Voters give green light to proposals

Campton Hills voters responded positively to three community proposals that appeared on the ballot Tuesday, unofficial results show.

The village had three nonbinding referendums this election to gauge interest in a "dark sky" ordinance, an open space funding arrangement with Campton Township, and preservation efforts in the downtown Wasco area's "identity."

With all 12 precincts reporting, voters were overwhelmingly in favor of all three proposals. The narrowest outcome related to the sky ordinance, which received 1,301 "yes" votes and 801 "no" votes.

Campton Hills Village President Patsy Smith said the next step is turning each issue over to various village committees and groups for further consideration.

"We'll ask the plan commission to look at the ordinance, and we'll talk to the township about the intergovernmental agreement," she said. "Hopefully, we can get people in the downtown area to help come up with ideas for how to preserve Wasco's identity."

Officials have said the "dark sky" ordinance would be aimed at preserving the area's natural, nighttime environment by regulating the style, intensity and placement of outdoor lighting. The idea is to weed out and prevent lights that disrupt the night view.

Under the funding arrangement with Campton Township, the village would use its municipal leverage to seek state grants and other funding it could then turn over to the township for use in maintaining and developing local open spaces, such as the historic Corron Farm. The village also might direct developer fees for parks and open space to the same cause.

As for preservation efforts in Wasco, village leaders have said they could be as simple as signage or as aggressive as starting a historic district - an idea that has been floated before but never materialized.