Subarea Residential Planning: A Collaborative Demonstration Project Initiated

Chicago, Illinois, February 11, 1998 -- Eleven communities in Kane and McHenry counties came together tonight to initiate a 12-month residential planning demonstration project. The communities, joined together by their expectation of continued population, household and employment growth, have undertaken a planning process to study their common residential issues and their linkages to transportation, education, public finance, and social infrastructure. The project was initiated by the Northeastern Illinois Planning Commission.

The Subarea Steering Committee includes appointed representatives from Algonquin, Carpentersville, Cary, Crystal Lake, East Dundee, Elgin, Fox River Grove, Gilberts, Lake in the Hills, and Sleepy Hollow. Kane and McHenry counties are also represented. The Village of West Dundee has also been invited to participate.

The Committee will :

• identify the issues and assess the needs of present and future populations of the subarea;
• identify and assess existing and potential opportunities to provide a wide range of housing options in the subarea;
• utilize an array of technical expertise and planning education opportunities on residential and related subjects;
• identify ways to make financing more affordable for both the developer and buyer;
• reach a common understanding of the types of future residential and community development subarea residents desire and the subarea will need; and
• identify, develop, and begin implementation of subarea/intergovernmental strategies for residential production, design, financing, regulation, leadership, and taxation policies.

The project is an outgrowth of the Commission's Housing Action Committee. The committee was charged by the Commission to develop a program that would accomplish the following:

• Link Year 2020 forecasted employment growth areas with the delivery of technical assistance on mechanisms available to provide affordable housing;
• Provide local officials with advice regarding building and occupancy code provisions that support the provision of affordable housing while addressing legitimate health and safety concerns;
• Provide local officials with a model intergovernmental agreement for the sharing of scarce housing resources and the provision of subsidized and affordable housing on a subregional basis;
• Re-establish the Commission's presence and improve the Commission's liaison and cooperation with area public and private housing providers and organizations; and
• Provide an education mechanism for, and materials on, residential planning and its required components to area residents, elected officials, the private sector, and others interested in and/or affected by residential decisions.

The demonstration project is being financed with grants from the Old Kent Bank Foundation, the American National Bank Foundation, the Bank of America Foundation, and the voluntary financial support from local governments and the private sector.

The Northeastern Illinois Planning Commission is the comprehensive planning agency for the six-county metropolitan area. In addition to planning, the agency provides technical and research assistance and reviews state and federal grant requests for local governments.

For more information call: Alexandra A. Radtke
Director of Public Affairs
or
Deborah Washington
Director of Project Review
312/454-0400

northeastern illinois planning commission
222 South Riverside Plaza * Suite 1800 * Chicago IL 60606 * (312) 454-0400 * FAX (312) 454-0411