ADOPTED MARCH 1, 2021 Acknowledgments Village President Village of Plainfield Heath Wright Planning Committee Michael P. Collins Richard Kiefer Amy De Boni David Schmidt Jessica Gal Andy Heinen Village of Plainfield Board of Trustees Brian Fahnstrom Suzanne Derrick Zach Zigterman Harry Benton Debbie Olsen Scott Threewitt Margie Bonuchi Ralph Schultz Rob Piotrowski Kevin M. Calkins Paul Jackson Patricia T. Kalkanis Eric Marsaglia Cally Larson Riverfront Foundation Brian Wojowski Plainfield Park District Village of Plainfield Administration Consultants Brian Murphy John Konopek Special Gratitude to: Allen Persons Plan Commission Traci Pleckham Historic Preservation Commission Jon Proulx Lonnie Spires Jennifer Hammer Rick Kaczanko Rob Epley Michelle Gibas Bob Collins Ed Arter Tom Ruane Nicki Alander Tasha Marsaglia Michael Burcham MASTER PLAN Table of Contents 1 2 3 Site Context Concept Plan Implementation Introduction - 6 Concept Plan - 22 Momentum Projects - 45 Goals of The Plan - 7 North Section - 28 Implementation Plan - 46 Community Outreach - 8 Central Section - 33 Funding & Financials - 53 Historical Use - 10 Southern Section - 39 Cited Material - 57 Regional Context - 11 Existing Conditions - 12 Flooding - 16 DuPage River Water Rights - 17 MASTER PLAN MASTER PLAN SITE CONTEXT 5 MASTER PLAN 1 Previous Planning Efforts INTRODUCTION Aspects of the previous riverfront master plan adopted in The master plan offers a framework for developing the 2007 initiated land acquisition, planning, and development riverfront over the next decade. The plan’s vision is a within the river corridor that addressed conditions the catalyst of programmed spaces that honor past uses of Village was experiencing from substantial population the park, adjust to existing site conditions while looking to growth. This plan provided a grand vision that inspired many apply a soft development approach by expanding flooding including a group of citizens that formed The Riverfront mitigation and using sensitive construction methods with Foundation, dedicated to raising funds and promoting educational and recreational benefits. The riverfront master overall development. This riverfront master plan intends to plan promotes recreational access from every direction, expand upon the success of these previous planning efforts ultimately connecting east to west across the DuPage with a holistic approach to fluctuating environmental and River using multiple modalities. The plan’s intention is to regulatory constraints while providing amenities desired by be used as a communication tool to promote the overall the community. riverfront vision while prioritizing planning, fundraising, and permitting efforts. Existing Plans & Ongoing Development Project Area In addition to referencing the previous plan and the benefits The project area is a corridor of land parcels owned by the that arose from its 2007 adoption, the following adopted Village of Plainfield that abuts two miles of the DuPage River plans and on-going development were coordinated into this and is bordered on the west by the CN Railway. The northern plan. boundary is the railway’s river crossing toward Route 59 and the southern boundary ends just before Renwick Road. ~ Village of Plainfield Comprehensive Plan (updated 2013) Extensions of this project area were accommodated in areas ~ DuPage River Trail Plan (2008) where strategic trail connections and new development ~ Will County Bikeway Plan (2016) were pertinent to the overall goals of the plan. Land ~ Springbank River Trail (2017) acquisition recommendations were not considered for the timeframe of the implementation of the plan. ~ Depot Drive Public-Private Partnership ~ Pace Park N Ride and Bus Maintenance Facility ~ 143rd Street Extension 6 Site Context Plainfield Riverfront Master Plan MASTER PLAN Planning Process With new residential and commercial growth along with GOALS OF THE PLAN community demand for outdoor engagement, the Village The Goals establish the framework for the design concept of initiated a revised master plan process that began toward the Plainfield Riverfront Master Plan. The Goals of the Plan the end of 2019. Through a competitive proposal pool, were created based on community outreach feedback, input a partnership between Applied Ecological Services and from Village staff, and the riverfront’s assets and constraints Houseal Lavigne Associates was chosen to develop the identified during the initial existing conditions analysis master plan document. The Village created a project team of phase. They describe the desired outcomes toward which Amy De Boni, Jessica Gal, Brian Fahnstrom, Zach Zigterman, riverfront planning efforts should be directed. The Goals are Scott Threewitt, and Rob Piotrowski to direct and coordinate