Zoning practices in suburban areas of northern Illinois have shifted from agricultural county zoning to municipal incorporated zoning as development has spread outward from Chicago. Most northern Illinois municipalities use master plans as guides to their development and redevelopment.

For example, in Naperville the 1985 Master Land Use Plan (revised 1994) has guided development at the intersection of Route 59 and 95th Street. Although the Naperville and Aurora city limits were not far away, the four corners housed only a small church and remained essentially agricultural until the late 1990s. As outlined in the 1994 plan, the four corners of the intersection were slated for future commercial use, but they were actually zoned commercial only after the property was annexed to the city of Naperville. Two of the corners gained large shopping centers, each with a grocery store. The church soon relocated, giving way to a gas station, a tire store, and a fast-food outlet. The farm surrounding the church became town houses. The remaining corner was still planned for commercial use according to the 2002 revision to the Naperville Master Plan.

Judith Brodhead