The Palatine Village Council, meeting as a committee of the whole, voted 5-1 to recommend approval of a downtown master plan that features more parking, two- to five-story condominiums, wider roads and more businesses.
Village Manager Michael Cassady said the master plan, which village officials agreed to call a land use guide, would give developers a clear direction on how to redevelop downtown Palatine. He said the land-use guide doesn’t include any zoning changes.
“This is a blueprint for the future,” Cassady said. “This is not a license for demolition.”
Several of the two dozen residents and downtown business owners at the meeting Monday night said they felt they had been excluded from the land use guide. Ken Kortas told the council that the guide includes parking where his home is located, in the 100 block of Cedar Drive.
“According to the plan, our houses will be demolished,” Kortas said. “We don’t like that.”
Councilman Michael Jezierski said no homes or businesses that conflict with the guide would be condemned. Instead, it’s up to the developers to buy the sites to build what the guide proposes, he said.
“If it’s not for sale, it ain’t going to happen,” Jezierski said. “If someone comes in with a whole lot of money to buy your house, you may sell it. We’re not going through any condemnations.”
Councilman Warren Kostka, who cast the dissenting vote, said the guide is too rigid for developers and business owners to follow.
“I’m not arguing against downtown development, but I don’t want the plan to stifle ideas,” Kostka said. “I wish we would have put in other options. We shouldn’t be putting so much in ink of what we want to see in downtown because we don’t know what the developers will bring.”
The land-use guide, designed by Lakota Group Inc. of Chicago, includes an additional 800 condominium units and 400,000 square feet of commercial space downtown.
The council will vote on the recommendation on Monday.
In other action, the committee recommended hiring RJN and Associates of Wheaton to design the village’s sidewalk expansion and repair plan.
The village identified 14 areas to repair and extend sidewalks along state and county roads. The cost of the project is $350,000, and it will be completed by the end of the year.
Some areas of the sidewalk extension include Quentin Road from Colfax to Peder Streets and from Northwest Highway to Myrtle Street; Elm Street from Helen to Dorset Drives; and Illinois Avenue from Quentin Road to Elm Street.
