UPDATE: The Village of Lyons Board of Trustees adopted the Lyons Comprehensive Plan on May 19, 2015. 
 

The Village of Lyons, located approximately 12 miles southwest of downtown Chicago, is home to 10,775 residents. Incorporated in 1888, the historical origin of Lyons can be traced back to the 1820s when a trading post was established near the confluence of Salt Creek and the Des Plaines River. Lyons boasts major arterial roads including Harlem Avenue (IL Route 43), 1st Avenue (IL Route 171), and Ogden Avenue (U.S. Route 34), and the historic U.S. Route 66 (Joliet Road) runs through the Village. Many of the former nearby manufacturing jobs have disappeared, but the Village continues to leverage its resources to address present issues and create a prosperous community.

 

Building on these assets, CMAP's Local Technical Assistance (LTA) program helped the Village create a comprehensive plan that provides a roadmap for reaching the community's long-term physical, socioeconomic, and cultural goals. The Lyons comprehensive plan contains several policies and action steps to help elected and appointed officials plan for the sustainable growth of the community. The plan addresses a range of topics including but not limited to land use and development, housing and residential neighborhoods, transportation and circulation, economic development, natural environment, and community facilities and services.

 

The planning process included three phases with public input as a key component of each phase. The first phase involved a thorough analysis of the existing conditions within the community using information gathered through one-on-one stakeholder interviews, steering committee meetings, focus group workshops, an on-line survey, community events, review of previous studies, and available demographic and economic data. Phase two focused on creating a vision for the future of Lyons by identifying goals and objectives based on findings from Phase 1 analysis and a public visioning workshop. The final phase combined efforts from previous phases to create the Comprehensive Plan document containing policies, programs, and actions steps to be undertaken in order to achieve the community's future vision for Lyons.

The public has had a number of opportunities to participate in the planning process. Below is a summary of every public meeting held throughout the planning process.

 

Public Visioning Workshop (November 21, 2013)
On November 21, 2013, approximately 33 residents and Village officials gathered at the Village of Lyons Community Room to partake in a visioning workshop. At the event, participants were divided into smaller groups to envision the Village's future through a community visioning exercise. The ideas and suggestions that were generated by this exercise are outlined in the following summary.

The Village of Lyon's Comprehensive Plan has included extensive public involvement, with input about the community's future received from stakeholders at multiple points during the planning process. The on-line public survey was one of other tools used to allow residents and stakeholders who could not attend any of the public events an opportunity to provide input into the plan. The on-line survey was live for a period of three months, from November 2013 through January 2014. The ideas and suggestions that were generated by this activity are outlined in the following summary.

Draft Plan Public Open House (January 28, 2015)
On January 28, 2015, an Open House meeting was held in Lyons to garner feedback from the general public on the draft of the Village's comprehensive plan. This meeting was open to all residents, business owners, and other community stakeholders in Lyons, and was held in the community meeting room at the Lyons Municipal Center. Over 20 people attended the Open House, representing elected officials, community institutions such as the Lyons Public Library, and residents from across the Village. The following is a summary of the comments that were a) written, and b) discussed at this Open House meeting.

Public Hearing & Plan Adoption (April 21, 2015)
On Tuesday, April 21, the Village of Lyons recommended the adoption of the Lyons Comprehensive Plan at the Lyons Municipal Center. The plan was available for public comment at a public hearing at 6:30 p.m. and brought up for adoption at the Village Board meeting at 7:00 p.m. where it was unanimously adopted by the Village Board of Trustees.

 

Thomas Sheahan, Village Manager, Village of Lyons (tsheahan@villageoflyons-il.net or 708-442-4500)

 

Brian Daly, CMAP Project Manager (bdaly@cmap.illinois.gov or 312-386-8810)

 

Ricardo Lopez, CMAP Senior Planner (rlopez@cmap.illinois.gov or 312-386-8766)