One thing I didn’t mention in my previous post about last night’s school board meeting was the sudden use of New Urbanist rhetoric when talking about the Glen Oak Park site for a new school. One school board member suggested narrowing Prospect and putting diagonal parking in front of the new school to improve safety and reduce the need for such a large parking lot, which is not a bad idea in a “when-life-gives-you-lemons-make-lemonade” sort of way. Another board member went so far as to say that Andres Duany himself recommends putting schools on the periphery of a neighborhood. Duany is the author of the Heart of Peoria Plan, which (if the board would read the plan) actually advocates renovating the current school buildings.

In one sense, it’s encouraging that the Heart of Peoria Plan is on the district’s radar now. But on the other hand, they seem to be trying to co-opt it for their own purposes. Instead of a plain reading, they’re trying to manipulate the plan to fit their preconceived idea of where the school should be sited. When the plan clearly contradicts their ideas, they look to the larger body of New Urbanist writings to look for justification for their plan.