Elmhurst officials outline zoning process as resident urges more First Street development outreach

City Planner Eileen Frantz and Chair Susan Rose gave a zoning “101” presentation to the Elmhurst City Council on June 16, 2025, outlining how the city’s comprehensive plan, zoning ordinance and planned unit development (PUD) procedures guide redevelopment decisions. During public forum that preceded the presentation, a resident said outreach around a proposed First Street project by Ryan Companies has been insufficient.

The briefing explained why land‑use reviews matter: city staff said the 2009 Elmhurst comprehensive plan and several subarea plans (including the downtown plan) provide policy guidance but that specific approvals — variances, conditional uses, map amendments and PUDs — are governed by the zoning ordinance and follow formal legal procedures. The presentation emphasized required early steps for major projects, including staff concept meetings, a neighborhood concept meeting with notices to properties within 500 feet, and an initial Development, Planning & Zoning (DPZ) committee review.

The resident who spoke during public forum, identified in the record only as a public commenter, criticized how outreach has been handled for the First Street proposal. The commenter said, “Community outreach have been limited and opaque,” and argued that a Tax Increment Financing (TIF) justification had been used to present the project as a community benefit.

Frantz described how different application types move through the system and the standards applicants must meet. “The state of Illinois actually does require that municipalities have a comprehensive plan,” she said, adding that the plan is a policy guide rather than a regulatory code. She outlined the main procedures developers may use: variations to relax dimensional standards (requiring proof of unnecessary hardship), text amendments (which change rules citywide), map amendments (rezoning individual properties) and conditional use permits (for uses that may be appropriate only in particular circumstances).

Susan Rose, chair of the Zoning and Planning Commission, summarized the city’s multistage review. “The public hearings — all the public hearings that we hold — are legal proceedings,” she said. She and Frantz explained that the Zoning & Planning Commission produces a fact‑focused recommendation, the Development, Planning & Zoning committee reviews policy implications, and the City Council makes final decisions. Commissioners and witnesses at public hearings are sworn; the record and any written materials are part of the decision file. The officials warned against ex parte communications and said deliberations after a hearing are limited to commissioners only.

Frantz noted specific local thresholds: properties downtown with more than 75 feet of frontage or sites over two acres are subject to the PUD procedure, which requires concept meetings, a neighborhood meeting with 500‑foot notice and additional review steps. She also said that plan changes or applications filed under the current code are processed under that code until any new zoning code is formally adopted.

Council members and staff repeatedly stressed that public input at the formal neighborhood and public hearings is the principal way for residents to influence proposals. The mayor and commission leaders said early concept meetings are intended to surface concerns and allow developers to revise proposals before large expenditures.

What’s next: the First Street proposal referenced by the commenter appears to be in early outreach stages; staff and commission members said subsequent concept meetings and formal filings will offer additional opportunities for public comment and for the council to consider any zoning or PUD applications.