Master Plan

 

District-wide Parks and Recreation Master Plan

 

Why the Plan was developed

The West Chicago Park District has provided quality parks and recreational programs for the community of West Chicago over the past 30 years. Since it's existence, the park district has devoted time and resources to acquiring large parcels of land to serve the residents. With aging infrastructure and amenities becoming potentially misaligned with the local trends and needs, the West Chicago Park District appears to be at a "tipping point" needing a fresh vision to define the future growth and development of the district's parks, facilities, programs and open space. This plan intends to help the district identify it's biggest opportunities over the next five years.

 

Goals of the process

During the early stages of the planning process, the task force team identified the following goals for this master planning exercise.

• Assess the needs of the current population served.

• Determine a location for a future indoor recreation center.

• Determine what improvements, changes or additions should be made to existing parks.

• Determine land-use mix and general layout for major open space holdings.

• Enhance the trail network planning to complete community corridor links.

• Develop a prioritized list of goals, targeting an initial five year assimilation period.

 

Planning process

The planning process began in early fall of 2007. A task force was assembled to work directly with Hitchcock Design Group to provide background information, direction and recommendations. The team completed an extensive inventory and analysis for the district's land holdings and facilities. Once the team had a clear understanding of the entire park district, the Board of Commissioners, staff and community provided input on the West Chicago Park  District's issues and needs. The key findings from the input phase, along with the analysis of the park district's land holdings and facilities helped the team determine the master plan recommendations and prioritize the actions items.

 

How the document should be used

The master master plan document should be used as a guide for development by the park district's staff and board of commissioners to determine the primary action items over the next five years. The plan should be thought of as a "working laundry list" and items should be checked off the list, once they have been completed.

 

The complete 98 page Districtwide Parks and Recreation Master Plan is available for viewing at our Administration Building during normal business hours.