Hoffman Estates invites residents to help shape village’s future through new initiative
Hoffman Estates officials want residents’ help planning the village’s future so much they’ve promised to make it both fun and easy.
“We’re coming to you,” Transportation & Long-Range Planner Phil Green said. “You don’t have to come to us.”
The kickoff event and a perfect example of what’s to follow over the next two years is the free “Summer Hang” gathering from 5 to 7:30 p.m. Tuesday, July 22 at South Ridge Park, 1450 Freeman Road.
That community gala will combine traditional family-fun activities with an opportunity to interact with the planning process through large maps and creative trivia.
The overall effort, “Hello Hoffman,” aims to update the village’s 2007 comprehensive land-use plan and 2018 strategic plan in one go.
But its prototype was the village’s transportation planning process that began last year. The 2024 “Summer Hang” drew 300 residents who found themselves painlessly providing important input to the village.
“It was just so refreshing,” Green said of the level of participation the event sparked.
He and Village Manager Eric Palm said the three parts of long-range planning — determining where the village is today, where it wants to go and how to get there — need resident input just as much as a team of professional experts.
Improving residents’ quality of life is the aim of everyone who works for the village, Palm said, and going about that requires getting out in the community and hearing from everyone, especially those who might not otherwise be heard.
A community survey available in English, Spanish, Polish and Urdu is also available for residents by signing up at hellohoffman.com.
Opportunities to provide feedback will be available through a voicemail number and via a team of ambassadors that’s being recruited, Green said.
“We’re creating that two-way communication,” he said.
By updating the comprehensive plan and strategic plan together, the village can go beyond issues strictly related to land use, Palm noted.
The comprehensive plan is overdue for an update, Palm added. Currently, it emphasizes a long-abandoned STAR rail line and doesn’t account for the ongoing redevelopment of the Sears and AT&T campuses. Both commercial and residential development trends aren’t accounted for either.
“There’s much more of an interest in renting,” Palm said.
While many village board decisions have had to be made in the absence of clear guidance from the 2007 plan, he said it’s never too late for residents to help shape future decisions.