Planning Commission - Regular Meeting

The McLean County Government and the McLean County Regional Planning Commission are excited to announce the development of the McLean County Regional Comprehensive Plan 2045. This video will cover the basics of comprehensive plans: what they are, how they are developed, how they are used, and how you can use this plan to help shape the future of McLean County. A comprehensive plan lays out a community’s goals for the future and how to achieve them, recommending policies and best practices that assist local governments in decision-making. Upon adoption, it will become the official County Comprehensive Plan to be used by the public, staff, and elected officials to understand the long-term goals of the County and guide future policy recommendations. The plan does not change any official ordinances or regulations currently in place by the County, other than the previously adopted Comprehensive Plan. Compared to most plans that target a specific topic, such as housing, environmental protection, or land use, a comprehensive plan covers all aspects of a community in a holistic planning approach. This approach helps connect the dots between the various plans created by local governments. For example, information from the Regional Housing Recovery plan will be incorporated with topics from the Go:Safe McLean County Action plan... ...to create recommended goals and actions related to pedestrian safety features for new planned housing developments. Many Comprehensive Plans include topics such as population, agriculture and environmental resources, land use, housing, infrastructure, education, and more. Comprehensive plans typically present this information in several distinct chapters to establish the existing conditions of a region. That information is then tied together in a Goals, Actions, and Implementation matrix... ...that outlines what the goals for the future are and specific actions that can be taken to achieve those goals. The Comprehensive Plan has a proposed planning horizon of 2045. The planning horizon is a tool used to show how far into the future we are trying to plan for. That 20-year time frame is one of the things that makes a comprehensive plan unique; it requires us to think beyond the present towards the next generation.

The current Regional Comprehensive Plan was adopted in 2009. A lot has happened in McLean County since that time, so it’s important that we have a document that reflects the realities of our region. It’s important to note that this plan is not set in stone until 2045. If there are major changes in the region after the plan’s adoption, we can and should revise it to reflect those changes. This plan is intended to be a living document throughout the twenty-year planning horizon. The Comprehensive Plan is primarily intended to serve the unincorporated areas of the County that fall under the direct jurisdiction of the County government. However, local municipalities and other units of government will be consulted throughout the planning process to ensure we think of the region as a unified system. The County will be the entity that adopts and uses the plan going forward. The main objective of this plan is to provide the McLean County Government with a long-range planning document to be used in its jurisdiction. The McLean County Regional Planning Commission, known as MCRPC, will be working closely with McLean County Government to assist with the development of the Comprehensive Plan. MCRPC is the federally designated Metropolitan Planning Organization for the Bloomington-Normal Urbanized Area. While our focus is on regional transportation plans, we have agreements with the local municipalities to provide technical assistance on regional planning topics, including assisting with the development of Comprehensive Plans. This plan cannot be created solely in the office of MCRPC, and therefore, we have reached out to a diverse array of local partners to form the Project Steering Committee, or PSC. The PSC is composed of elected officials, local government staff, non-profit leaders, and other subject matter experts. This committee will meet monthly throughout the planning process to provide outside feedback on decisions made by MCRPC staff and County leadership. Public participation is essential for a Comprehensive Plan to accurately represent the community’s vision for the future. Over the course of the 18-month planning process, we will be conducting three public engagement campaigns... ...that will include surveys, public workshops, informational materials, and public meetings.

The first campaign will include the publishing of the Comprehensive Plan website, a visioning survey, and open house workshops... ...to identify the community’s vision for the future of McLean County. The second and third engagement campaigns will occur later on in the planning process. McLean County and MCRPC representatives will also be giving regular updates at the County Land Use & Transportation Committee, County Board, and Regional Planning Commission meetings. Thank you for watching to the end of this video and for your interest in the McLean County Regional Comprehensive Plan Update. For more information, please visit compplan-mcleangis.hub.arcgis.com or mcplan.org The links to both websites are in the description of this video. We look forward to working with you!