Island Lake annexation vote postponed until after new board takes over

Island Lake trustees postponed votes on a controversial annexation and development plan Thursday.

The village boardroom was filled with people who wanted to hear the discussion, but Trustee Thea Morris — sitting in for absent Mayor Debbie Herrmann — announced at the start of the meeting that the developers withdrew their proposal.

The developers, a group called Clark Street Development, want the trustees and mayor elected Tuesday to consider the plan after they take office in May, village attorney Julie Tappendorf said.

The 153-acre site in question is on both sides of River Road at Route 176 in what’s now unincorporated McHenry County. Known as the Rimas Lodge property, the land was a summer retreat years ago.

The developers want to build homes, a restaurant and a gas station on the land, which is on the shore of Griswold Lake.

A new public park and beach have been proposed, too.

Developers spoke to the village board about their plan in March. Two subsequent public hearings before the village plan commission, the most recent of which was Wednesday, have been packed by residents concerned about the proposal.

They’ve questioned the developers’ request for a special taxing district for the property, the housing elements and other aspects of the proposal.

Mayor-elect Charles Amrich — who overwhelmingly defeated Herrmann on Tuesday — is among the more prominent critics of the concept.

The plan commission hearings on the matter haven’t concluded. The next hearing is set for 7 p.m. May 30.

Tappendorf encouraged audience members to attend that hearing if they want to share their opinions on the proposal.