McHenry County unveiling long-range plan

After 2 1/2 years of mostly behind-the-scenes work, the creators of McHenry County's 2030 Land Use Plan went public Friday with a draft version of the document meant to guide the county's growth and development for the next two decades.

The unveiling came at the first of four planned open workshops giving local governments, public agencies and county residents an opportunity to comment on the text of the plan and suggest changes.

"We really want to show this to the broader world and see if we're on the right track," said Dennis Dreher, vice chairman of the Regional Planning Commission authoring the plan.

The workshops signal that the plan's creators are nearing completion of the document they hope will serve as a road map for planning decisions made by county leaders. Among the plan's goals discussed Friday include preserving the farmland and open space, enhancing water resources and developing "a bold new program" to increase the number of quality jobs in the county.

Dennis Sandquist, the county's director of planning and development, said commission members hope to digest the input from the workshops into the plan over the coming weeks and have a final document ready for county board consideration in the early fall.

The remaining workshops are scheduled for 6 to 8 p.m. Monday; 8:30 to 10:30 a.m. Tuesday; and 7 to 9 p.m. Tuesday. All will be held in the county board meeting rooms at the McHenry County Government Center, 667 Ware Road, Woodstock. Residents can register to participate, or view an online draft of the plan, at mchenrycounty2030plan.com.

Future meetings are planned to display, and allow comment upon, the plan's still unfinished maps, Sandquist said.