Comprehensive Plan 1979 Village of Oak Park, Illinois Adopted August 6, 1979 �� -�- � f Oak Park Village of Oak Park 1 Village Hall Plaza . Oak Park, Illinois 60302 · Phone: (312) 383-6400 The preparation of this document was financed in part through a comprehensive planning grant and Community Development Block Grant fromthe United States Departmentof Housing and Urban Development. 0 This do,cument is set in 10 point Souvenir Light Roman typeon a 12 point slug. Design by Planning/Communications, 200 South Boulevard, Evanston, Illinois 60202. Typesettingby Just Your Type, Inc., 1007 Davis Street,Evanston, Illinois 60201. The Oak Park Comprehensive Plan 1979 Chapters Page Number I-Purpose and Philosophy of the Comprehensive Plan 1979 .. .. .. .. .. ... .. .. .. .. 1 II-Housing . .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. ... .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. 3 III-Transportation ............................................................................... 19 IV- Public Facilitiesand Services .................................................................... 27 V- Economic Development .................. , ..................................................... 37 VI-Development Areas .................................·.............. ............................ 47 VII - CitizenParticipation ..................................• .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. 55 Appendices A - Proposal/Application Checklist ..................................................................., 59 B - Glossary .....................................................................................63 C - Bibliography ................................................................................... 69 List of Maps Frank Lloyd Wright/PrairieSchool of Architecture Historic District .......................................... 15 StreetNetwork :tvlap ....................................................... · ......................... 23 ExistingLand Uses ............................................................................. · • • .. 50 Development Areas Map ... .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. 51 List of Tables Table Page Number Number n� 1 1975 Income Profiles,Oak Park and Chicago Standard Metropolitan StatisticalArea ........ , ......... 10 11-2 Household Incomes, Village of Oak Park, 1975 .................................... , . ... .. 11 II-3 Income Range forAssisted Housing for Chicago Standard MetropolitanStatistical Area, 1978 ......... 12 . II4 Housing Needs by Income Category, Village of OakPark, 1975 .................................. 13 11-5 Changes in Oak ParkPopulation, 1970-1975.............................. , ................... ·16 IV-1 Costs of StreetImprovements, 1976-1978 ................................................... 31 IV-2 Sharing the Costs of Publiclmprovements, 1978 .............................................. 32 V-1 Total Tax Rate forAll Oak Park GovernmentPurposes, 1967-1978 ............................... 39 V-2 ComparativeAssessed Valuations,Village ofOakPark,, 1967-1978 ............................... 40 ;< V-3 Retail and Wholesale Trade Figures, Village ofOak Park, 1954-1972 ............................. 44 V4 Manufacturing in Oak Park, 1972 ........................................................... 45 List of Figures Figure Page Number Number 11-1 Average Sale Price of OakPark Houses, 1970-1978 .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. 7 Il-2 Proportionof Black Population, OakPark, 1970-1978 . .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. 8 11-3 Per Cent Distributionof the Consumer Price Index by Major Expenditure Groups-1952, 1963, 1977 · . 9 V-1 OakPark Village Income by Source, 1979 ......................................... :: .........41 V-2 Oak Park Village Expenditures by Function,1979 ................... : ............. : .. : .. , .... ..41 V-3 Automobile Sales and Related Services as aPercentage of Total OakPark Retail Sales,· 1971-1977 .....4 2 ii Village of Oak Park,Officials Board of Trustees James J. McClure, Jr., President SaraG. Bode William T. Marshall Jerome F. F alien John F. Philbin Shirley C. Klem David M. Sokol Plan Commission Lois Hall, Chairperson Robert Schultz VictoriaJ. Boies Claudette Zobel Dansby Cheeks Lawrence B. Christmas George Fairman* Thomas J. Eyerman Leonard Houha (Chairperson)* William F. Gaddis Gus Kostopulos* Thomas J. Gerfin Vaile Scott* * Left the commission during 1979 following completion of the Plan Commission's recommended plans submitted to the Village Board in February, 1979. Village Manager: Jack H. Gruber Village Cleric Virginia R. Cassin Planning Staff William B. Merrill, Community Development Director Fred H. Zinke, Planning Director Daniel Lauber, Senior Planner and Principal Plan Author