Planning for the Future

In 2023, the City completed both a Comprehensive and Strategic Planning process with plans adopted in January 2024. Together, these plans provide a clear framework for making informed decisions that support the city's vision for the future, while reflecting the input and aspirations of its residents.

What is a Comprehensive Plan?

A Comprehensive Plan is a long-term blueprint for a city's growth and development, outlining goals, policies, and strategies that guide development related goals such as land use, housing, transportation, and public services. It serves as the foundation for future planning efforts, ensuring that development aligns with community values and needs.

Genoa's 2023 Comprehensive Plan

The City partnered with the Northern Illinois University Center for Governmental Studies to develop a new Comprehensive Plan. Throughout 2023, the NIUCGS facilitated a series of stakeholder meetings, bringing together a diverse group of participants, including business owners, residents, builders, developers, and local employees from various industries. For those unable to attend the meetings, an online dashboard was provided to submit comments. Once the plan was drafted, it was presented to the Plan Commission, followed by a Public Hearing to gather additional community feedback. Ultimately, the City Council approved the final document, ensuring it reflects the community’s input and aspirations.

The Comprehensive Plan including data, analysis, and strategies to objectives and strategies to meet the goals below is available here.

Land Use and Development: Genoa will pursue development through managed growth that attracts new residents and businesses while retaining the community’s small town feel and meeting the needs of existing residents and businesses.
Economic Development: Genoa will have a vibrant and growing economy based on supporting existing businesses and industries, encouraging entrepreneurship, and attracting new employers.
Housing: Genoa will encourage a diverse housing stock that meets the different needs of residents, protects community character, and enables the community to grow.
Access and Mobility: Genoa will be a well-connected community providing safe access and inclusive mobility for users of all ages, abilities, and transportation choices.
Community Facilities and Assets: Genoa will foster a network of educational, recreational, and civic facilities to enhance the community and be a point of pride for residents.
Environmental Sustainability: Genoa will promote practices that protect natural resources, consider farmland preservation, and advance sustainability initiatives.
Community Design: Genoa will enhance its community character through quality design of the built environment, respect for historic buildings, and protection of the natural environment.
Utilities and Infrastructure: Genoa will ensure utilities efficiently meet the needs of the community, serve potential new developments, and adequately respond to city growth.
Communications: Genoa will provide easy and clear communication between city officials, residents, property owners, businesses, and other community stakeholders.

What is a Strategic Plan?

A Strategic Plan, on the other hand, focuses on shorter-term priorities, outlining specific actions and initiatives to address immediate challenges and opportunities. It helps the city prioritize resources, set measurable goals, and track progress to achieve desired outcomes in the areas of downtown business growth and economic development, quality of life in Genoa, marketing and communication, and proactive planning and organizational management.

Genoa's 2023 Strategic Plan

The City partnered with the Northern Illinois University Center for Governmental Studies to develop its first Strategic Plan. In 2023, the City of Genoa organized several focus group meetings facilitated by NIUCGS, gathering input from a diverse range of participants, including frontline and midline staff, business owners, representatives from intergovernmental organizations and civic groups, and residents. These focus groups identified key concerns and goals within their respective sectors. The collected insights were then presented to the City Council, which categorized the concerns and goals, prioritizing them into four main categories: Short-Term Routine, Short-Term Complex, Long-Term Routine, and Long-Term Complex.

List of Short-Term Routine goals that can be found in the Strategic Plan Document

List of Short Term Complex Goals that can be found in the Strategic Plan Document

List of Long Term Routine Goals that can be found in the Strategic Plan Document

List of long term complex goals that can be found in the Strategic Plan Document

Definitions of Types of Goals:

Short-Term: 1–3-year timeframe

Long-Term: 4-8-year timeframe

Routine: Not simple, but could be achieved with current resources.

Complex: Complicated, multi-layered, or require outside expertise

Following the adoption of the Comprehensive and Strategic Plans, the City Council established the Comprehensive and Strategic Planning Committee, appointing five members to its ranks. The committee completed action planning in the fall of 2024. On a quarterly basis, City staff reports on progress and updates to the committee, which is then shared with the City Council by the Committee Chair. These updates highlight goals that have been achieved, those currently in progress, and any goals that may require additional resources.

The committee's first quarterly update will take place in January 2025.

View PDF of Page

Planning for the Future

Comprehensive Plan

Comprehensive Plan Goals

Strategic Plan

Strategic Plan Goals

Definitions of Types of Goals:

Progress Updates