LAKEMOOR – After a year of planning and public hearings, a vision for the village of Lakemoor is set for a vote.
Except for a few minor changes, the draft comprehensive plan will go before the village’s Plan Commission on Tuesday. The proposal then will go before the Village Board for final review.
The plan was put together by the Chicago Metropolitan Agency for Planning and paid for through a U.S. Housing and Urban Development grant. The agency pulled from feedback it received through several meetings over the past year.
Nora Beck, an associate planner with the agency, will give a short presentation on the final draft to the Plan Commission at its meeting and answer questions, she said.
The idea is “to make sure everyone is on the same page of what it includes” before the commission makes its recommendation, Beck said.
The Lakemoor Plan Commission hasn’t met in about a year and a half because there haven’t been any development issues, Village Administrator David Alarcon said. But its chairman has been attending meetings on the comprehensive plan.
The last feedback the Chicago Metropolitan Agency for Planning received on its proposal was in November, Senior Planner Jason Navota said.
“The plan was very well received,” he said. “We got a few substantive comments, but nothing that would alter the general direction that the plan takes. We think the plan accurately and effectively reflects the direction the village wants to take.”
Residents had two main thoughts about the future of their village, he said.
First, they consider Lily Lake the centerpiece of the community. It was the resource around which the village – originally a summer vacation destination – was formed. And that, he said, led to the No. 1 request the agency heard, which was make the town center more of a town center.
“The way it’s designed isn’t very pedestrian friendly, and it doesn’t have the look and feel that a real town center does,” Navota said.
The plan addresses that by proposing an expansion of Morrison Park – which is adjacent to the lake and the commercial area – and the addition of pedestrian and bicycle trails.
The Chicago Metropolitan Agency for Planning won’t disappear after the Village Board decides on whether to go with the proposed comprehensive plan.
The agency will connect the village with other resources in the region, including civic organizations and nonprofits that specialize in, for example, natural resource protection or bicycle path planning, Navota said.
Finding the money to pay for improvements likely will be the biggest implementation aspect in which the agency will help the village, Beck said.
If you go
Information about the comprehensive plan can be found by going to www.cmap.illinois.gov and searching for “Lakemoor.”
The Plan Commission meets at 7 p.m. Tuesday at the Lakemoor Police Department, 27901 Concrete Drive.