Joan Rambach, Assistant Planner Steve Cacic, Planning Assistant Gloria Liebman, Gral)ts Coordinator Kerry Cochrane, Block Grants Specialist Edith Reposh, Administrative Aide Gwen Meadows, Planning Secretary ,, iii CHAPTER 1: Purpose and Philosophy of the Comprehensive Plan 1979 A mature, successfully integrated village of nearly a foundation upon which decision makers-the village 60,000, Oak Park lies immediately west of Chicago. Its board and appointed commissions, boards, and proximity to the region's major metropolis affords Oak committees-can more objectively choose between com­ Parkers the conveniences and amenities of urban living peting interests. that most suburbanites lack, while its status as an indepen­ dent municipality gives its citizens a control over their Goals destinythat residents of most large cities rarely enjoy. First settled in 1835, two years before Chicago was The Comprehensive Plan 1979 focuses on six goals in incorporated as a city, Oak Park developed rapidly follow­ five general areas: ing the great Chicago fire in 1871. Establishment of rail service to Chicago helped spur development in Oak Park Housing. To preserve and enhance Oak Park's stable as itspopulation grew from200 in 1870 to over 10,000 by residential environment so persons of all ages, races, and the turn of the century. incomes can live here in sound, affordable housing. By the 1920s extensive development swelled Oak Park's population to 40,000. By 1930, single-family Transportation and Parking. To preserve the residential homes, apartment buildings, and strip commercial de­ character of neighborhoods while achieving the safe, fuel­ velopment covered most of the village. Population had efficient movement of people and goods within and risen to 64,000, the village was virtually completely de­ through Oak Park. veloped, and land-use patterns were fully established, generally without the guidance of long-range or com­ Public Facilities and Services. To provide in the most prehensive planning. efficient manner those public facilities and services-­ Oak Park's first known plan was published in 1925. It public safety, public works, government services and was a relativelysimple plan that suggested specific projects facilities-which maintain Oak Park as a desirable for a much simpler time. In the 48 years that followed, community. long-range planning for the village was largely piecemeal. It was only six years ago that the village adopted its first Economic Development. To provide a broad range of thorough master plan, Comprehensive Plan: 1973-1992. convenient retail facilities and service opportunities that That plan represented the village's first attempt to e­ Oak Park residents need and desire. nunciate its approach to redevelopment and guide future To expand Oak Park's tax base in order to maintain a high changes in the community.The Comprehensive Plan 1979 level of services, programs, and facilities. is an outgrowth of the 1973 plan. It presentsa statement of Oak Park's goals, objectives,and policies to provide guid­ Citizen Participation. To maintain a high level of citizen ance to the village's decision-makers as they consider the involvement in village affairs. many and varying needs of residents, and as they weigh the wise and careful expenditure of tax dollars. To attain these goals, the plan establishes more detailed This plan is predicated on the community's commit­ objectives that further .delineate the village's aims in each ment to human values: a sense that the village exists for its of these five areas. The plan also specifies policies as citizens, that the physical manifestations of the means of achieving these objectives. community-its housing, its parks, its businesses, its Policy formulation, however, is a dynamic rather than streets,etc.-are there to serve its residents. static process. While the plan's goals and objectives re­ A product of over twoyears of study, deliberation,and main constant, the appropriate means of attaining them citizen comment, the Comprehensive Plan 1979 identifies may change. As the community's understanding of cur­ the basic goals of the community and the objectives that rent conditions is enhanced through analysis and experi­ will help Oak Park reach those goals. It recommends ence, it will refine its policies. In its triennial review of this policies to be pursued to fulfill the objectives and notes plan, the village will reassess the policies it adopts and different ways to implement these policies. Actionsunder­ abandon those which are no longer applicable, alter those taken to achieve these goals will help preserve those which conflict with emerging needs, and design new aspects of Oak Park thatmake it a desirable place in which policies to address issues of concernnot known at the time to live, and mitigate characteristics