Village of Glen Carbon

This Comprehensive Plan Update for the Village of Glen Carbon outlines an ambitious 25-year vision, known as 'Glen Carbon 2050', to preserve and enhance the community's high quality of life, safety, and amenities. The plan focuses on eight key strategic goals: establishing a unique Local and Regional Village Identity, fostering Economic Diversification, improving Community Access, Mobility, and Infrastructure, ensuring Housing and Neighborhood Vitality, enriching History, Culture, Arts, and Entertainment, promoting Environmental Stewardship and Community Resilience, enhancing Parks, Recreation, and Trails, and guiding Village Growth and Development. These objectives aim to leverage Glen Carbon's strategic location and economic potential to further distinguish it as a premier community in the region.

This Comprehensive Plan Update for the Village of Glen Carbon outlines a 25-year vision to enhance the community's quality of life, safety, and amenities. It focuses on eight key goals: defining local and regional identity, fostering economic diversification, improving community access, mobility, and infrastructure, ensuring housing and neighborhood vitality, expanding history, culture, arts, and entertainment, promoting environmental stewardship and community resilience, enhancing parks, recreation, and trails, and guiding village growth and development. The plan aims to position Glen Carbon as a premier community to live, work, and play in the region by leveraging its history and economic potential along the I-70/I-270 corridor.

The comprehensive plan for the Village of Glen Carbon focuses on preserving its quality of life, enhancing community amenities, and embracing its economic potential along the I-70/I-270 corridor. Key areas of focus include fostering economic diversification, improving community access and mobility, enhancing housing and neighborhood vitality, expanding arts and entertainment resources, promoting environmental stewardship, and guiding village growth and development.

The Village of Glen Carbon, Illinois Strategic Plan 2023 outlines key goals and objectives for the next three years. The plan prioritizes infrastructure improvements (water treatment facility, wastewater interceptor, street maintenance, Village Hall security), public safety (financial support, grant applications, best practice adoption, community messaging), parks and recreation (parks and trails plan implementation, park improvements, new park development), community and economic development (military recognition programs, community input on plans, online service enhancement, business marketing), marketing (Village brand promotion, event promotion), and human resources (employee support programs, volunteer programs, recruitment and career development). The plan emphasizes a high quality of life in a safe and thriving community and includes a regular reporting system to track progress and ensure accountability.

The Glen Carbon Comprehensive Plan Update aims to revise the existing plan, addressing current and future conditions, opportunities, and community vision. Key issues identified include inadequate wayfinding, insufficient pedestrian and bike infrastructure, traffic impacts from new development, economic stagnation in Old Town, school capacity issues, limited employment opportunities, lack of affordable housing, an aging population, concerns about I-55 development, and flooding. Opportunities include regional connectivity, internal road networks, a growing retail market, a historic Old Town, access to trails, a high quality of life, proximity to SIUE, existing housing stock, and available land for annexation. The plan's vision is to preserve Glen Carbon's quality of life while embracing its economic potential and enhancing its amenities. Goals include defining a regional identity, fostering economic diversification, improving community access and infrastructure, enhancing housing and neighborhoods, promoting arts and culture, environmental stewardship, improving parks and recreation, and managing village growth and development. Strategies involve marketing Glen Carbon, improving wayfinding, developing a light industrial park, strengthening the IL-159 corridor, annexing land, supporting schools, improving pedestrian connectivity, reconfiguring intersections, enhancing trails, diversifying housing, regulating short-term rentals, enhancing Main Street, creating community spaces, partnering with SIUE, protecting waterways, implementing green infrastructure, adopting tree ordinances, developing a solar farm, acquiring parkland, expanding recreational amenities, updating zoning regulations, and managing annexation.