Schaumburg residents weigh in on new land-use plan
Greater opportunities for seniors to downsize in Schaumburg as well as more shopping and dining options in its Town Square are among some longtime residents' hopes for the village's future development and redevelopment.
Several such residents expressed their deep interest in Schaumburg's continued evolution Monday during an open house on the draft revision of its comprehensive land-use plan at the newly renamed Al Larson Prairie Center for the Arts.
Last updated 21 years ago, the revised plan shows such potential changes as the Woodfield Hub - a mixed-use redevelopment featuring new multifamily housing and service businesses as well as additional parking near the existing Northwest Transportation Center and Schaumburg Corporate Center.
New housing is what 38-year residents Karen and Bob Steffen came to learn more about. They and their friends Penny and Don Woytek are finding it difficult to keep up with the costs of their single-family homes.
"We just wanted to find out what considerations there are for seniors," Bob Steffen said. "We love this community. We don't want to leave it."
Vicki Martin had earlier attended community input sessions for the drafting of the new comprehensive plan. Each of the small groups those were broken into said the revitalization of Town Square at the southwest corner of Schaumburg and Roselle roads was a high priority.
"It's always been underutilized," Martin said, adding that she's personally interested in seeing more non-chain restaurants and stores there than getting the vacant Dominick's replaced by another grocery store.
Town Square was among several priorities for 35-year resident Don Reining. He also wants to see greater transportation ties to O'Hare International Airport and continued upgrades to the Woodfield Mall area to keep it relevant in the era of online shopping.
Schaumburg Planning Manager Ryan Franklin said a more formal public hearing will be scheduled before the plan commission in November. The village board may vote on approval of the general, long-range plan before the end of the year.
The draft plan can be found at hlplanning.com/portals/schaumburg/.