Five years ago on September 13, 2012 APA-IL and the Chaddick Institute were invited to the Village of Hanover Park, Illinois to present a commissioner training workshop. Since then some new Trustees have been elected, some new commissioners have been appointed and new staff members have been hired. The Village recently requested that we return for another commissioner training workshop. So on October 12, 2017. Courtney Kashima, AICP and Laurie Marston, FAICP presented the 77th training workshop since the program began.
Among the questions asked by the commissioners were:
How often should we update the Comprehensive Plan?
Can parking requirements be less in the Village Center than other parts of the village?
What are the roles of staff and of the commission in site plan review?
If we often hear the same variation, should we amend that section of the ordinance?
How do we evaluate a PUD? Can we impose conditions?
At the conclusion of each session, the commissioners complete a brief, anonymous evaluation. The topics that they found most helpful included: the foundation of zoning and development regulations, TOD, the public hearing process and PUD. One of the commissioners suggested that next time other Village commissions be invited to attend also.