Connecting Communities
McHenry County Caucus
November 12, 2003
A Chicagoland Transportation and Air Quality Commission project in partnership with:
McHenry County Defenders
Excerpt from McHenry County Connecting
Communities Summit of September 19, 2001
"Rolling farmland, Victorian towns, new sub-divisions and
corporate facilities. Images of McHenry County include
all these and more. Lake in the Hills grew 300% in the last
decade and is building homes, schools, roads, and stores
at a very rapid rate. McHenry County is the fastest
growing county in the metropolitan region and the least
populated, at 260,000 residents. In spite of rapid
commercial and residential developments recently, the
primary use of land in McHenry County is still agricultural.
Agricultural land is 62% of total land and contributed $110
million to McHenry County's economy in 1997. Other
significant natural assets include oak savannas and
prairies, and high quality streams like the Kishwaukee
River."
Connecting Communities caucuses are a public involvement
follow-up to the Connecting Communities summits that
involved over 500 people from throughout northeastern Illinois.
The caucuses are designed to take a "snapshot" of a
community's views on progress toward their summit
recommendations. Some recommendations were major
projects that could only be accomplished over a long time
period. Others were practical, short term, and inexpensive
solutions to community mobility deficits.
In late 2001, a group of McHenry County residents
gathered at a Connecting Communities summit to discuss
transportation planning, land use policy, and other issues.
This group was concerned that agricultural land and open
space was being swallowed up by sprawl and that
transportation planning lacked input from local business,
education and regional leaders. Consensus was reached
on the need for innovative solutions like shuttle service
that would connect community job centers and Metra
stations as well as expansion and better coordination of
Metra rail service with other transit services. Finally,
the group wanted a comprehensive network of sidewalks
and bicycle routes to connect communities throughout
the county.
Two years later, some participants from the summit
reconvened a Connecting Communities caucus to discuss
progress in implementing their summit
recommendations. There was concern that little had
improved and that progress did not reflect the priorities
of residents, but rather the priorities of developers and
a few elected officials. In particular, the group was
alarmed by rampant development, the loss of agriculture
and open space, and the lack of plans to develop sensibly
in the future. They were disappointed with the few
improvements in bus and rail service. In response to
the slow pace of change, this group had innovative
solutions to problems currently facing their communities.
Preserve our agricultural heritage and our invaluable
open space
Preservation of agricultural and open space in the county
remained a high priority for caucus participants. In
response to this, two groups formed in the last two years:
the Nunda Township Open Space Committee and the
county-wide Farmland Preservation Task Force. These
efforts, however, are very new and the county still lacks
incentives for farmers to retain their land.
Many participants suggested improvements based on
locally-inspired models. They re-affirmed the
Connecting Communities summit report and wanted to
see Kane County's 2020 Land Resource Management Plan
used as a model for their own county. Implemention of
the Route 47/Kishwaukee River Corridor Land Use and
Transportation Plan (developed by the Conservation
Design Forum) was also recommended. It was also
suggested that communities and the county work to
overcome the current practice, where individual plans
contradict and compete with one another. Another
potential solution to disappearing open space was a new
county policy or state legislation requiring developers
to pay impact fees to support the cost of building schools and
other new infrastructure. One participant also suggested that
to preserve farmland, McHenry County Conservation District
should buy the development rights to agricultural land so farmers
don't feel pressure to sell to developers.
Coordinate transportation planning with business, education,
and regional leaders
Attendees commented favorably on some changes since this
recommendation was developed. One participant noted that
McHenry County was coordinating its land use plan with the 2020
Regional Transportation Plan. Participants were pleased with the
passage of House Bill 3061, Context Sensitive Design, which
requires accommodations for all types of travel on a roadway
project. Participants wanted this law extended locally and wanted
all county road projects to include sidewalks and bicycle lanes.
However, much still remains unsolved; according to the group,
small businesses are having trouble staying in business with the
arrival of "big-box" stores. There was great concern that
planning is done with a "1950-state-of-mind" where major new
