Implementing Transit-Oriented Development Plans

Bio: Kimberly Flom is the Assistant Director of the Development Services Department for Orland Park, IL, a Chicago suburb of 58,000 residents. She brings 12 years of experience to this position that involves technical work in planning and directing all operations of the development review process, long-range planning, economic development, zoning, historic preservation, project design and grant administration. Since 2009, she has worked as the project manager for the Main Street Area, the 143rd Street Metra Station TOD that is being developed as a mixed-use, downtown project. The first phase, Ninety7Fifty on the Park, is under construction via a public/private partnership and is scheduled to open in the spring of 2013. Prior to her current position in Orland Park, Ms. Flom worked for 5 years as a landscape architect for LDR International, HNTB and The Lakota Group. In that capacity she worked on site-specific designs, corridor studies, subdivision plans, master plans, mixed-use developments and public/private partnerships. The projects, which included the Princeton Redevelopment Project, constructed in 2010, and the Homewood, IL Downtown Master Plan, completed in 2005, included significant public participation, creative problem solving and practical planning solutions. Kimberly holds a BS in Landscape Architecture from the University of Wisconsin Madison and an MPA with an economic development emphasis, from the University of Illinois at Chicago. She is a registered landscape architect in Illinois and Maryland and serves on the Chicago Metropolitan Agency of Planning’s (CMAP) Land Use Committee.

Education: BS Landscape Architecture - University of Wisconsin, Madison. MPA - University of Illinios, Chicago.

Past Assignments: CMAP LTA Ideas Exchange. May 2012. Panelist - Water Conservation Ordinance. Lorman Seminar. February 2006. Speaker - Low Impact Development.

Bio: Heather has been with the Regional Transportation Authority in Chicago since 2005. As a Manager in the Local Planning and Programs Division of the Planning Department, Heather focuses on planning for and implementing transit-oriented development, local transit improvement and corridor studies. Heather also manages the Community Planning program, which offers funding and planning assistance to local governments. Prior to the RTA, Heather worked as a Transportation Planner with the Kane County (IL) Division of Transportation and as the Regional Planning Liaison for the Kane County Council of Mayors. In these positions, Heather coordinated with local governments on local and regional transportation planning and projects, with a special emphasis on bicycle, pedestrian and transit planning. Heather is an active member of the American Planning Association and the American Institute of Certified Planners (AICP).

Education: Northwestern University: Masters in Public Policy and Administration (MPPA) (Degree expected-Fall 2015); Augustana College: B.A. Geography and Environmental Studies (2001)

Past Assignments: Rail~Volution Session Speaker: 2006, 2007, 2008, 2010, 2011, 2012; TCRP Project H-47: Panel member

Bio: Angela Mesaros is the Assistant Community Development Director of the Village of La Grange, an inner ring suburb of Chicago, since 2006 and has been Village Planner since 2001. In this position, she is responsible for Zoning Code interpretation, administration, development review, projects include mixed use developments, public library, hospital inpatient care wing, multiple family residential; she directs the comprehensive amendments to the Zoning Code, which has included a rewrite of the Planned Development ordinance, design standards, bulk, yard & space in single family districts, use lists for all districts, administrative adjustment process; liaison to Plan Commission and Zoning Board of Appeals; use classifications for new businesses; as Village Planner, she coordinated planning, design & installation of wayfinding & kiosks; As Project Manager for RTAP Comprehensive Plan/BNSF Corridor Plan 2003-2005 oversaw process for long-term municipal plan, secured funding, coordinated consultant selection, provided direction to steering committee, organized public and stakeholder involvement; Past experience includes research with the American Planning Association Planning Advisory Service and the UIC Center for Urban Economic Development, Chicago, IL; She also served as program coordinator for Project Forward, Inc, in McComb, MS, as such she was responsible for program development and implementation of the Family Investment Center, which offered holistic services to low-income communities. Increased participation in the Center, expanded after-school program for students, coordinated community events.

Education: Angela has a Masters of Urban Planning & Policy from UIC; Masters of Theological Studies, Garrett, Northwestern University, Concentration in Ethics, Presidential Scholar; B.A. in International Studies with a concentration in German and political science from Mount Union College in Alliance, Ohio.

Bio: Steve is the Planning Supervisor for the Village of Skokie, IL, and has worked for the Village since 1997. He prides himself on coming up with out-of-the-box solutions, walking the fine line of using both data and humor to disarm and educate, and focusing on progressive plans that can actually be implemented. He was responsible for developing the Village’s Downtown Science and Technology zoning district and the three surrounding mixed-use zoning districts. Prior to joining Skokie, Steve worked for North Chicago, IL.

Education: Steve has a B.A. in Urban Planning, B.S. in Finance, and Master of Urban Planning, all from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, and holds a certificate in ornamental plant materials from the School of the Chicago Botanic Garden.

Key Publications: "Skokie Takes Suburban TOD One Step Further...Jobs" IL-APA News Blast!, July/August 2007.

Past Assignments: TODs and Job Creation: Downtown Skokie and the Illinois Science+Technology Park, 2011 Illinois State APA Conference. Ethical Dilemmas, 2011 Illinois State APA Conference.