Landscape Architects Illinois

Yes. Evergreen Design Group holds active landscape architecture licensure in Illinois. All landscape architectural services for Illinois projects are performed by our licensed professionals under our Illinois licensure — meaning we can prepare, stamp, and seal landscape architecture drawings for permit submittal to any Illinois municipality, county, or state review authority. No scope is subcontracted to unlicensed third parties.

We work statewide. Active markets include Chicago and suburban Cook County, the collar counties (DuPage, Lake, Will, Kane, McHenry, Kendall), the Metro East St. Louis market, and downstate markets including Peoria, Springfield, Champaign-Urbana, and Rockford.

Land planning Illinois scope involves developing site plans, open space configurations, buffer yard layouts, tree preservation zone integration, stormwater BMP siting, and streetscape frameworks that satisfy the applicable jurisdiction’s zoning and development review requirements. Because Illinois commercial development spans jurisdictions with meaningfully different standards — Chicago, the collar county municipalities, and downstate markets each have their own requirements — land planning in Illinois requires jurisdiction-specific knowledge of the plan check process that governs each specific site. Our land planning Illinois services are performed in-house and coordinated directly with your civil engineer from the initial site layout stage.

For projects in Cook County and portions of the collar counties subject to MWRD jurisdiction, the Watershed Management Ordinance governs stormwater detention, compensatory storage, and floodplain requirements. Landscape architecture frequently contributes planting plans for vegetated detention areas, native plantings for compensatory storage, and naturalized buffer documentation that support the overall WMO compliance package. We coordinate these deliverables with your civil engineer of record.

Yes — that is one of our most common engagement structures. We integrate into your project team and deliver landscape architecture scope as a subconsultant, coordinating directly with your project manager and other disciplines throughout the design and permitting process.

We design to the applicable USDA hardiness zone for the project location (5a through 6b across Illinois), with additional consideration for freeze-thaw durability, de-icing salt exposure in urban and suburban contexts, soil drainage conditions, and the project’s long-term maintenance profile. Native Illinois species are prioritized where the project program and municipality’s landscape ordinance support their use.

Yes. Wet and dry detention features on Illinois development sites require vegetated side slopes, emergent aquatic plantings, and upland stabilization seed mixes that comply with Illinois EPA general permit requirements and MWRD standards. We prepare these planting plans as part of our standard stormwater coordination scope, working directly with your civil engineer of record.

As early as possible — ideally at the site planning stage, before the civil plan set is substantially developed. Early engagement allows buffer yards, tree preservation areas, stormwater BMP locations, and detention planting requirements to be integrated into the site layout before those decisions are locked in, which reduces revision cycles during the permitting process.

Timeline varies by project type, jurisdiction, and when landscape architecture is engaged relative to the overall design schedule. For commercial entitlement in the Chicagoland market, initial landscape architecture deliverables are typically required concurrent with the first civil plan submittal. Depending on project complexity, landscape architecture scope from engagement to permit-ready submittal generally ranges from four to twelve weeks. MWRD WMO projects and those subject to Chicago zoning review tend toward the longer end of that range. Early engagement reduces the risk of revision cycles. We coordinate directly with your civil engineer on submittal deadlines and resubmittal timelines.

Yes. Our Illinois deliverables are prepared and sealed by our licensed landscape architects under our Illinois licensure. Drawings are formatted for permit submittal to the applicable municipal, county, or state review authority and are structured to integrate directly with your civil plan set. We deliver in both PDF and CAD formats compatible with standard civil engineering workflows.

Yes. Evergreen Design Group is structured to support program-level and multi-site relationships. We work with regional developers, national civil engineering firms, and design-build contractors who have multiple concurrent projects across Illinois and other states. Our program management capabilities are described separately on our Program Management page.

At project kickoff we typically request: the civil base plan (AutoCAD DWG format), the applicable jurisdiction’s landscape ordinance, any MWRD WMO exemption or compliance documentation, and confirmation of the project schedule and submittal deadlines. If the project is in an early planning stage, a concept site plan and zoning information are sufficient to begin. We coordinate directly with your project manager and civil engineer of record throughout the process.

The City of Chicago’s landscape ordinance requirements differ in several meaningful ways from those of the collar county municipalities. Chicago’s zoning code establishes specific parkway tree, green roof, and urban heat island requirements that do not apply in suburban jurisdictions. Naperville, Schaumburg, Bolingbrook, and Palatine each maintain their own tree preservation and landscape standards with different mitigation calculation methods, canopy coverage thresholds, and submittal formats.

For development teams working across multiple Illinois jurisdictions, designing to the wrong standard is the most common cause of landscape plan resubmittals. Our Illinois landscape architecture practice is built on jurisdiction-specific knowledge of the plan check process in Chicago, the collar counties, and the state’s major downstate markets.

Yes. Build-to-rent and multi-family residential developments are among the most active project categories in the Chicagoland market. Landscape architecture scope on these projects typically includes amenity area design, community gathering spaces, pool and clubhouse site planning, perimeter buffer plantings, and stormwater BMP integration. These projects frequently require MWRD WMO compliance documentation and are subject to the applicable municipality’s landscaping and tree preservation standards.

We work with developers, civil engineers, and design-build contractors on these project types across the Chicago metro area, the collar counties, and Illinois’s major downstate markets. Our deliverables are structured for permit submittal and direct integration with your civil and architectural plan set.

Evergreen Design Group delivers landscape architecture drawings in AutoCAD DWG format for direct integration with your civil plan set, and in PDF format for permit submittal. Planting plans, site plans, tree disposition plans, and irrigation design drawings are all produced in-house and formatted to the applicable jurisdiction’s submittal requirements. We confirm preferred file formats and layer standards at project kickoff and coordinate with your civil engineer of record throughout the design process.

Yes. Evergreen Design Group operates with a remote, distributed workforce across the United States. We routinely serve civil engineering firms, developers, and design-build contractors whose project management teams are based outside Illinois. Coordination is handled by video conference, shared project platforms, and direct communication with your project manager. Our Illinois licensure is active regardless of where your team is located, and deliverables are formatted for Illinois permit submittal.