Over the last year, Burton Planning Services, under contract with the city of Urbana, has been working to develop the South Main Street Corridor Plan. This plan will serve as a resource to guide future growth, development and redevelopment of the southern portion of the city, including parts of unincorporated Urbana Township.

With the recent publication of the draft South Main Street Corridor Plan, a public meeting (open house) has been scheduled to allow interested parties to learn more about the draft plan. This meeting is scheduled for Thursday, Jan. 9, from 6 to 7:30 p.m. in the upstairs training room of the Urbana Municipal Building at 205 S. Main St. ADA access is available to the training room via a chairlift.

The draft plan also is viewable by visiting www.burtonplanning.com/urbana_mainplan.

Comments will be accepted at the upcoming meeting in written format. In addition, comments can be submitted online through the plan’s website. The deadline to submit public comments about the draft plan is Friday, Jan. 31.

As part of the planning process, the consultant collected information on the natural and built environments to understand strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats within the planning area. This SWOT analysis closely reviewed biological and ecological factors, land use, transportation facilities, housing conditions, economic conditions and demographics.

The SWOT analysis, stakeholder interviews and a public opinion survey were used as the basis for a future development and implementation plan within the draft South Main Street Corridor Plan.

After the public feedback portion of the planning process, adoption of the plan will be the final step in this planning process, with the short-term goal of having this plan adopted by the Urbana Planning Commission, Urbana City Council and the Urbana Township Board of Trustees.

An implementation strategy for the goals and strategies outlined within the plan includes potential timelines. The timing of the implementation strategies are defined as immediate (within six months of plan adoption), near-term (within two years of plan adoption), mid-term (within five years of plan adoption), and long-term (five or more years after plan adoption).