Poplar Grove Comprehensive Plan
Poplar Grove, Illinois
A roadmap for growth while maintaining the community’s rural character.
The small, rural community of Poplar Grove sought to update their Comprehensive Plan to guide the next ten years of community planning. The Plan focuses on housing, economic development, infrastructure, and park space incorporating primary and secondary data. Community engagement sessions sparked additional conversation about maintaining the rural character of the community while accommodating additional development. With new jobs coming to the adjacent community, Poplar Grove is well-positioned to encourage additional housing and absorb some additional commercial impact.
Unique elements to the community that influenced the team’s approach and recommendations included: a vibrant fly-in airport and residential community, a popular rail-to-trail path connecting multiple communities, limited utility capacity at the north plant, and abundant agricultural land within and surrounding the community.
Studio GWA and Redevelopment Resources partnered to produce a Plan that incorporates standard plan elements like a community profile, existing and future land use maps, and zoning maps. The team expanded on this data and the community input to develop an implementation matrix, identifying priorities for the next ten years.
