In Quincy, city planning is about balancing development with open space to ensure that as our community grows it remains a comfortable, healthy, attractive place to live or visit.

Comprehensive city planning in Quincy dates at least to 1946, when the City Council adopted a master plan for Quincy to deal with housing, recreation, education, transportation, parking and public transit needs. Maps in the plan showed the city’s street grid system extending east only to 30^th Street.  Until the mid-1980s, Quincy relied on urban planning firms to author specialized studies and propose revisions to the official plan and zoning ordinance.  While many of the recommendations in these plans were successfully carried out, a few missed the mark.  For example, a 1965 downtown plan advocated new high-rise apartment buildings for the north and west sides of Washington Park, and a pedestrian mall snaking along Maine from Fifth to Eight Streets.

The early 1980s saw the creation of a community development office to administer state and federal grant programs.  The idea of substituting local planning staff for out-of-town consulting firms gradually gained acceptance during the decade, particularly after city staff revised the Comprehensive Plan in 1986.  In 1994, the City organized the Department of Planning and Development to consolidate zoning, inspection, community development, planning, and historic preservation functions under a single director.

A site plan review procedure was put into effect in 1995 to ensure consultation between developers and appropriate city departments.  At about this time, two strategic planning reports, each co-sponsored by private organizations and the City, evaluated prospects for the riverfront and central business district in a new light.  The reports helped build consensus for a downtown commercial construction and rehab program (1995), a substantially enlarged Tax Increment Financing district (1998), and a capital improvements program for major streets.  An overhaul of downtown zoning districts (1999) incorporated design standards for new and reconstructed buildings.  Other recent initiatives include an evaluation of traffic, land use, and zoning along the Broadway Corridor from Ninth Street to the corporate limit (1997), and revamped off-street parking requirements (2000).  The department is recently completed a series of area planning studies based on neighborhood public comment.  The neighborhood land use plan adopted in 2013 includes a future land us map to guide development and a community profile showing trends in demographic data.    The City Council approved in March 2018 the Quincy Next Strategic Plan.   The Strategic plan will help the Quincy region adapt and prosper by promoting high quality, forward-thinking, productive growth and development  through investments in people and place during the next  ten to 15 years and The Plan focuses on four areas:  general economic development, downtown/riverfront development, transportation, and tourism/arts/recreation.  

Contact Information:
Chuck Bevelheimer
Director of Planning & Development
Quincy, IL 62301
(217) 228-4515
planning@quincyil.gov

Other Addresses and Numbers

Historic Preservation
706 Maine Street, 3rd Floor
Quincy, IL 62301
217-221-3663

Housing Rehabilitation Programs
706 Maine Street, 3rd Floor
Quincy, IL 62301
217-221-3661