The Normal Town Council on Monday approved a new sustainability plan that focuses on what the town will look like in 2050. Council members also approved a new site plan for Rivan and rezoning a lot for multi-family housing.
The Vision 2050/Sustainability Plan has been in development by town planners and the Normal-based consulting firm Hile Group for some time, with a community input session held earlier this year.
The plan includes five guiding principles, decided based on community input from that session and a survey of Normal residents. These include creating a plan that is accessible, responsive, person-focused, inspiring, and actionable.
The plan also lists several priorities for the town going forward, including establishing a Town of Normal sustainability office, increasing non-car transportation options and accessibility, promoting biodiversity [especially planting trees], creating affordable and energy-efficient housing, ensuring access to clean drinking water, expanding renewable and efficient energy usage, and improving access to recycling and composting services.
The survey conducted by Hile Group found that 84% of respondents were supportive of the plan’s goals, with 71% believing sustainability has a large impact on their quality of life. Hile Group representative Rachel Hile-Broad described these results as a “mandate” for the council to take action.
“Community engagement was the beating heart of this entire process,” said Hile-Broad, adding the goal is that Normal “will model a new normal for sustainability” by 2050.
Town planner Mercy Davison focused her remarks to the council on how climate change will impact Central Illinois over the next 25 years.
“Warming is happening most significantly during the winter” and during summer nights, said Davison, pointing out this leads to particular concerns for those who lack access to air conditioning during the summer months.
That being said, Davison added, “it is remarkable how well the Midwest and the upper Midwest compared with other parts of the country” when projecting the impacts of climate change. Davison argued this will likely lead to an influx of “climate migrants” to this region, including in Bloomington-Normal.
The council was overwhelmingly supportive of the plan, with Mayor Chris Koos saying it is “critical, I think, for us as a community to move to the next generation of what we’re going to do about our environment, our community, and the viability and the sustainability of our community.”
Council member Kathleen Lorenz remarked the report “does sound some necessary alarm bells of what might not be” 25 years in the future without town intervention, including vegetation and clean water.
Council member Andy Byars said communities are the product of decisions made decades earlier, and it is the council's responsibility to keep that in mind when prioritizing goals.
City manager Pam Reece described the plan as a “great vision” for the sustainable future of Normal.
Rivian expansion
Also Monday, the council approved a new site plan for a proposed Rivian expansion into an undeveloped 380-acre lot purchased by the electric vehicle manufacturer in 2021.
Town staff found “the property is well-suited for future development for manufacturing uses” due to its proximity to “land already served by public utilities and first responders.” Rivian hopes to expand its manufacturing center on the lot.
Also approved was an ordinance rezoning a property on North Main Street for multi-family housing. Several residents of the adjacent Fireside Condos spoke against the measure during public comment, pointing out a similar ordinance for the same property previously was denied twice by the council.
Robert Porter, a lawyer for the residents, said “nothing has changed … since this was last before the council” and the neighborhood has been “consistent since 2013” when the proposal was last denied.
Residents expressed confusion as to why the measure would be approved now when it was previously rejected.
A lawyer for the developer, Elizabeth Megli, said “this property has never been developed,” meaning the lot is currently not serving anyone.
Additionally, Megli said the lot’s location on a five-lane roadway makes the property “less desirable for single-family homes than it has been in the past.”
The council unanimously approved the rezoning ordinance. Byars said it's important to develop undeveloped property, and this is especially true when it comes to multi-family housing.
He added “when the building just to the south of it is a fairly large multi-family property, it would be very difficult for … us saying because this is going to be going to a multi-family property, that that should be a reason for us to deny this.”
