The Champaign City Council convened Tuesday night for its regular meeting and post council study session and approved every ordinance on their agenda.
One such ordinance included unanimously approving $356,000 to be moved from the contingency fund to the public works budget. This money will make up for the extra money spent on removal of snow this winter.
During the study session, Lacey Rains Lowe, city planner, presented to the council some revisions to the city’s comprehension plan, called Champaign Tomorrow.
The comprehension plan is a document that guides physical growth and development of the city over the next 20 years. The planning department has been working since 2007 on the update to the plan estimating over 6,000 hours of planning staff time. The original plan was adopted in 2002 as an amendment to the 1992 version.
Staff of the planning department has held stakeholder meetings, including with University officials, and public input meetings for feedback from the city.
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Lowe said the response to the plan has been overwhelmingly positive with improvements to neighborhoods, transportation systems, fiscal, social and environmental sustainability and more.
The growth of the city was also a major topic during the meeting. Over the last 10 years, the city has grown in population about 20 percent, the most growth it’s had since 1950 to 1960.
“I want to get rid of the idea of this being a great city to raise your kids in, but with nothing to do,” said Will Kyles, District 1 council member.
Kyles also said he wants the community to become more involved with the University and become less divided than it has been in the past. He added he especially wanted the city to become more inclusive to minorities.
During her presentation, Lowe said the revised plan includes 5,500 acres of land the city could use to house over 9,000 new residents.
Marci Dodds, District 4 council member, also expressed her approval with the plan.
“This plan as a whole is impressive and exciting, and I like that we remain committed to growth as a city,” Dodds said.
The plan is scheduled for a public hearing on Wednesday and the council will consider adopting the plan on March 1 in an ordinance. The new comprehensive plan will cost the city approximately $2,500, and by comparison communities typically spend about $200,000 to $300,000.
The council again unanimously approved that the plan will move to a regular meeting for final consideration.
