Will County Previews ‘GuideWill’ Comprehensive Resource Management Plan

Article Summary: Will County’s Land Use Department unveiled the branding, interactive tools, and initial timeline for its updated Resource Management Plan, scheduling a series of spring listening sessions across multiple townships and targeted meetings with agricultural stakeholders.

GuideWill Key Points:

• The new comprehensive county plan is officially branded as “GuideWill: Growing Smarter and Living Better,” featuring a mosaic logo.

• A dedicated project website, guidewill.co, is currently under construction and will soon host interactive surveys, mirroring the format of the county’s previous transportation plan.

• Public listening sessions are being scheduled for late April and early May at the Manhattan, Monee, and Plainfield Township Halls, as well as Wilmington City Hall.

• The Land Use and Development Committee will serve as the official steering committee for the project.

The Will County Land Use and Development Committee received a progress report on the county’s sweeping overhaul of its Resource Management Plan, setting the stage for a massive public feedback campaign this spring.

County staff announced that the data collection effort is officially branded “GuideWill: Growing Smarter and Living Better,” featuring a mosaic-style logo. The initiative will serve as the county’s primary comprehensive planning document, dictating future land use, zoning, and environmental preservation strategies.

“We are updating the resource management plan… going as great guns as we possibly can to move this forward,” county staff told the committee.

Consultants are actively collecting data, with staff noting they had to send over additional building permit histories during the meeting itself. To gather direct resident feedback, the county is launching a dedicated portal at guidewill.co. The website utilizes the same “.co” format previously used for the county’s transportation plan. While currently under construction, the site will soon feature interactive polling tools.

To ensure the plan accounts for the diverse geographic needs of the county, staff announced a series of public listening sessions slated for late April and early May. The sessions will be geographically spread out, taking place at the Manhattan Township Hall, Monee Township Hall, Plainfield Township Hall, and Wilmington City Hall.

Beyond general public outreach, the county will distribute regular newsletters and hold targeted meetings with specific stakeholder groups, including township officials, the Farm Bureau, and the Soil and Water Conservation District.

The Land Use and Development Committee, which serves as the official steering committee for the project, scheduled a dedicated workshop with the consultants for March 26 at 10:00 a.m. Staff noted the workshop will be highly interactive, requiring board members to use a computer for the meeting while utilizing their smartphones to participate in live polling exercises.