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Monday last chance to chime in on Campton Hills plan

Campton Hills residents will have one last chance Monday to give their opinions on a draft of the village’s first comprehensive plan.

Meant as a road map and guideline for the 5-year-old village’s future, the plan will be center stage at an open house from 5:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. in the Community Room of the Wasco Elementary School, 4N782 School St., Campton Hills.

Residents may write their comments on notecards provided at the open house.

The village landed a grant to work with the Chicago Metropolitan Agency for Planning, and the agency has met several times with residents to draw up the plan so far.

Jason Navota, senior planner at the agency, said that during the planning process residents made it clear that any plan must seek to preserve the area’s character, open space, natural resources and agriculture as a use of land.

“In Campton Hills specifically, those rose to the top of the list,” he said. “It was really a pleasure to work with a community that is willing to protect those assets.”

Part of the question is how, especially when it comes to preserving land that, until the housing market crashed, was being gobbled up by residential developers.

Navota said the plan lists land acquisition as just one of many ways the village can preserve open space, but acknowledges it can be expensive.

“Campton Township and the Kane County Forest Preserve District have made significant progress with this strategy, yet is unlikely to be used by the village due to its high cost,” part of the draft plan reads. “However, the village should continue to work with these partners, particularly the Campton Township Open Space Program, to acquire additional acres that are sensitive or strategic.”

Navota said the plan does not recommend that the village borrow money or raise taxes to buy open space.

The plan also sets forward multiuse plans for Route 47 and McDonald Road in the future, as well as a town center at the northwest corner of Route 64 and La Fox Road that includes a recreation center, apartments, row homes, a village hall and park lands. These plans are suggestions as to how to proceed if village leaders want to move forward. They are not set in stone.

The plan, which can be viewed at the village’s website, next will move the village’s plan commission on June 25 and then to the village board in July.

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