Plan Commission reviews comprehensive zoning-code rewrite, continues public hearing to Aug. 19

The Northbrook Plan Commission on a village‑initiated docket (PCD2509) continued the public hearing on a proposed, comprehensive replacement of the village zoning code and directed staff to prepare a resolution for the commission’s consideration on Aug. 19.

Deputy Director Mikaela Kolstad and consultant Jackie Berg of House Steel Levine told the commission the rewrite replaces the village’s zoning code (adopted 1988) with a new code composed of 14 articles covering general provisions, administration and enforcement, single‑family and multifamily standards, commercial and industrial districts, overlay standards (including the Village Green overlay), signs, nonconformities and definitions.

The rewrite is intended to “preserve community identity, prioritize the user experience and promote sustainability initiatives,” Jackie Berg said. Senior Planner Swati Pandey noted the code update has been a two‑year process with multiple workshops, open houses and joint meetings with the village board. “The last zoning code was adopted in 1988,” Pandey said. “The world has changed a lot since then.”

Why it matters: the draft makes multiple substantive changes to permitted housing types, project review processes and downtown design standards that would affect future development and redevelopment across Northbrook.

Key proposed changes described by staff and the consultant

- Administrative and procedural changes: the draft eliminates some distinctions between “permitted” and “major variations,” introduces administrative modifications for limited, objective deviations from standards, and provides flow charts of review steps. A new one‑step process is proposed…