City to Poll Residents in Downtown Vision Plan at Community Meeting

The City of Wheaton will host a community visioning session to get resident input on the future of the downtown.

The meeting will be from 7 to 9 p.m. Tuesday, Sept. 18 at the DuPage County Historical Museum, 102 E. Wesley St. in Wheaton.

To enhance economic development in downtown Wheaton, City Council this year hired planning and urban design consultant Design Workshop to create strategic and streetscape plans, according to a press release from the City of Wheaton.

The goal of the two plans is to establish a vision for the area, define its boundaries and gateways, connect it to other parts of the city and address parking and streetscape issues, according to the release.

Design Workshop will present findings from its data analysis at the Sept. 18 meeting, and begin to develop a vision for the area. Attendees will have an opportunity to answer keypad poll questions, to help the city and consultants define a direction for planning efforts, key issues and amenities, desired features and community questions, according to the release.

The presentation will include the following information, according to a city memo:

• Project background
• Outline of previous planning efforts
• Existing land use
• Existing zoning
• Diagram of existing streetscape amenities
• Existing street sections
• Infrastructure analysis board
• Public art board
• Metrics board

Wheaton Mayor Mike Gresk said in a statement, “We want to hear from business owners, residents from all parts of Wheaton, downtown tenants, civic leaders, community groups, families, neighborhoods. Everyone’s input is important.”

Keypad polling participation is limited to 200 attendees.

Future public meetings will solicit feedback on various plan options and eventually present the final plan. The entire project is anticipated to be complete in early 2013. The City’s website will contain updates about upcoming meetings and the project as it progresses.

Residents who cannot attend the meeting can post ideas to an interactive site Design Workshop has created for community feedback.

Related:

• Submit Ideas for Downtown Wheaton to City's Online Town Hall