I-55 Corridor Planning Study

FACT SHEET PHASE II ILLINOIS TOMMOROW CORRIDOR PLANNING GRANT FOR I-55 CORRIDOR PLANNING STUDY

Background Madison County has received confirmation from the Illinois Department of Transportation that the grant application for the Illinois Tomorrow Corridor Planning Grant for the I-55 Corridor has been approved. The total grant request was for $150,000 with a $15,000 match expected from local government for a total of $165,000. Edwardsville has provided $5000, Glen Carbon $5000 and Madison County would provide $5000. Madison County has previously agreed to be the lead agency for the grant process. The grant is reimbursable. Invoices for consultant services will be provided to the Alliance for approval first then forwarded to the County for payment of funds. The County will then be reimbursed these funds from IDOT after submittal to IDOT and FHWA. This is a Phase II extension of an earlier grant that was secured by the County and the local governments to generally study the area east of Edwardsville and Glen Carbon, which is located predominantly in Pin Oak Township. The earlier Phase I grant developed a land use and growth/transportation plan and resulted in a formalized adoption amendment to the County’s 2020 Land Use Plan. This plan makes generalized recommendations for zoning, land use and other development controls in order to promote orderly development along this corridor. The Phase II process is expected to develop more specific mechanisms to adopt land use controls, such as changes to our zoning and subdivision regulations and a review of infrastructure needs, as well as look at green space, open space and other related needs. Education has been agreed to be an important component. The Alliance will serve as the coordinator/facilitator for the project and is anticipated to actually conduct a portion of the analysis of economic development needs. Their fee is expected to be $35,000. Brief Description of Project: The first phase of the I-55 Corridor Plan identified issues impacting the 55 Corridor Study area, inventoried existing assets and constraints, and developed a dialogue with key local elected officials, community and business leaders, citizens and other stakeholders. A vision was formed from these insights of what the community wants to see happen in this high growth area over the next 15 to 20 years.

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Phase II of the I-55 Corridor Project will continue to build on the coalition with the three governmental jurisdictions (Madison County, City of Edwardsville, Village of Glen Carbon) working collectively to address growth-related issues that transect across the corporate boundaries. Other critical local governmental partners will include Edwardsville Township, Pin Oak Township and the Edwardsville and Triad School Districts, which are impacted by the continued residential growth of the planning area. The I-55 Corridor plan as developed focused on the following goals and principals:

1. More efficient use of land resources to minimize urban sprawl and promote and encourage orderly and sound development to conserve and preserve land for open space. 2. Provide for more efficient means of planning for shared and integrated infrastructure and public services to reduce financial burden to the public and private entities. 3. Provide for transportation options that take into consideration the capacity of the existing roadway system and develop short-term and long-term plans to interconnect new roads and explore alternative means of transportation to reduce congestion. 4. Promote mixed-use development that takes into consideration which areas are best suited for various types of commercial/business development and connectivity to public facilities and transportation systems. Proposed Scope of Work: 1) Development of Land Use Codes & Regulatory Measures The major task to be undertaken in this component will be to review the current land use codes for the County, Village and City. (i.e. zoning, subdivision codes, etc.). Then an approval process will need to be developed for the City of Edwardsville, Village of Glen Carbon and Madison County to assess the impact that the codes have on creating the type of development and environment as envisioned in the adopted conceptual I-55 Corridor Plan. Recommendations need to be developed for revisions to existing development codes, practices and policies that would serve to coordinate, promote and direct smart growth and sustainable development, as well as considering measures for low impact development to reduce stormwater runoff. Additionally, guiding principles and procedures for review of major development projects that affect more than one governmental jurisdiction need to be developed. The overall objective is the development and adoption of uniform code standards that would compliment, and be in conformance with, the growth management plan among the three governmental entities that have land use approval authority within the defined I-55 Corridor area. 2

2) Design Standards & Guidelines Related to the above, the Phase II consultant will create design guidelines to guide future development within the I-55 Corridor area. The design guidelines would incorporate graphic illustrations, as well as design principles intended to provide a framework for the design of public and private initiated projects within the defined I-55 Corridor area. The purpose of these guidelines is to encourage quality sustainable development, while simultaneously encouraging flexibility for positive design and creative innovation. The overriding principle is to successfully integrate streets with nearby land uses to enhance safety and promote community livability. The guidelines are to specifically address how to upgrade streets with pedestrian-oriented amenities, how to integrate bikeways into streets, and how to control site access along regional arterials to improve safety, function, and appearance. This phase of the planning project will also entail developing detailed conceptual site plans that will serve to illustrate how the design guidelines, zoning and other pertinent land use measures could be employed to influence site development decisions. In addition, the resulting product is anticipated to contain an administrative review process that would include a checklist that provides clear direction on the process of obtaining approvals of developments in compliance with the Design Guidelines. The end product would guide builders, developers, architects and property owners on appropriate architectural detailing, massing, siting and related techniques to assure that development relates contextually to existing neighborhood patterns and styles. The resulting work is anticipated to include a detailed series of recommended techniques and appropriate design methods, comprised of photographic and rendered examples, as well as narrative descriptions of each and the basis for their recommendation. 3) Planning for Transportation and Infrastructure Development The Phase I I-55 Corridor Plan, as approved, identified areas where major roads and thoroughfares should be planned in order to accommodate the projected growth and development within the corridor area. Included on the conceptual land use plan is a proposed network of interconnected roads including extensions to present local roads and those new roads that will be required to be developed to accommodate the anticipated development within the corridor area. The consultant for Phase II will take into consideration the present alignment of roads, as depicted on the conceptual plan, and work jointly with the PMT and appropriate local governmental officials, to devise policies and strategies to preserve and protect the right-of-ways for the proposed arterial and collector roadways.

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4) Development and Preservation of Open Space & Greenways A major recommendation that was identified as a priority throughout the planning process of the I-55 Corridor Plan was to “preserve significant areas and corridors of open space to create a network of parks, trails, greenways, parkways and boulevards around which development will occur.” The consultant will work to address the need to maximize opportunities to integrate open space in major developments, as well as to establish recommended guidelines and policies to encourage greenways along major planned roads. A review of the present open space set aside requirements of each of the three governmental entities will be initiated with recommendations to modify or rewrite the requirements. It should also be noted that the plan identified Silver Creek as the primary feature in the I-55 study area, and a regionally significant riparian corridor, that should be protected from encroaching development. Madison County Planning and Development initiated a Silver Creek Parcel Analysis which was completed by Southwestern Illinois Resource Conservation & Development, Inc., and entailed the development and analysis of a comprehensive GIS-based database of physical and natural resources and created a set of recommendations for potential protection and future consideration to establish a regional open space park. It is anticipated the results of this study will become a major part of the Phase II Open Space needs program. It should also be noted that the City of Edwardsville is in the process of developing a comprehensive parks and recreation plan for the community that will assess the present park and open space facilities and resources available in the community and provide recommendations for securing additional park and open space. Approach: The strategy for this project, as directed by the PMT, should include, but not be limited to, the following: • • • •

a strong emphasis on citizen participation, which brings together representatives from a broad range of stakeholders and maintains an inclusive process through community dialogue, consensus building and action; develop a strong working relationship and interaction with the Plan Management Team (PMT), various Project Action Teams (PATs), key local governmental officials and administrative staff and other key community and business leaders; analysis of existing land use and ownership patterns with an emphasis on development opportunities within the I-55 Corridor planning area; analysis of existing development patterns and the development of recommended modifications and refinements, where appropriate; a clearly defined plan of action to accomplish the desired goals and objectives as outlined in the adopted I-55 Corridor Plan

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