Normal town planner Mercy Davison, the head of a local consulting firm, and members of the community packed a room at the Community Activity Center in north Normal Wednesday night. Their goal was to discuss ideas for the Vision 2050/Sustainability plan authorized by the Town of Normal.
Since 1990, town staffers have created reports every five years aimed at informing future decision-making based partly on what community members say they want to see prioritized. The process is guided by a steering committee composed of staff, community members, students and others.
The 18-person steering committee, made up of those who live or work in Normal, has met three times so far and conducted a scientific survey to gain insight into what the public wants and needs for the future of the town. The public survey is still available on the town’s website.
Like in 2010, this year’s theme is sustainability. Hile Group consultant Julie Hile said the steering committee’s goal is to call together “a diverse group of citizens” to create a “positive vision” for the town’s future. She and Davison asked attendants to imagine what they envision Normal to be in the year 2050 and to come together and brainstorm potential ways to get there.
Following the surveys, public sessions, meetings with experts and local stakeholders, and steering committee meetings, the group will present “strong recommendations” to the Normal Town Council in September. The presenters gave a long list of goals and priorities for the project, including expanding equal access to nature, safe drinking water, and energy-efficient affordable housing, as well as maintaining air quality.
Sustainability was the common thread throughout the discussion. Davison and Hile presented the group with four posters outlining different aspects of a potential future Normal, and everyone divided into breakout sessions to discuss each one. One poster imagined a future Uptown centered around Uptown Circle with greatly expanded greenspace. The others featured an inter-generational STEM learning event, a volunteer-to-pay organic grocery store, and a sustainable street market in Uptown.
After splitting into smaller groups, the group reconvened for a broader discussion. Many members of the public expressed they hope to see more greenspace, connected infrastructure, greater walkability, and more town festivals and public art throughout Normal. A balance between denser urban areas and a connection to nature was widely desired.
“It’s more efficient to be more dense,” said Hile, adding that more affordable sustainable housing could both create greater density and contribute to sustainability efforts. Davison echoed these comments, stating she does not see affordability and sustainability as conflicting goals due to the positive aspects of greater urban density.
Kathleen Lorenz, who serves on the Normal Town Council and was in attendance at the session, spoke to the seriousness of the affordable housing issue in the area, saying “there’s too much wealth in this community for us to be satisfied” with the way things are.
Two other main points of discussion were a greater focus on events in individual neighborhoods and expanded access to public transportation services. It quickly became clear that these concerns are linked. Community members expressed dissatisfaction with how they have to drive to Uptown or other locations to attend events or even just get around town. The sentiment prevailed that while a farmers market in Uptown is a nice idea, it would be even better to have many such markets spread throughout the town’s neighborhoods.
Hile, who also serves as the vice chair of the Connect Transit board, pointed out there already is access to public transportation in the area, but it is underutilized. Connect Transit general manager David Braun, who also was in attendance, added the agency is “re-conceiving the way that we are providing transportation” with its new Connect FLEX and Connect Mobility services, in addition to fixed routes.
When asked about the broad focus of the project, Hile said “I wouldn’t characterize that list so much as goals as I would as themes that this steering committee has identified. And as you can see from the posters that are reflecting possible futures, almost all of those themes are represented in some way.”
"Housing, water, food, inter-generationality, jobs, and the economy … are really largely the themes that underlie any strong community, and we’re just figuring out the different ways to bring those together.”
