Eco-friendly design becomes law in McHenry County
McHenry County leaders have long talked about the need for developers to think about protecting the land and its most sensitive natural features when carving subdivisions into the county's landscape.
Now they have the means to do more than encourage that kind of environmentally friendly design and, in some cases now, they can demand it.
County board members this week unanimously approved a 31-page amendment to the their subdivision ordinance, installing changes they believe will give builders both the means and the incentive to place the protection of natural resources atop of their list when designing new housing developments.
"It's a start in trying to provide a vehicle to steward the land better," county board Chairman Ken Koehler said. "It affords anyone building next to a sensitive wetland or any conservation piece of land the ability to do it right."
The amendment is the result of a yearlong effort dubbed the Land First Initiative in which county leaders, environmentalists and developers teamed up to craft a set of regulations for conservation design.
The resulting document allows conservation development on any site, and requires it on properties with significant environmentally sensitive areas.
It encourages clustering of residential lots to allow for more open space, requires protection of native trees, allows for narrower streets and mandates a minimum amount of open land.
The amendment also includes incentives for developers that adhere to the conservation design. If a proposed project significantly exceeds minimum requirements, a developer can earn a bonus of up to 20 percent on the number of homes allowed within a subdivision.
The basic principle at work, said Barbara Wheeler, chairman of the county board's planning and development committee, is that builders should design subdivisions around their properties' natural features, not over it.
"It says build to what the land allows, to what is best for the land and to save the integrity of the land," she said.