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OPENPUBLICA · PUBLIC MEETING RECORD

Record of Proceedings

Oswego Planning & Zoning Commission Meeting - August 11, 2026: Bicycle and Pedestrian Plan and Comprehensive Plan Update

Village Board & Commissions — Tuesday, August 11, 2026

BodyOswego, Illinois

SessionVillage Board & Commissions

DateTuesday, August 11, 2026

StatusFILED

Video Record

0:00 / 2:05:44

Transcript — VerbatimClick a timed line to jump · ⧉ to share it

2:56

Test test.

3:00

Why was it not on?

3:03

My apologies to the crowd then.

3:05

I called order this meeting of the Swego Planning and Zoning Commission.

3:11

Um are you going to do the roll call?

3:14

I can.

3:15

Okay, roll call, please.

3:17

Terry Anderson.

3:18

Here.

3:19

Kim Bradshaw.

3:20

Here.

3:20

Tom Collins.

3:21

Lisa Hillman.

3:23

Rick Kuhn.

3:23

Charlie Pager.

3:24

Here.

3:25

Joe Pyle.

3:26

Here.

3:26

David Rude.

3:28

Here.

3:28

Justin Sayor.

3:29

Here.

3:30

I'm done for the night.

3:31

Okay.

3:31

We have no minutes uh yet from our last meeting.

3:34

There are no public hearings or old business.

3:36

Two items under old business, unwhether under new business.

3:40

I see that there are some folks who have signed up to speak tonight.

3:43

Um members.

4:08

Um first item then is the bicycle and pedestrian plan, progress report presentation.

4:33

Thank you for having me here.

5:01

There we go.

5:02

Perfect.

5:03

Alright, so our agenda for this evening.

5:05

I'll just give a quick overview of the project.

5:07

Hopefully, most of you are familiar with the study.

5:10

Then I'll walk through some of our engagement activities and key findings.

5:15

And I really want to focus the majority of our conversation on our draft plan recommendations, early actions, and next steps in the planning process.

5:27

So the Village of Oswego applied for a local technical assistance program through CMAP to develop this bicycle and pedestrian master plan as part of a cost share program.

5:41

And really look at this as an opportunity to strengthen walking and biking as a safe, convenient, accessible modes of transportation within the community.

5:53

And we're doing that through a variety of physical improvements, programs, policies that really create a holistic environment that supports active transportation as part of the community's mobility system.

6:10

So as part of our goal development, we started focusing on four elements: connectivity, accessibility, safety, and engagement.

6:22

So really creating a wide net in terms of reaching a wide audience, hearing from different voices in the community, and integrating those into our understanding of the community and also the direction that we're going with our recommendations.

6:42

So a little bit about the engagement process.

6:47

We started in that phase one as we're developing our existing conditions document with some outreach via the Prairie Fest in June of last year.

6:59

And we also piggybacked on the comp plans online survey.

7:04

So through that, we were able to incorporate a few additional questions about transportation specific to bike and pedped us get an understanding of how people get around the community, what kinds of issues they're facing, and how we can make it safer and more convenient for people to choose walking and biking as a mode of transportation to get around Oswego.

7:25

During our second phase of the project, we're truly focused on kind of vision and direction for the plan.

7:31

We held a booth at the Oswego country market in September.

7:37

We had a separate online survey to gather feedback about specific uh recommendations.

7:44

And we held an open house in November and had a small but productive uh crowd share their ideas for uh the direction of this planning process.

7:55

As we're moving into that third phase, we've produced our draft plan document, and we're looking for uh setting the date for our final open house meeting, which will likely come in the next uh four or five weeks to be determined.

8:11

So, what we heard uh from the community and through our existing conditions report, uh you see within those kind of four overarching goals of the project.

8:22

One of the things that really came to the fore was Oswego's growing bicycle and pedestrian system.

8:30

Uh and that's really anchored by a network of off-street trails and side paths adjacent to many roads within the community.

8:39

And people really value these trails as not just opportunities for recreation, getting out, walking the dog, uh getting out for a jog or a bike ride, but also to get to school, uh, to get to downtown Oswego, uh, community parks, civic center.

8:59

Uh they're heavily used.

9:01

And as we were getting feedback about the types of improvements people wanted, they wanted to see more of the same.

9:07

So they appreciate that separation for motor vehicle traffic, that low stress environment that trails and side paths offer.

9:14

And that kind of became the focus of how we framed our recommendations.

Discussion Breakdown — Share of Meeting

Land Use Planning███████████████████████████████████35%

Active Transportation████████████████████20%

Economic Development███████████████15%

Transportation Safety████████8%

Environmental Protection███████7%

Procedural█████5%

Engineering And Infrastructure█████5%

Public Engagement███3%

Affordable Housing██2%

Summary of Proceedings

Oswego Planning & Zoning Commission Meeting - August 11, 2026: Bicycle and Pedestrian Plan and Comprehensive Plan Update

The Planning & Zoning Commission met on August 11, 2026, at 7:00 PM at Oswego Village Hall to receive progress reports on two major planning efforts: the Bicycle and Pedestrian Plan and the Comprehensive Plan Update. The meeting included public testimony on both topics, with speakers raising safety, environmental, and economic concerns. No formal votes were taken; both plans remain in draft stages with further public input and adoption expected later in 2026.