as follows: planning efforts with the consultants, stakeholders, and community. ~ Maintain sensitivity to floodplain regulations and annual flooding events. Integral components of the planning process were ~ Identify ecological and recreational functions that the organized in three phases. The first phase encompassed site riverfront will serve. analysis, stakeholder visioning, and community engagement ~ Identify current uses of the riverfront and what uses are to provide context to planning efforts, redefine development desired by the community. goals, and evaluate community preferences. The second ~ Maximize use of the riverfront specifically on land phase allowed time for the consultants to analyze feedback publicly held by the Village. which progressed into design solutions that formed a Link gaps in the Village’s pedestrian pathway systems conceptual plan. This conceptual plan was presented to ~ and improve river connections. the public and Board of Trustees for further input. Phase three enacted the draft master plan, implementation ~ Install natural landscaping throughout the riverfront. plan, and identified funding sources based on feedback to ~ Provide a pedestrian connection to the Pace Park-n-Ride. compromise the final master plan document. ~ Incorporate landscaping enhancements, historic components, public art and signage into the riverfront From the unforeseen viral pandemic of COVID 19, new plan. strategies were implemented between the Village ~ Create a phased project implementation plan with appointed project team and the consultants to progress identified funding sources. the master plan efforts while practicing proper safety and health precautions set in place by the State of Illinois. The project team committed to working virtually and shifting the community engagement process toward virtual platforms such as social media voting, the project website surveying, online mapping, and webinar presentations. This proved to be highly successful. Plainfield Riverfront Master Plan Site Context 7 MASTER PLAN ~ Community Survey. A survey was conducted from COMMUNITY September to October to gain input from the community on topics like Riverfront access and OUTREACH connectivity, general character and land use, design elements and amenities, and environmental factors. Between September and December of 2020, the Village of ~ map.social. From September to October, map.social, a Plainfield conducted community outreach through a series fun and engaging online mapping tool, was available of engagement strategies to gain an understanding of the where participants could create a personalized map of community’s desires for the riverfront, as well as existing points of interest, issues, and opportunities along the issues, challenges, assets, and opportunities. The feedback Riverfront. received during the public engagement period was ~ Public Open House. On December 10, a virtual Open analyzed and considered when developing the priorities and House was conducted to present the draft content and recommendations of the Plainfield Riverfront Master Plan. preliminary recommendations of the Master Plan to the public. Members of the audience were able to ask The following is a list of the outreach strategies conducted: questions during the Q&A portion to become more familiar with the draft Plan content. ~ Stakeholder Meetings. Two virtual meetings were held in September to meet with key stakeholder groups, ~ Village Board Meeting. On December 14, the project such as the Riverfront Foundation, Park District, Forest team presented the draft Master Plan to the Village Preserve District of Will County, and Historic Preservation Board to gain input from the Board on the draft Plan Commission. content before the development of the final Master Plan document. ~ Facebook Campaign. Throughout the outreach process, project update posts and amenity polling, to gain an ~ Riverfront Foundation Meeting. On January 21, the understanding of desired riverfront features, were posted project team presented the draft Master Plan and on the Village’s Facebook page. Implementation Plan to the Riverfront Foundation to gain input from the Foundation on the draft Plan ~ Project Website. A website was created for the Master content before the development of the final Master Plan Plan where the public could learn information about the document. project, receive news and updates, contact the project team, and access online outreach opportunities and important Plan documents. 8 Site Context Plainfield Riverfront Master Plan MASTER PLAN Key Takeaways The following are key takeaways derived from the feedback received during the outreach process: ~ Provide a connected trail system and bike routes along the riverfront. ~ Improve watercraft access, parking,