Comprehensive Plan - Carbondale, IL

Adopted June 22, 2010City of Carbondalean important factor for businesses deciding on where to make investments. Thepresent appearance of the downtown infrastructure lacks uniformity.Actions and Initiatives:a. Develop design guidelines for new projects including uniform streetscapedesign standards.b. Prioritize streetscape improvements and seek funding programs to help coverthe costs.c. Continue to provide funding to businesses for façade improvements.Strategy 5: Continue to provide support to Carbondale Main Street in programsand services to market downtown for new business investments.Rationale:Carbondale Main Street (CMS) is an organization recognized by the City to promotedowntown redevelopment and revitalization. The organization receives fundingfrom the City along with tax revenue from a Special Service Area and membershipfees and donations. Besides recruiting businesses and promoting the downtownfor new investments CMS also hosts events to attract residents downtown.Actions and Initiatives:a. The City should continue annual financial support to maintain the operationsof Carbondale Main Street.b. Encourage City staff to participate by sitting on the Board of Directors andserve on active committees.c. Support the extension and expansion of the Special Service Area as a means tofinance the operations of CMS.d. Continue the bi-annual downtown walk with City staff to help identify areasthat require improvement.Focus Area 5.5 - Expand and customize the use of economicdevelopment tools and improve the business friendliness of thecity.Strategy 1: Reevaluate and retool the City’s economic development programs.Rationale:The City already offers a full compliment of economic development programsand incentives. The use of incentives seems to be limited, which could possiblybe the result of their limited funding, limited knowledge of their existence,onerous eligibility requirements and/or because of perceived “red tape” as hasbeen previously suggested. There may also be a mismatch between the particularorientation of the incentives (conventional industrial attraction) and where the City’sneeds and its competitive advantages actually lay (talent attraction, entrepreneurialdevelopment, downtown redevelopment, etc).5.16Actions and Initiatives:a. Create a Redevelopment Authority or Corporation to manage the revitalizationof Downtown. This could involve changing the mission and funding structureof the City’s existing Development Corporation, with initial capitalizationcoming from the sale of the remaining acreage in the Bicentennial IndustrialPark.Chapter Five