Illinois firm hired to develop Jackson plan

Jackson has hired a company specializing in urban planning.

Houseal Lavigne Associates LLC of Naperville, Ill., stood out among a field of 13 companies that applied for the job, according to Janet Sanders, Jackson's building and planning superintendent and chairwoman of the selection committee.

Comprehensive planning is a strategy more cities are adopting to guide long-term growth and development.

"We had applicants that were everything from firms with thousands of employees to a one-person firm," she said. Arcturis, the St. Louis company that developed the city of Cape Girardeau's comprehensive plan, also applied, she said.

"They did not make the cut, not because they're not a good firm," she said. "We felt we wanted ... someone with a fresh look at Jackson, that doesn't come in with preconceived notions."

The selection committee started with city administrator Jim Roach, public works director Rodney Bollinger, two aldermen, two planning and zoning board members. Three representatives have since been added: one member each from the city boards for parks and recreation, adjustments and community outreach.

Now, Sanders said, the committee has plans to meet with company officials before kicking off a series of presentations to civic, business and community groups in advance of hosting public meetings.

"We want input from everyone in the community, from citizens, business owners, and everybody we can find," Sanders said. She plans to speak to community members ranging from those belonging to the Jackson Chamber of Commerce to high school students.

Jackson's comprehensive plan will not be as large as Cape Girardeau's; it will instead be focused on future annexations, land use, parking, community facilities, major street plans with a traffic flow analysis "and just overall future development of the community and redevelopment as it happens."

Houseal Lavigne is also expected to provide an implementation plan.

The consulting firm will be paid $85,000 -- $5,000 less than what the city planned to spend -- from the 2009 budget, Sanders said. Work on the plan will begin as soon as possible, she added, and wrap up in one year. After company and city officials meet, the next steps will include presentations to civic, business and community groups, as well as public meetings, focus groups, surveys and interviews.

In the vetting process, the selection committee learned that Houseal Lavigne Associates has a reputation for incorporating key points from community research into comprehensive plans, Sanders said.

The firm was recently featured in a Google case study on emerging technologies such as 3-D visualization applications for planning projects. Another Houseal Lavigne client, the village of Algonquin, Ill., won the prestigious 2008 Chaddick Development award from DePaul University for its downtown revitalization plan for "striking a balance between preservation and progress," according to the award citation.

Sanders said an online survey is being planned for Jackson's website, www.jacksonmo.org.

pmcnichol@semissourian.com

388-3646

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