The Downtown Advisory Commission is set to take public comment Thursday on the Naperville2030 Plan for the future of downtown. The plan covers how downtown will look, from a range of land use functions to zoning changes to parking requirements. it even covers bicycle navigation in the downtown area.
Why not let your ideas be known here first?
Weigh in on the future on downtown
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True dat, anon...
Everything is run by the Mayor and City Council well in advance. Staff are nothing but bureaucrats. Comments are known in advance, votes are taken in advance, illegal closed sessions are held. FOIAs stifled. This stuff? All from City Councilmen. They talk out of school like crazy. Talk to them. They're dying to tell you what's going on. Why? Because most of them are egomaniacs. Pradel is the worst. Anyone see the latest budget debate on YouTube? Hilarious.
I need someone to help me read the budget. Agggh. I don't understand numbers. Ummmm. I need to digest it through my system-like he ate it! Maybe he did!
Oh come on ..... this staff is so afraid of the City Council (Krieger shakes in his boots everytime Furstenau speaks!) they wouldn't bring them ANYTHING that hadn't already been asked for - behind closed doors like everything else of course.
Did anyone see the "presentation" by the Director of Finance? She did everything but SAY the numbers were what Furstenau wanted presented. "Worst Case Scenario". Mind you, there is no mention of the best case scenario - because that wouldn't work into this egomaniacs plan to strip everything from everyone except himself and his pals.
Blame for the stupidity in this City starts at the top, and rolls straight down hill. Start at the top, fix things there - the Council, the City Manager, and the Directors - next thing you know, things might start getting done. It might even be legitimate as well.
So true, anon!
The staff really does try to direct the City. Just look at the ROLC fiasco from last fall!
Thanks Dirk!!!! I hope to be vindicated soon and hopefully, the Scott Huber "Marriot" will be back in business at Chicago & Washington in the near future.
La Cuc,
I think you are close, but a bit off on your observation.
From my perspective this is way more about City Staff trying to dictate how THEY want the downtown to look. If you go back and carefully review most of what goes on before our City Council the vast majority is started by staff proposals and staff requests... not the the City Council making proposals or directing city staff. Fact is most of the current city council members don't have the leadership skills or the personal vision that would be required for them to take initiative on these kinds of issues. The net result is that growth and development isn't being shaped by the City Council. All our City Council does is respond to whatever is put before them. The City Council operates solely in reactionary mode.
The only good news in any of this is that if you want something then all you have to do is submit a proposal and there is a very good change you will get what you ask for or something pretty close. The City Council operate from a weak position of either granting requests or maybe watering them down a bit. Not too much ever gets outright rejected.
Of course, interjecting themselves squarely between what the citizens might want and the City Council is whatever the city staff wants. So you either need to sweet talk or wine and dine city staff to get them on your side or do whatever else it takes to get them to support your proposal or risk city staff objecting... that is when City Council will reject or water something down.
Or of course you have to understand some of the "rules of the game" and if you hire certain local attorneys your odds at getting what you want change dramatically.
Yep, right here in good old Naperville we get all of the government we pay for in taxes or pay for in other creative ways...
Peg,
It is a weak topic, but useful, I think. This is about the City (Council through staff) trying to dictate how THEY want the downtown to look. Let the market handle that. Dick Fursteanu's vision of a downtown with six Hooters and three Show Me's is not my vision, and I assume others.
However, there won't be much play here, and the WI thing is a more germain topic. Can it happen in IL? Probably not.
Lisle and Naperville are not comparable.
LC,
Please join me in saying that this subject is weak. The Sun needs to start a blog on the issues in Wisconsin now. Right now. While I don't entirely disagree with what the Republicans are trying to accomplish in that state, there reported approach leaves something to be desired, if it's true. And what is by far most disturbing to me is this, "They beat on drums and carry signs deriding Walker and his plan to end collective bargaining for state, county and local workers, except for police, firefighters and the state patrol." Except for police, firefighters and state patrol? Can somebody help me with that logic? If we, collectively, have a problem, why are police, firefighters and state patrol exempt from helping solve the problem? Isn't that the very essence of their jobs, solving problems? Apparently not all the time or when it comes to money. I apologize, Mr. Sun Editor. I know this is off track. Please feel free to move it to a more appropriate place. Downtown Naperville is going to be just fine. We all know that. There are wealthy people that have a lot at stake in the downtown. They won't let it fail.
Dirk,
I'd say that was funny, unless you've had the pleasure of seeing and smelling him taking up two tables at Starbucks before someone finally booted him out of there.
Want small downtown charm, shop in downtown Lisle.
Bring back Scott Huber....the downtown has a huge void without him!!!!
Well said. I don't know if it's as much about the money though. Bob Marshall has zero financial knowledge, but he is an ex-cop. I'm guessing that his appointment is about slapping some moral handcuffs on the downtown. Another thought. Bob has no original thought and maybe this about him being a shill for any City Council direction. He has a two word vovabulary, "yes Councilman."
Also, I have to think that our dimwitted Mayor appointed him. Bob used to be his boss. He probably still thinks he is.
The Downtown Advisory Commission is a joke. Just look who is serving on the Commission to get a true feeling for where this "plan" is headed. All of the time, effort, and discussion that will be put into the "plan" won't be worth it in the end. Regardless of whatever "plan" is finally agreed the developers along with the downtown alliance will do whatever they want downtown despite zoning or planning or height restrictions or anything else. In the end all that will matter is how much more property and sales taxes can be squeezed out of every square foot downtown.
The single largest stakeholder group in Naperville is it's residents. The fact that Naperville residents aren't proportionally the largest stakeholder represented on the Commission also speaks volumes about how it will go about it's work and it's real agenda. There is a valid argument that Naperville residents don't have even token representation on this Commission.
Yet someone like Bob Marshall have has somehow managed to have been appointed to this Commission when he really has no place serving on a commission. The function of city staff is to serve as advisors to boards and commissions. In the end city staff is charged with implementing such plans. City staff should not be actively participating in the work of commissions like this and an appointment like Marshall is simply unacceptable. One would have to go back and look at who appointed Marshall and when to better understand that persons incompetence and why he should not be serving in his current capacity because he doesn't even understand how to make appointments to something as simple as a Commission.