FS_120618

frankfortstation.com news
the frankfort station | December 6, 2018 | 7
Residents weigh in on plans for
Laraway, Route 30 corridors
Workshop featured
planning, zoning
options for future of
Frankfort
Amanda Villiger
Assistant Editor
Zach Brown, assistant director of development for the Village
of Frankfort, discusses ideas for land use in the Laraway
corridor with residents who attended the Village planning
workshop on Nov. 27. Amanda Stoll/22nd Century Media
The year 2040 may seem
like a long time from now,
but, in urban planning terms,
it is not too early to start.
Last week, residents gathered
at the Frankfort Village
Hall to hear ideas and voice
their opinions on options laid
out for the future development
of areas along Laraway
Road and Route 30.
“This is one of several
community events we’ve had
to try to get input,” said Zach
Brown, assistant director
of development for the Village
of Frankfort. “A lot of
tonight’s specific discussion
was focused on these corridors,
the Route 30 corridor
and the Laraway corridor. So
a lot of the comments we’re
hearing tonight are new.”
New, but not necessarily
surprising based on feedback
the Village previously got
when discussing options for
downtown Frankfort.
Much of the planning
phase has been influenced by
online surveys and community
input.
“I think the [recent] survey
was pretty well received,”
Brown said. “It was long, but
we got the most responses of
all the online surveys we’ve
done. We got the most for
the visual preference survey,
which I think tells you that
people care.
“It’s an issue that people
care about, deeply — protecting
and preserving the character
of the downtown.”
Many of the same sentiments
abounded at the Nov.
27 meeting, where residents
supported the ideas of setting
aside space for new entertainment,
residential and
shopping options as well as
environmental conservation
and open space with trail
connections incorporated
throughout.
Rob McKay, who has
been a Frankfort resident
for 5 years, said he came to
the meeting to stay informed
and have a voice in some of
the developments, especially
those near the Laraway Road
corridor.
“I want to be involved and
be a part of, or at least know
what the thoughts are moving
forward for the Village.
Specifically the Laraway corridor
is a concern for me and
the consideration that Will
County has on the table to
expand that,” McKay, who
lives in that area, said. “So,
just wanted to see what the
Village is doing to work with
that or prevent that.”
He said he has family in
communities that he believes
have been affected detrimentally
by road expansions and
trucking, which he does not
want to see happen in Frankfort
or the surrounding communities.
As someone who has children,
McKay said he would
also like to see more opportunities
for indoor and outdoor
entertainment and recreation
Get involved
Learn more about the
plans for the future
of residential and
commercial development
in Frankfort at www.
yourfrankfort.com
in town.
“I think that we as a community
need more entertainment
stuff,” he said. “If you
want to do a lot of the outdoor
recreational stuff, you have
to kind of travel outside the
community. We don’t have a
lot internally, so we need to
expand on that.”
Nancy Schmitz, who has
lived in the Frankfort area
all her life, said the look and
feel of Frankfort is something
she enjoys most about Frankfort’s
downtown, and it is
something she does not want
to go away.
“I like the old town, nostalgic,
vintage feel,” she said.
“That’s what I like about this
area.”
After taking the online
surveys and looking at the
information on the website,
Schmitz said she decided to
get involved so he would have
a better handle on the Village’s
overall plan for the area.
“I was taking the surveys
Please see corridors, 9
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