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OPENPUBLICA · PUBLIC MEETING RECORD

Record of Proceedings

Joint Meeting Workshop on Unified Development Ordinance - December 2, 2025

Village Board & Commissions — Tuesday, December 2, 2025

BodyPlainfield, Illinois

SessionVillage Board & Commissions

DateTuesday, December 2, 2025

StatusFILED

Video Record

0:00 / 1:22:40

Transcript — VerbatimClick a timed line to jump · ⧉ to share it

0:08

I guess we should call the meeting order, Ms.

0:10

Getersman's role called Trusty Keefer.

0:14

Trusty Paniker.

0:16

Trustee Ruin.

0:17

Trusty Sula.

0:19

Trust Wachowski.

0:20

Trusty Penucci.

0:21

Mayor Gadellus.

0:22

Yes.

0:42

Then roll call for the planning commissioners.

0:44

Commissioner Campanella.

0:47

Commissioner Fehim.

0:48

Commissioner Heinen.

0:50

Commissioner Nicholson.

0:52

Commissioner Velera.

0:54

Here.

0:54

Commissioner Wagner.

0:56

Chairman Minnes.

0:57

Here.

0:58

And then we also have ex officio current in attendance.

1:06

Anything public on that.

1:09

Seeing none we look at.

1:10

So again, I just want to kind of um explain the focus of the meeting.

1:16

This is not a workshop meeting where we talk about our desires on what we want.

1:22

This is a meeting for our professional team to present the process to us for us to talk about the process and how it's going to go.

1:28

There will be opportunities for input at some point during the process for each of us to give our input on things that are important to us.

1:35

For example, you know, I talk a lot about environmental things and things like that.

1:39

We'll we'll get to that.

1:40

But that's not the purpose of tonight.

1:42

Tonight is the purpose to meet our team, talk about the process, and ask questions about that process.

1:48

And I say this because you know, I just want to make sure we all keep our focus because it's easy to just start talking about things getting off on a tangent.

1:56

And um, I don't want to keep our um professional team here too long tonight with the letter, I'm sure we want to get home eventually.

2:03

I will say this then.

2:05

Um I really enjoy these joint meetings.

2:08

We did when we're doing our comp plan.

2:10

And the intellect and input from everybody, planning commissioners, board members, doesn't matter if you appointed or elected.

2:18

You know, you're all pretty sharp people, and you all have a good idea of what's good for our community.

2:23

So your input, I think is I can't value it enough.

2:27

It's really important that we do this.

2:29

And I know that when we were going through our comp plan, we had a joint meeting.

2:33

Some of the input from the plan commissioners was really important to that conversation.

2:39

So I want to just reiterate how how valuable these meetings are.

2:43

They have all of this uh mental capacity in one room to help us shape our zoning code.

2:49

Our zoning code has not been updated for decades in total.

2:53

Um there are a lot of anomalies as things that really go back to the 50s.

2:59

Yeah, not that uh I would say I personally would want a tattoo parlor everywhere, but uh the handful of tattoo parlors we had had a very difficult time finding the spot that would allow them for zoning purposes.

3:11

And there are a lot of anomalies that date from a different era that really need to be cleaned up.

3:16

So it gives us a great opportunity.

3:18

We updated our our our tenure transportation mobility plan in 22.

3:23

We updated our comp plan in 24.

3:25

Now we're looking at the zone code, which is really the last big piece of the puzzle, I would say.

3:30

Um and we will have a very modern code system and town plan and everything going forward, which really sets us up well as continues to develop as we all know so much interest in living here and putting your businesses here and and all of that, and having an up-to-date modern uh zoning code is is so important to that process as well.

3:52

But um, I'll turn it over to like other chairperson, if you want to say anything, and then of course our village administrator who's uh CEO for I think we did a great job so we played with Mr.

4:04

Blake Moore, you want to add anything to all that?

4:06

Uh no, I mean I I think you covered the the process at least for tonight.

4:10

I tonight's intent is certainly not to rewrite the or write the unified development orders tonight.

4:16

This is the first and in steps of of many steps along this process.

4:21

Uh you can introduce to our our consulting team with Tesca and Ansel Blaine.

4:25

Uh the staff has met with them.

4:27

We've been very impressed with with their team.

Discussion Breakdown — Share of Meeting

Zoning And Land Use█████████████████████████████████████████████60%

Public Engagement███████9%

Affordable Housing███████9%

Environmental Protection██████8%

Procedural█████6%

Community Engagement██3%

Parks and Recreation██3%

Transportation Safety██2%

Summary of Proceedings

Joint Meeting Workshop on Unified Development Ordinance - December 2, 2025

The Village Board and Plan Commission held a joint workshop on December 2, 2025, at 7:00 PM in the Village Hall Boardroom. The primary purpose was to introduce the consulting team (Teska Associates, Sightline Development, and Ancel Glink) and outline the process for developing a new Unified Development Ordinance (UDO). The meeting focused on the process, goals, and initial findings, with board and commission members providing input on key issues. No votes were taken; the session was informational and preparatory.

