CITY COUNCIL AGENDA ITEM
ACTION REQUESTED:
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Endorse the Naperville Riverwalk 2031 Master Plan
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DEPARTMENT: Transportation, Engineering and Development
SUBMITTED BY: William J Novack, Director of TED/City Engineer
BOARD/COMMISSION REVIEW:
On September 9, 2020 the Naperville Riverwalk Commission unanimously approved the Naperville Riverwalk 2031 Master Plan and directed staff to seek endorsement from the Naperville Park District Board and the Naperville City Council.
BACKGROUND:
The development, construction, and maintenance of the Naperville Riverwalk has been a collaborative community effort since it was first envisioned in the early 1980's. All of those efforts were formally documented in the first Riverwalk Maintenance Agreement approved in 2003. That agreement discussed the history and development of the Riverwalk and how maintenance would be addressed and funded into the future. When the City Council and Naperville Park District Board approved the Maintenance Agreement they also directed staff to prepare the Development Guidelines and, subsequently, an Asset Management Plan. Both of those documents have served the community and the Riverwalk well.
Over the last several years the Riverwalk Commission has been approached by many groups and individuals wanting to enhance or install various improvements on the Riverwalk. Two recent successful examples include Harmony Park near Rotary Hill and the Naperville Jaycees Park on the north side of the Municipal Center. While the Riverwalk Development Guidelines have been useful, and many projects have been implemented, these two recent successful projects demonstrated what an improved vision and focus on the future could yield.
DISCUSSION:
In late 2019 the Naperville Riverwalk Commission decided that, rather than be in a reactionary position relative to development initiatives on the Riverwalk, they would rather be proactive. With the City's bicentennial and the 50th anniversary of the Napervil...
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