Joliet residents had a say on future development in the city at a Wednesday workshop aimed at gathering public opinion for a comprehensive plan.

The city has been developing its first comprehensive plan, a document aimed at mapping out future development, since the 1950s.

The project includes collecting public opinion on which direction the city should be headed. The community workshop at Joliet West High School was the first of three planned in Joliet.

Betsy Satcher, president of the East and Southeast Regional Alliance that advocates for neighborhoods in that area of the city, said she was looking out for that section of Joliet.

“We really do not have development over in our area of the city,” Satcher said.

Lesley Roth, a principal with the firm Lamar Johnson Collaborative hired to develop the comprehensive plan, said she had been hearing on Wednesday about the need for commercial development in the southeast section of Joliet and for parks on the East Side.

Roth said she was impressed by the public interest in the comprehensive plan shown at the workshop.

“People are really into it,” she said. “I think it’s a good turnout. I love the residents’ commitment to the city.”

Two thousand people also have commented on an online survey for the comprehensive plan that is available on the city website, joliet.gov, Roth said.

Many of those who showed up for the workshop were people like Satcher, who are tied to city organizations.

Others, like Karen Bickom, were residents hoping to see improvements in their city. “I did the survey online,” she said.

Bickom said her top concerns are crime and property upkeep in the neighborhood.

She’s become “paranoid” over the safety of her son because of crime in Joliet, she said.

A lifelong resident, Bickom said, “I see a huge difference from what it used to be and what it is.”

Even so, Bickom said she likes Joliet and wants to see improvements in the city.

The comprehensive plan is being created with the idea that the city can map out a better future for its residents.

More than 100 people attended the workshop. The next one will be scheduled for sometime in early 2026.

Hearing from the people does matter, said James Roolf, chairman of a Comprehensive Plan Advisory Committee.

“We’re talking about a plan that will be executed, give or take, for 20 years,” Roolf said. “We need to have that input.”

People he met at the workshop seemed appreciative that the city wants to hear from them, Roolf said.

“They said, ‘Thank you for asking for our input,’ ” he said.

Roolf said he arrived 15 minutes before the workshop started, and people were waiting to get in.

“That’s a very promising sign,” he said.