Discussion Items

UDO Overview and Process: Mike Hoppen (Teska Associates) explained that the UDO will combine zoning, subdivision, and development regulations into a single user-friendly document. The 18-month process includes four phases: review/analysis, recommendations report, drafting, and public review/adoption. The UDO aims to implement the recently updated Comprehensive Plan and Transportation Mobility Plan.
Consultant Team Introduction: Jake Side (Sightline) will be the lead author, having written similar codes for other communities. Yu Chen (formerly a Plainfield planner) will handle graphics and the project website (PlainfieldUDO.org). The team emphasized that the code will be written in plain English, with more graphics and tables, and will be legally sound due to Ancel Glink's involvement.
Key Issues Identified So Far: Through stakeholder interviews, the team has heard about the need for a predictable process, modernized uses (e.g., tattoo parlors, drive-throughs), updated lot sizes (the 12,000 sq ft minimum often leads to variances), parking disparities (too much on corridors, too little downtown), landscaping with native species, and sign standards that comply with recent court rulings.
Public Outreach Plans: Starting in January 2026, a survey will be launched, and the team will engage the public at events like the farmers market or cruise night. The project website is live for subscriptions and updates.
Board and Commission Input: Members raised numerous concerns and suggestions:
- Lot Sizes and Housing Types: Many noted that the current minimum lot size of 12,000 sq ft is outdated, forcing frequent variances. There was broad support for allowing smaller lots and diverse housing types, including accessory dwelling units (ADUs).
- Variance Process: Frustration was expressed over the high volume of variance requests, which consume time and resources. Members advocated for codifying modern standards to reduce reliance on variances and planned unit developments (PUDs).
- Green Space and Landscaping: Emphasis on preserving existing tree lines, requiring native species, and ensuring that commercial developments do not use large shade trees that obscure storefronts. Some suggested requiring a percentage of open space in new developments.
- Affordable Housing: Mayor Gadellus and others highlighted the need for workforce housing, noting that 72% of Plainfield workers commute from outside the county. The idea of requiring 10% affordable units in new multifamily developments was discussed, with awareness of market feasibility.
- Sustainability: Suggestions included using permeable pavement, requiring electric vehicle charging stations, and promoting renewable energy through expedited permitting or incentives rather than mandates.
- Signage and Lighting: Modernization of sign codes to allow LED and neon signage (with tasteful limitations) and updating exterior lighting standards to balance safety and light pollution.
- Sidewalk Connectivity: The lack of pedestrian connections between subdivisions and parks was cited as a concern.
- Administrative Approvals: Some minor variances could be handled by staff to streamline the process.
- Expiration Dates for Zoning: Calls for adding sunset clauses to special use permits and zoning approvals to prevent dormant projects from lingering.
Staff Perspective: Village Administrator Blake Moore and planners Osma Dedeem and Alyssa Martin noted that staff have compiled a “punch list” of problematic code areas (e.g., fence regulations, easement language) and look forward to more consistency. They see the UDO as an opportunity to establish clear standards and reduce the need for PUDs.

Key Outcomes

Next Steps: The consulting team will develop a recommendations memo in the next couple of months, outlining major themes and choices for board and commission consideration. The memo will cover trade-offs on lot size, parking, sustainability, and other topics.
Timeline: Public outreach (surveys, events) will begin in January 2026. Drafting the UDO will occur from February through October 2026, with public review and adoption targeted for late 2026 or early 2027.
No Formal Actions: No motions or votes were taken. The meeting adjourned without a motion, following a brief reminder of upcoming meetings (December 8 Committee of the Whole, December 10 Coffee with the Mayor, etc.).

Meeting Transcript

I guess we should call the meeting order, Ms. Getersman's role called Trusty Keefer. Trusty Paniker. Trustee Ruin. Trusty Sula. Trust Wachowski. Trusty Penucci. Mayor Gadellus. Yes. Then roll call for the planning commissioners. Commissioner Campanella. Commissioner Fehim. Commissioner Heinen. Commissioner Nicholson. Commissioner Velera. Here. Commissioner Wagner. Chairman Minnes. Here. And then we also have ex officio current in attendance. Anything public on that. Seeing none we look at. So again, I just want to kind of um explain the focus of the meeting. This is not a workshop meeting where we talk about our desires on what we want. This is a meeting for our professional team to present the process to us for us to talk about the process and how it's going to go. There will be opportunities for input at some point during the process for each of us to give our input on things that are important to us. For example, you know, I talk a lot about environmental things and things like that. We'll we'll get to that. But that's not the purpose of tonight. Tonight is the purpose to meet our team, talk about the process, and ask questions about that process. And I say this because you know, I just want to make sure we all keep our focus because it's easy to just start talking about things getting off on a tangent. And um, I don't want to keep our um professional team here too long tonight with the letter, I'm sure we want to get home eventually. I will say this then. Um I really enjoy these joint meetings. We did when we're doing our comp plan. And the intellect and input from everybody, planning commissioners, board members, doesn't matter if you appointed or elected. You know, you're all pretty sharp people, and you all have a good idea of what's good for our community. So your input, I think is I can't value it enough. It's really important that we do this. And I know that when we were going through our comp plan, we had a joint meeting. Some of the input from the plan commissioners was really important to that conversation. So I want to just reiterate how how valuable these meetings are. They have all of this uh mental capacity in one room to help us shape our zoning code. Our zoning code has not been updated for decades in total. Um there are a lot of anomalies as things that really go back to the 50s. Yeah, not that uh I would say I personally would want a tattoo parlor everywhere, but uh the handful of tattoo parlors we had had a very difficult time finding the spot that would allow them for zoning purposes. And there are a lot of anomalies that date from a different era that really need to be cleaned up. So it gives us a great opportunity. We updated our our our tenure transportation mobility plan in 22. We updated our comp plan in 24.

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