Danville released a draft of its comprehensive plan this month, which has been in the works for two years, involving an unprecedented level of community involvement.
Renee Burton, director of planning and zoning for the city, will present the plan’s infrastructure recommendations to the Danville Utility Commission at its Oct. 28 meeting at 4 p.m.
Burton will motion that the commission recommend to Danville City Council the plan’s suggestions relating to electric, water, wastewater and natural gas services, according to a staff report in the meeting’s agenda packet.
These suggestions include putting a focus on core infrastructure concerns:
- Drinking water, irrigation, sewage, and stormwater systems
- Electricity infrastructure and external lighting, including substations, cables and conduits that distribute power to homes and businesses
- Emergency communications and equitable access to phone and internet services; and
- Waste management that reduces the amount of refuse sent to the landfills
During the PLAN Danville initiative, which gathered resident input for the comprehensive plan, community members identified infrastructure maintenance and cost of water and electricity services.
Based on this feedback, the plan also recommends policies around efficient and affordable energy, quality water systems, enhanced telecommunication, waste management, and community health and emergency preparedness.
Improved infrastructure resiliency and efficiency will help Danville navigate unforeseen weather events and create a healthier community, the draft of the plan says.
“High-quality infrastructure has the ability to enhance quality of life for residents, while inadequate infrastructure has a negative effect on the community’s ability to meet residents’ basic needs,” it says.
Several candidates for the Danville City Council election mentioned outdated infrastructure as a concern for the growing city.
“We’re still facing the same infrastructure issues we’ve been having for over a decade,” said candidate Maureen Belko. “I just think about the power going out on a sunny day, or bottoming my car out on most of our busiest intersections because the roads are sinking.”
Incumbent candidates Sherman Saunders and Lee Vogler also mentioned infrastructure during the Oct. 3 Cardinal News candidate forum. Vogler and Belko agreed that some of the gaming tax revenue from the Danville Casino should be put toward infrastructure improvements.
The utility commission will also review the August financial report at this meeting, and there will be a public comment portion after these agenda items. There are no other public meetings in Danville this week.
The comprehensive plan will be presented in its entirety to the planning commission in November and to the city council in December.
In the meantime, residents can preview the plan’s drafted infrastructure proposals here.