The Gifford Park Association, a neighborhood group in Elgin, Il. procurred a City of Elgin Neighborhood Improvement Grant in order to produce a comprehensive neighborhood plan for the Elgin Historic District, the oldest neighborhood in the City.  Paul Bednar Planning & Design, Ltd. was hired to facilitate the planning process and produce the final report which will be approved in early 2007.

The planning process involves a significant amount of neighbor input. Numerous community meetings and interviews with residents, neighborhood institutions, schools, various city staff, and the neighborhood plan committee have taken place. Early in the process a resident survey was mailed to all dwellings in the district.

The Plan has identified the major strengths and challenges of the neighborhood and will address each with a series of action steps. With the use of census data, City maps, photos of the neighborhood, charts and graphic plans the Neighborhood Plan document becomes a record of what has occurred and initiates what can become of the neighborhood. After approval by the planning committee, the Plan will then be incorporated into the City Comprehensive Plan. See Draft Plan. (7mb)