The Village Plan Commission will meet Monday to discuss its guide for long-term retail development and mass transit plans.

Known as the Village Center Master Plan, the new guide would establish long-term policies to renew the area's shopping centers.

"The intent behind it is to build a downtown that would revitalize and reinvigorate our community," Village President Christopher Canning told Patch. 

The upcoming meeting is a culmination of a series of public discussions held since March.

"We've gone through a great deal of effort to make sure that we heard voices from all over the community: from east Wilmette to west Wilmette, from seniors to young families with children." Village Manager Timothy Frenzer said, "The process was designed to get them to identify what they wanted to see in their downtown."

The plan grew from a 2008 panel discussion supported by the Urban Land Institute and has since been funded by an RTA(Chicago Transit Authority) grant. For the past year, officials have worked with the Lakota Group to research sustainable planning options.

"By giving a clear road map on what the village wants to see develop, you remove a significant element of uncertainty and risk," Frenzer said. 

The initiative will also keep the community's character, according to Canning.

"We still want to be Wilmette. We just want to be a different Wilmette."

The meeting will be held Monday at 7 p.m. in the Training Room on Village Hall's second floor. Check out our Q&A with Village President Chris Canning and Village Manager Monday.  Read more about the draft of the Village Center Master Plan on the project's website.