McHenry County Board OKs first long-range plan since 1993
After debating through Tuesday night and into the early morning hours Wednesday, McHenry County leaders overwhelmingly approved the county's first comprehensive land use plan in 17 years, ending about a decade of work since officials first set out to replace the prior plan.
County board members voted 19-3 for the 2030 Comprehensive Plan that will serve as a nonbinding guide to county officials as they contemplate development, water protection and land management issues for the next 20 years.
Exhausted board members and what remained of an audience that once numbered close to 100 applauded as the final tally was read.
The vote came only after board members debated, sometimes heatedly, for more than three hours over dozens of proposed revisions to the 149-page document. Most of the proposed changes came from members representing County Board District 6, which covers the largely rural western half of the county. They were seeking a number of changes intended to tighten restrictions on development in environmentally sensitive areas and protect farmland and groundwater resources.
"The concerns we have in District 6 apply to every township in the county," District 6 board member Ersel Schuster said. "It doesn't mean we are anti-growth."
The plan has been criticized in recent weeks, particularly by local conservation groups who say it does not do enough to preserve open space and water supplies, and gives up too much to development and business interests.
"It has far too many contradictions," said McHenry resident Kim Willis. "I don't think it does enough to protect farmland and water from overconsumption and contamination."
Members of the Regional Planning Commission who wrote the document defended its position on protecting water and open space, saying the plan strikes a fair balance between conversation and development.
"As an environmentalist, it would be nice if the environment won on everything as I wished, but I also know that compromise is necessary in life and to move government along," commission member Nancy Schietzelt said.
"This plan has some of the strongest language in groundwater and recharge area protection of any long-range plan in the region," added commission Vice Chairman Dennis Dreher.
Among the plan's key components is a "Land First" approach to development that requires consideration of a site's natural ecology, features and functions when making land-use decisions.
Much of the board debate Tuesday night centered around changes intended to strengthen the language of the plan, replacing terms like "discourage" with "prohibit" or "prevent."
"It's important that we send a message that we really mean business about protecting groundwater," board member Virginia Peschke said.
County officials were in similar spot four years ago when similar complaints ultimately derailed their proposed 2020 Unified Plan. After spending seven years and hundreds of thousands of dollars developing that plan, the board voted 11-11 on the proposal, effectively killing it and forcing officials to start from scratch with the 2030 plan.
To view the plan, visit www.mchenrycounty2030plan.com.
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<li><a href="/story/?id=374876">McHenry Co. land plan expected to win approval <span class="date">[04/21/2010]</span></a></li>
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