs to assist with commercial parcel assembly or repurposing underutilized commercial spaces, and more. It is important to note that any Code amendments that are recommended will be subject to review through the City’s established public processes. It is also important to reiterate the following:
• The Land Use Master Plan does not recommend any City-initiated rezonings, and spot zoning is not recommended anywhere in Naperville. Properties will continue with their current zoning allowances, even if the plan recommends other uses. Property owners would need to request a rezoning through the City’s established processes, just as they always have.
• Implementing place types, as opposed to specific land use designations, allows greater flexibility in the development process. It will enable development proposals to be considered on a case-by-case basis by using the Plan’s policies and recommendations to evaluate the appropriateness and desirability of potential development.
Key Takeaways
• The Land Use Master Plan provides the City with a new, user-friendly plan document that takes into consideration rapidly changing development concepts and trends, incorporates citizen input, and consolidates many sub-area plans into one plan that provides clear guidance to citizens, developers and community leaders
• The Plan’s recommendations are rooted in market realities and the City’s changing demographics.
• The future land use recommendations contained within the Plan are not intended to be simply a reflection of existing conditions, though these conditions are an influencing factor. Rather, recommendations are based on best practices and trends, as well as goals that the City is seeking to achieve.
• Adoption of the Land Use Master Plan will not result in any City-initiated rezonings. Any future development requests beyond existing zoning will require the petitioner to justify the appropriateness of the proposed development, not based on a map color, but based on the Plan’s principles.
Related Files
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