For Immediate Use
November 4, 2004
Press Contact: Tom Garritano (tgarritano at nipc.org, 312-454-0400)
New Planning Director Joins Northeastern Illinois
Planning Commission
Sam Santell brings land-use experience at the municipal and county
levels
CHICAGO -- The Northeastern Illinois Planning Commission
(NIPC) has hired Sam Santell as its new director of planning. Since 1991,
Santell had held a similar post with Kane County, where he contributed to its award-winning 2020 plan and the recently adopted 2030
plan. He joins NIPC at an important juncture, as the Commission is
nearing the implementation phase of its 2040 Regional Framework Plan to
achieve tighter integration of local and regional planning.
In 1979, Santell earned a Master’s in city and regional
planning from the Ohio State University. His undergraduate degrees in
political science and social theory are from Adrian College in Michigan.
Prior to joining Kane County, he was a planner for the City of St.
Charles and had worked previously for the Eastern Kentucky FIVCO
organization and the Ohio Department of Natural Resources.
“Our entire region will now benefit from Sam’s skill at
building consensus,” said NIPC executive director Ron Thomas. “With 27
municipalities that range from urban to suburban and agricultural, Kane
County is a microcosm of northeastern Illinois, and he has excelled at
getting communities to plan collaboratively without being limited by
traditional geographic or governmental boundaries. The region has just
over 270 municipalities, so if the complexity of his task is multiplied
by ten compared to his previous job, the potential for positive change is
equally great.”
NIPC’s official forecasts indicate that Cook, DuPage,
Kane, Lake, McHenry, and Will counties, population will grow from the
2000 total of 8 million to 10 million by 2030, a 25-percent increase. In
light of issues such as traffic congestion, lack of affordable housing,
and endangered natural resources, NIPC is aggressively promoting greater
cooperation between neighboring municipalities, whose land-use planning
will determine whether such problems worsen or improve in coming decades.
“All the elements are in place for significant progress at
the local and regional levels,” said Santell. “I’m excited to be part of
the NIPC team, which includes dynamic projects like Common Ground that
conduct on-going engagement of communities and stakeholders. NIPC is also
forging better ties between its forecasting functions and land-use
planning at all levels. These are significant new opportunities and
challenges for all of us in northeastern Illinois.”
In late September, NIPC previewed its draft 2040 Regional
Framework Plan, the product of more than three years’ public discourse
and expert analysis of land use. Developed by NIPC’s Common Ground
project, the plan will be central to allocating the region's investments
for transportation, economic development, environment, and other forms of
land use.
Santell’s prior work is evidence that he believes firmly
in the need for local planners to work cooperatively in combating sprawl
that can limit residents’ ability to get around and squander natural
resources. “Where I live, Kane County has an Urban Growth Area along the
Fox River, a Critical Growth Area of newer development toward the
county’s center, and an Agricultural Area farther west that merits
preservation,” Santell said. “Through innovative boundary agreements and
intergovernmental cooperation, municipalities are planning more
effectively by teaming up to steer growth that favors urban renewal
rather than sprawl. The county also has purchased development rights that
let farm owners voluntarily restrict use of their land to agriculture
while still maintaining full ownership. All these factors and more
combine to create livable communities and sustainable growth.”
The Kane County 2020 plan won awards from the American
Planning Association and the National Trust for Historic Preservation.
The county recently adopted its 2030 plan.
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About NIPC
NIPC was created in 1957 by the Illinois General Assembly as the region’s
comprehensive land-use planning agency. The legislation authorizes NIPC
to conduct research for planning -- including official forecasts of
population, employment, and other socio-economic indicators -- to advise
units of local government on their plans and policies, and to provide
general comprehensive plans and policies for use by local governments.
NIPC's role was reaffirmed in 2000 by an Interagency Agreement with the
Chicago Area Transportation Study (CATS), the Regional Transit Authority
(RTA), and the Illinois Department of Transportation (IDOT). The
agreement stipulates that NIPC's plans and data are the basis for the
Regional Transportation Plan (RTP) that guides critical decisions and
investments of federal transportation funding. For more, see http://www.nipc.org.
