Zoning Recommendations for Elmwood Park

Oct 11, 2016

Zoning Recommendations for Elmwood Park

The Village of Elmwood Park offers numerous community amenities that provide a high quality of life for its residents. These include a centrally located Metra train station, renowned restaurants, and an active civic center of municipal facilities. Elmwood Park is located adjacent to the City of Chicago in central Cook County and has a legacy of historically significant housing stock that can be traced back to the early 20th Century. Today, the Village continues to harness its historic strengths while addressing present issues to create a prosperous, sustainable community for generations to come.

In 2016, CMAP's Local Technical Assistance (LTA) program completed a project to assess the Village's existing zoning ordinance and provide recommendations for updates to its existing land use regulations and current local issues. CMAP completed this work to determine appropriate amendments to the zoning ordinance that would help the Village achieve the goals of its Comprehensive Plan.  The Village's most recent Comprehensive Plan, adopted in 2013, was also completed through CMAP's LTA program.
 

Planning Process

The planning process for CMAP's zoning recommendations began by collaboration with Village staff to define project objectives and convene a Steering Committee to better understand issues with the existing Zoning Ordinance.  The Steering Committee was composed of Village officials, staff, and representatives of the Village's business community, all of whom were familiar with the Village's zoning regulations. 

CMAP then performed a series of key stakeholder interviews with residents, Village staff, current and former Village officials, and members of boards and commissions to learn more about their experiences with the Zoning Ordinance and to understand their perspectives on its strengths and weaknesses.  CMAP staff then reviewed the existing conditions of the Village through field work and GIS analysis, and assessed the existing zoning ordinance for alignment with the Village's goals and general best practices.

At a final meeting with the Steering Committee in November 2016, CMAP presented a summary of its recommendations and led a discussion of next steps to pursue recommended amendments to the Village's zoning regulations.  As an additional deliverable, CMAP created a new version of the Village's existing zoning map for their use.

Basis of Evaluation

CMAP's evaluation of the existing Zoning Ordinance was based on the comments received from key stakeholder interviews, input from Village staff, and direction from the Steering Committee.  In addition, CMAP staff gathered an understanding of existing conditions through field work, review of Village forms and applications, geographic information systems (GIS) analysis, and review of the Comprehensive Plan, the Station Area Plan (2006), and the existing Zoning Ordinance.  The recommendations and best practices found in the summary are based on these analyses as well as CMAP staff's experience using and creating modern zoning ordinances.

Contacts

Paul Volpe, Elmwood Park Village Manager  (pvolpe@elmwoodpark.org)

Patrick Day, CMAP Senior Planner (pday@cmap.illinois.gov or 312-386-8634)

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Oct 11, 2016

Zoning Recommendations for Elmwood Park

The Village of Elmwood Park offers numerous community amenities that provide a high quality of life for its residents. These include a centrally located Metra train station, renowned restaurants, and an active civic center of municipal facilities. Elmwood Park is located adjacent to the City of Chicago in central Cook County and has a legacy of historically significant housing stock that can be traced back to the early 20th Century. Today, the Village continues to harness its historic strengths while addressing present issues to create a prosperous, sustainable community for generations to come.

In 2016, CMAP's Local Technical Assistance (LTA) program completed a project to assess the Village's existing zoning ordinance and provide recommendations for updates to its existing land use regulations and current local issues. CMAP completed this work to determine appropriate amendments to the zoning ordinance that would help the Village achieve the goals of its Comprehensive Plan.  The Village's most recent Comprehensive Plan, adopted in 2013, was also completed through CMAP's LTA program.
 

Planning Process

The planning process for CMAP's zoning recommendations began by collaboration with Village staff to define project objectives and convene a Steering Committee to better understand issues with the existing Zoning Ordinance.  The Steering Committee was composed of Village officials, staff, and representatives of the Village's business community, all of whom were familiar with the Village's zoning regulations. 

CMAP then performed a series of key stakeholder interviews with residents, Village staff, current and former Village officials, and members of boards and commissions to learn more about their experiences with the Zoning Ordinance and to understand their perspectives on its strengths and weaknesses.  CMAP staff then reviewed the existing conditions of the Village through field work and GIS analysis, and assessed the existing zoning ordinance for alignment with the Village's goals and general best practices.

At a final meeting with the Steering Committee in November 2016, CMAP presented a summary of its recommendations and led a discussion of next steps to pursue recommended amendments to the Village's zoning regulations.  As an additional deliverable, CMAP created a new version of the Village's existing zoning map for their use.

Basis of Evaluation

CMAP's evaluation of the existing Zoning Ordinance was based on the comments received from key stakeholder interviews, input from Village staff, and direction from the Steering Committee.  In addition, CMAP staff gathered an understanding of existing conditions through field work, review of Village forms and applications, geographic information systems (GIS) analysis, and review of the Comprehensive Plan, the Station Area Plan (2006), and the existing Zoning Ordinance.  The recommendations and best practices found in the summary are based on these analyses as well as CMAP staff's experience using and creating modern zoning ordinances.

Contacts

Paul Volpe, Elmwood Park Village Manager  (pvolpe@elmwoodpark.org)

Patrick Day, CMAP Senior Planner (pday@cmap.illinois.gov or 312-386-8634)

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