Palatine committee recommends adoption of new comprehensive plan after two-year public process

The Community and Economic Development Committee voted April 14 to send an ordinance adopting a new comprehensive plan for the Village of Palatine to the council consent calendar after a presentation by consultant Andy Cross of the Lakota Group.

The vote follows roughly two years of planning work that staff and consultants described as highly participatory. Andy Cross said the project began in early 2023 and used a three-phase approach: a “state of the village” diagnosis, testing strategies with stakeholders, and then drafting the plan itself. “We started with phase 1, and that is really learning about the community,” Cross said. “Phase 2 is where we start looking at solutions, strategies, recommendations. … And once we have this planning framework put together … then we move on to phase 3 where we write the comprehensive plan itself.”

Committee members and staff emphasized the volume of public input: multiple stakeholder groups, interviews with village departments and elected officials, two open houses (September 2023 and June 2024) and hundreds of online survey responses. The consultant said the plan is organized around community themes rather than traditional siloed chapters and includes a detailed implementation matrix (actions, priorities, estimated costs and durations) that staff will use as an ongoing work program.

Committee discussion touched on how the plan treats properties that are not currently in the village. One councilman asked about a parcel at Quentin and Dundee that abuts Forest Preserve land and unincorporated parcels; staff noted that Palatine’s planning jurisdiction extends one-and-a-half miles beyond municipal boundaries and that some unincorporated parcels were included because they are likely to develop with utilities tied to the village. “It’s likely even though it’s not in the village, it’s likely if it were to develop, it would be in the village,” a staff member said.

Cross and staff highlighted the plan’s “opportunity sites” map, which identifies specific properties where change is most likely over the 10-to-15-year life of the plan. Cross said the plan is intentionally non-prescriptive about exact redevelopment types but aims to give clear signals to developers and the public about the village’s vision for those sites.

The committee recorded a unanimous “aye” and recommended approval; the ordinance will appear on the council consent calendar later the same evening.

Why it matters: A comprehensive plan sets the village’s vision for land use, corridors and public investments and guides future zoning and development decisions. The implementation matrix included with the plan is designed to make the document actionable rather than merely advisory.

Looking ahead: Staff and the consultant urged the council to review implementation progress regularly — for example, annually or biannually — and to use the plan as a reference for capital budgeting, downtown investments and future policy decisions.