Beginning in late 2022, the Village of East Dundee engaged a planning team comprised of Hitchcock Design Group and WBK Engineering to create a compelling vision for the Fox River Corridor through East Dundee – encompassing the area from the Village’s north border to the south border along the Fox River. The Fox River Corridor Riverfront Master Plan includes a multi-dimensional strategy with incremental implementation actions that build upon the natural beauty of the Fox River while enhancing recreation opportunities, public access, and connections to downtown.
Throughout this years-long planning process, the planning team facilitated community engagement meetings, surveys, stakeholder interviews, and conducted review meetings with Village staff. The preliminary planning process develops a framework and establishes consensus on an overall strategy that focuses on the activation of the Haeger Pottery property, Water Street, and William Bartel’s Park. The Village and planning team worked collaboratively to create a distinctive identity for the Fox River corridor that provides a package of seasonal and year-round recreation opportunities, with connections to, along, and across the Fox River while enhancing the natural and cultural assets of the river and community of East Dundee.
The Riverfront Master Plan is a visioning document that summarizes the process and the planning team’s finding and recommendations. The draft will be on the Village Board agenda for adoption at the meeting scheduled for April 15, 2024 at 6:00 p.m.
Here are some Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ's) for the draft Riverfront Master Plan, offering valuable insights into its key aspects and addressing common concerns:
1. Why is the Riverfront Master Plan important? Once approved, the Riverfront Master Plan serves as a blueprint for future development, conservation, and recreation efforts along the riverfront. It aims to enhance the quality of life for residents, attract visitors, promote economic development, and preserve natural resources.
2. What does the Riverfront Master Plan include?The plan typically includes a comprehensive analysis of the current state of the riverfront, identifies strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats, outlines goals and objectives for future development, proposes specific projects and initiatives, and provides a timeline and implementation strategy.
3. How was public input incorporated into the Riverfront Master Plan?The Riverfront Master Plan outreach and feedback included the following public meetings, open houses, and surveys:
- 12/5/2022 – Village Board discussed a proposal from Hitchcock Design Group to develop the Master Plan
- 12/19/2022 – Village Board approved the agreement with Hitchcock Design Group to develop the Master Plan
- 4/13-2023 through 05/22/2023 – Online survey resulted in 314 respondents
- 05/16/2023 – Hitchcock Design Group hosted stakeholder interviews which consisted of three separate meetings for a total of 7 participants.
- 09/18/2023 – Hitchcock Design Group updated the Village Board on the development of the Master Plan
- 10/24/2023 – Staff and the Hitchcock Design Group hosted an open house/community input meeting related to the Master Plan. This resulted in 29 attendees.
- 10/25/2023 through 11/07/2023 – Second online survey resulted in 50 responses
- 12/18/2023 - Hitchcock Design Group updated the Village Board on the development of the Draft Master Plan
- 03/04/2024 – Village Board reviewed the Draft Riverfront Master Plan
- 04/15/2024 - Proposed Adoption of the Riverfront Master Plan
Some of the proposals included in the plan include:
- Narrowing portions of Water St. to allow for a Riverwalk to be created and for traffic calming purposes
- Creating on-street bike paths
- Extending William Bartels Park to the riverfront
- Connecting the riverfront to the Downtown
- Creating a park along the Haeger property
No. The Plan in an important visioning document that is intended to highlight opportunities. As each phase of the plan gets underway over the course of time, public input will help dictate what elements of the plan go forward and which do not, as well as budgetary resources.
6. How will the Riverfront Master Plan be funded?There are no current funding sources for the implementation of any of the projects in the plan. The Village will seek opportunities for grant funding and identify priority projects to budget for in future years.
7. What is the timeline for implementing the Riverfront Master Plan?The plan provides a proposed timeline for the first phase of implementation as a starting point, however the Village Board will provide direction.
8. Does the Plan contemplate taking private property for future redevelopment?Other than the Haeger property, which the Village has been in the process of acquiring since 2022, no private property is proposed for redevelopment.
9. What are FEMA Hazard Mitigation Assistance Grants and why were they mentioned at some point during the planning process?
From FEMA's website:
- FEMA's hazard mitigation assistance provides funding for eligible mitigation measures that reduce disaster losses.
- "Hazard mitigation" is any sustainable action that reduces or eliminates long-term risk to people and property from future disasters.
- Mitigation planning breaks the cycle of disaster damage, reconstruction and repeated damage. Hazard mitigation includes long-term solutions that reduce the impact of disasters in the future.
Because portions of the Village are in both 100- and 500-year floodplains, the Village will be seeking grant funding in the future to assist with mitigating our risk and protecting our residents and businesses.
The Village would like to keep residents and businesses educated about recent changes that have been made to flood insurance programs in flood-prone areas. These may affect the ability to rebuild in place after disaster. If you would like to discuss these grants, please contact Village staff or visit the FEMA website.
10. How can I stay informed about the Riverfront Master Plan implementation?Please continue to monitor this webpage as the Plan progresses.