Public Comments & Testimony

Ellen Von Olin (187 North Adams): Expressed safety concerns about the Route 25 trail near Violet Patch Park, where a gap in guardrails allows cars to veer onto the trail. She asked about plans for additional safety measures. Staff noted the issue had not been previously raised and would be evaluated, though coordination with IDOT and the park district would be required.
George Stenitzer (177 North Adams): Urged preservation of the Fox River corridor, arguing that proposed high-density development on Route 31 would fragment wildlife habitat, increase stormwater runoff, and threaten state-endangered and threatened species. He requested that the Route 31 opportunity sites be removed from the Comprehensive Plan and that downtown be prioritized for density instead.
Diane Allis Good (177 North Adams): Questioned the walkability of proposed Route 31 development, citing research that people will not walk more than 300–600 feet to shop and that a bridge crossing creates a "crossing tax." She advocated for placing a hotel downtown rather than along the river. She also raised concerns about attracting low-wage industrial jobs (e.g., food processing, last-mile delivery) and suggested the plan should target higher-paying industries.

Discussion Items

Bicycle and Pedestrian Plan Progress Report: A consultant (unnamed in transcript) presented a draft plan developed with CMAP technical assistance. Key elements include: adding approximately 23 miles of new facilities (mostly side paths and trails) to connect the existing network; prioritizing corridors based on criteria like connectivity to destinations and gap closure; identifying sidewalk infill zones in downtown and north of downtown; evaluating safer crossings at key locations using USDOT guidance; and recommending programs (e.g., downtown walking maps, Silver Sneakers) and policies (complete streets, Vision Zero). Commissioners suggested coordinating with School District 308 and police on e-bike education and encouraged deeper evaluation of pedestrian bridges, referencing examples in Aurora. The assistant village engineer and other staff have been involved in the steering committee. The final open house is expected in 4–5 weeks.
Comprehensive Plan Update Progress Report: Hannah Bader (Lakota Group) presented the draft key recommendations. Five themes were outlined: balanced growth and development, downtown riverfront destination, neighborhoods and housing, economic prosperity, and infrastructure/community systems. Subconsultants Joe Kervicki (SB Friedman) and Justin Opitz (Kimley Horn) discussed housing options and transportation/infrastructure strategies. Future land use concepts were presented for several opportunity sites: Orchard Road (mixed-use vs. all-commercial scenarios), U.S. Route 34 at Fifth Street and at another vacant site (commercial frontage with residential and industrial), Route 31 (riverfront hotel and multifamily), Harrison Street (mixed-use with parking deck and park expansion), Washington Street (small mixed-use infill), and Main Street (sidewalk widening by converting parallel parking to add pedestrian space). Commissioners debated the trade-offs between commercial and residential development, with some favoring commercial/industrial to boost tax base and others acknowledging market trends toward mixed-use. Scott Ferris (Lakota Group) emphasized focusing on downtown and the river as unique assets. The community survey remains open through mid-August; the plan will be presented to the Village Board on September 1, 2026.

Key Outcomes

No motions or votes were taken during the meeting.
Next steps for the Bicycle and Pedestrian Plan: final open house in 4–5 weeks, followed by adoption by the Planning & Zoning Commission and/or Village Board later in fall 2026.
Next steps for the Comprehensive Plan: incorporate feedback from the commission and public survey, present to Village Board on September 1, 2026, then develop a first draft for final approval.
The next Planning & Zoning Commission meeting is scheduled for September 10, 2026.

Meeting Transcript

Test test. Why was it not on? My apologies to the crowd then. I called order this meeting of the Swego Planning and Zoning Commission. Um are you going to do the roll call? I can. Okay, roll call, please. Terry Anderson. Here. Kim Bradshaw. Here. Tom Collins. Lisa Hillman. Rick Kuhn. Charlie Pager. Here. Joe Pyle. Here. David Rude. Here. Justin Sayor. Here. I'm done for the night. Okay. We have no minutes uh yet from our last meeting. There are no public hearings or old business. Two items under old business, unwhether under new business. I see that there are some folks who have signed up to speak tonight. Um members. Um first item then is the bicycle and pedestrian plan, progress report presentation. Thank you for having me here. There we go. Perfect. Alright, so our agenda for this evening. I'll just give a quick overview of the project. Hopefully, most of you are familiar with the study. Then I'll walk through some of our engagement activities and key findings. And I really want to focus the majority of our conversation on our draft plan recommendations, early actions, and next steps in the planning process. So the Village of Oswego applied for a local technical assistance program through CMAP to develop this bicycle and pedestrian master plan as part of a cost share program. And really look at this as an opportunity to strengthen walking and biking as a safe, convenient, accessible modes of transportation within the community. And we're doing that through a variety of physical improvements, programs, policies that really create a holistic environment that supports active transportation as part of the community's mobility system. So as part of our goal development, we started focusing on four elements: connectivity, accessibility, safety, and engagement. So really creating a wide net in terms of reaching a wide audience, hearing from different voices in the community, and integrating those into our understanding of the community and also the direction that we're going with our recommendations. So a little bit about the engagement process. We started in that phase one as we're developing our existing conditions document with some outreach via the Prairie Fest in June of last year. And we also piggybacked on the comp plans online survey. So through that, we were able to incorporate a few additional questions about transportation specific to bike and pedped us get an understanding of how people get around the community, what kinds of issues they're facing, and how we can make it safer and more convenient for people to choose walking and biking as a mode of transportation to get around Oswego. During our second phase of the project, we're truly focused on kind of vision and direction for the plan. We held a booth at the Oswego country market in September. We had a separate online survey to gather feedback about specific uh recommendations.

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