Affordable housing a concern City of Oregon plans to address in updated plan

OREGON, Ill. (WIFR) – The City of Oregon charts a course for the future armed with advice and suggestions from local businesses, elected leaders and residents.

The last time Oregon completed a comprehensive plan was eight years ago. It focused on redevelopment along the Rock River, including new businesses and recreational paths.

Born in Oregon, Nicole Wesselman left the area when she was 16 but she moved back four years ago.

“Having lived with kids in bigger cities and kind of the complicated life of living in a bigger city, it’s nice to kind of step back and have a smaller community. It’s a lot safer. I feel like for kids and is community oriented.”

She’s also a landlord and says affordable housing is a concern for some tenants, citing the pandemic as one factor.

“People are left kind of wondering, do I put food on the table, or do I pay my rent or pay my utilities and it’s really unfortunate that it’s pushed people to that point.”

Just last month, residents echoed those concerns to Oregon City Manager Darin Dehaan during a public input session.

“All those great quality things in a community are there we just need to get the builders and then people interested in it and building again,”

That’s where an updated comprehensive plan, created in cooperation with Northern Illinois University, comes into play. They’ll target nine main areas, including economic development and connectivity.

“We’re heading in the right direction. We’re looking at walkability studies connecting communities to resources in the downtown and continued development of our recreation paths,” says DeHaan.

“This is a wonderful city and we’re happy to see it thriving. We hope that more people come out and enjoy what Oregon has to offer,” says Wesselman.

DeHaan says the next step is to bring this plan to the city’s planning committee board meeting on Feb. 20.

Wesselman says she also wants to see more diversity among local businesses as sometimes people might drive to Rockford to find what they want like health food markets.

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