Recognizing the superior quality of life enjoyed in McHenry County and realizing that the impact of change is inevitable, the County Board has directed the development of a long- range plan to guide the future of the County. To assist in this process, the Board created the McHenry County Regional Planning Commission for the purpose of developing the 2030 plan.
Commission appointees were interviewed by the County Planning and Development Committee and approved by the full County Board at the end of 2006. The Commission originally consisted of thirteen members and eleven members still remain active.
The Commission's first year was devoted to setting goals and objectives, gathering information and listening to concerns of stakeholders. By creating eight subcommittees of people in various fields of expertise, the Commission was able to gather a wide variety of input. The eight subcommittees are: Agriculture, Communications, Community Character, Economic Development, Infrastructure, Intergovernmental Coordination, Open Space/Natural Resources, and Water Resources. Goals and objectives of each subcommittee are detailed on the McHenry County 2030 Web site. The subcommittees have met independently from the regular monthly meetings of the full Commission. Recognizing that regional change is inevitable and does not stop at borders, input from other governmental bodies has been solicited. Other municipalities, townships and neighboring counties have been invited to present their priorities, concerns and projections for the future.
For future planning purposes, the University of Illinois is assisting with expertise to develop computer modeling. A wide variety of information will be included in the model, such as projected growth, prime natural areas, natural resources such as gravel and mapping of different types of agricultural land. This system, known as LEAM (Land use Evolution and impact Assessment Model), allows for testing various scenarios and how they impact one another. Once an initial baseline is established in these areas other models will be added to review overall impact in areas tested. The five initial Issue Models are listed below:
Issue Module 1: Development Stress on Public Services and Infrastructure
Issue Module 2: Access to Quality Education
Issue Module 3: Natural Area Protection
Issue Module 4: Development Stress on Agriculture
Issue Module 5: Water Resources
The Commission is developing a preliminary draft of the 2030 plan for review. To accelerate the draft writing process the full Commission meets bimonthly. With the completion of basic research, subcommittee meetings have been suspended to allow for all members to participate in the writing process. Once an initial draft of the report is prepared, public meetings will be held throughout the County to solicit feedback from stakeholders in this process. The result of the 2030 planning process is to provide planning direction for McHenry County. A Web site was created at www.mchenrycounty2030plan.com to ensure residents and concerned parties are kept up to date. Designed to provide the latest developments of the Commission, important information can be found at the site, including reports, meeting dates, minutes of previous meetings and excerpts of presentations by experts. Public participation is encouraged at every stage in this process. Beginning at 6:00 p.m., meetings are held on the second and fourth Thursday of each month in the McHenry County Government building located at 667 Ware Road in Woodstock.