County 2030 Land Use Plan Meetings

Public Meetings on the McHenry County 2030 Land Use Plan are scheduled for the first week of March: March 1, McHenry; March 2, Harvard; March 3, Crystal Lake; March 4, Marengo; March 6, Woodstock. Details can be found here. The weekday meetings will take place from 5-7pm and the Saturday meeting from 9am-noon.

Taking the time to view the maps and read at least some of the plan is important for residents, especially those who live in the north and west portions of the county that are predominantly farmland.

This is the document that will/should guide future land use changes in the rural areas of the county. The words are important, but let's face it, most people just look at the pictures anyway, so the map is really important.

I can sum up my comments in three words: Change the map.

The text is pretty good - actually quite strong in some areas - but the current map doesn't match the text. [Caution: do not try opening the plan document unless you have a high speed internet connection - it is 89 MegaBytes in size. Copies are available at local libraries.]

One of the big disconnects between the text and the map is in the area of projected population growth and the amount of land needed to accommodate all the new people and jobs that may be needed over the next 20 years.

The map was drafted using a very high future population number, but the text includes a smaller number that is more realistic. The map, therefore, shows a lot more rural residential development in the future than is realistic given the number of new people that are realistically projected to want to move here.

The result it that there are thousands of acres planned for rural residential development that are far outside any municipal boundaries. This directly contradicts one of the plan's primary goals, which is to promote compact & contiguous growth in and around municipalities where essential services are already available, rather than continuing to allow scattered development throughout the rural areas.

Fortunately, the County Planning staff already did a really excellent analysis of the possible changes to the map's sprawling residential development (as recommended by the Planning Commission). The map that staff prepared recommends removing various areas that were initially planned for rural residential development, and showing them as agriculture.

I found the planning staff's memo describing possible map changes to bring the plan's maps into line with the text very helpful in thinking about comments to make at the public meetings. Since this is information that has been provided to the County Board members who will ultimately decide what changes to make, I think using it as a reference is helpful.

There are other issues as well.

For instance, vast areas of farmland far outside of municipalities are planned for industrial development, far in excess of what could be needed to support job creation for future residents. Also, industrial development is planned for areas that are highly sensitive groundwater recharge soils, particularly in the area around Marengo and the Kishwaukee River. These mapped industrial uses are in conflict with the text which supports protection of groundwater resources and compact & contiguous growth patterns.

So, please attend one of the meetings near you and say something, even if it is that you support the map changes proposed by the staff. But it is important to say something, and to say it now, because in a couple of weeks it will be too late. Thank you.