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Key Elements for Development in Kane County |
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Gray - Urban Corridor |
The 2020 Land Resource Management Plan will preserve Kane County's unique sense of place - a blend of Fox River towns and small villages, cultural amenities, and gently rolling farm fields. As the county moves into the 21st century, the combination of employment opportunities, quality neighborhoods, and natural beauty will continue to attract new residents and business interests. In preparation for this growth, the County Board adopted Ordinance No.94-29, The Conceptual Land Use Strategy for Kane County in 1994. This strategy serves as the foundation for the 2020 Plan, calling for a proper balance between natural resource protection and community development. The Conceptual Land Use Strategy identifies three distinct land use areas and emphasizes a need for open space protection, water resource management, balanced community development, coordination of transportation improvements with land use management, protection of agriculture, and a cooperative planning process with the municipalities.
Designed to achieve balanced growth in Kane County, the 2020 Plan is the alternative to uncoordinated development which results in suburban sprawl. The success of the Plan rests on the land use strategy: three distinct land use areas based on the county's historical land use pattern. These are, from east to west: the Urban Corridor, the Critical Growth Area, and the Agricultural/Village Area. The Urban Corridor includes the municipal and developed land uses along the Fox River. The Critical Growth Area includes central areas of the county with a mixture of countryside residential, farmland, and small villages. The Agricultural/Village Area is the remaining western portion of the county characterized by productive farms and small villages. Each land use strategy area is unique and requires a distinct approach to land resource management.
The three areas delineated by the Conceptual Land Use Strategy require individualized approaches to resource management. The planning approach for each area is defined by specific elements relating to open space, transportation, community character, land use, and water resources. These elements provide a blueprint for the county and municipalities to ensure quality management of these five issues and reinforce the premises of the Conceptual Land Use Strategy as described in this section.
Urban Corridor | Critical Growth Area | Agricultural/Village
Area
Land Use Strategy Perspective
The Urban Corridor is comprised of the predominantly municipal and developed areas in the eastern third of Kane County. To the north, the Urban Corridor borders McHenry County, to the east Cook County and DuPage County, and to the south Kendall County. The western border of the Urban Corridor meanders east and west of Randall Road, providing a visible transition to countryside residential and rural areas. Home to almost 300,000 residents, the Urban Corridor encompasses 28 percent of the county's 334,032 total acres.
At the core of the Urban Corridor is the Fox River which flows north-south through its entire length. The municipalities along the Fox River have historically served as magnets for residential and business uses. The Urban Corridor includes portions of the rapidly developing employment corridors along 1-90 and 1-88. The largest municipalities in the county - Carpentersville, Elgin, St. Charles, Geneva, Batavia, and Aurora - are located in the Urban Corridor, with their historic downtowns along the banks of the Fox River. The Urban Corridor contains the largest concentration of housing, employment, and commercial development in Kane County, representing substantial infrastructure investment.
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CITIES AND VILLAGES OF THE URBAN CORRIDOR |
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| Algonqujn* Aurora* Barrington Hills* Bartlett* Batavia Carpentersville |
East Dundee* Elgjn* Geneva Hoffman Estates* Montgomery* North Aurora |
St. Charles* Sleepy Hollow South Elgin Valley View Wayne* West Dundee |
| * Cities and villages with a portion of population outside Kane County. | ||
The Land Use Strategy
Many of Kane County's cultural and recreational opportunities are located in the Urban Corridor, including the Paramount Arts Center, the Norris Cultural Center, Hemmens Auditorium, Elfstrom Stadium, the Fox River Bike Trail and greenway, and the campuses of Elgin Community College and Aurora University. Vibrant neighborhoods and business districts represent over 150 years of public and private investment and reflect the planning efforts of the municipalities. These communities are sprinkled with cultural monuments and architectural landmarks designed by famous architects such as Frank Lloyd Wright, Solon Beman, and George Grant Elmslie.
Economic and social changes that have affected the physical development of the Urban Corridor are evidenced by the wide variety of mixed land uses and distinct differences in neighborhood and community character.
As the types of industries and businesses in the Urban Corridor have changed in response to changing markets and technologies, their relationship to adjacent neighborhoods and commercial districts has also changed. Changes in social patterns such as employment, family size and makeup, desired housing size, and average travel distances to work and shopping have affected downtowns and existing neighborhoods as well as influenced the type and locations of new development. Historically, the Urban Corridor's strength has been its ability to meet the changing economic and social needs of its residents. The diverse and distinctive character of the municipalities reflects their desirability as places to live and work.
The 2020 Plan recognizes that municipal planning and development in the Urban Corridor has maintained strong residential neighborhoods and expanded public services. Municipally developed commercial and industrial land uses provide employment opportunities and a diversified tax base. The municipalities in the Urban Corridor will continue to be the centers for employment and housing.
The majority of new development in Kane County will occur within the Urban Corridor because of the substantial existing infrastructure. The 2020 Plan emphasizes and supports the importance of these municipal activities. The Elements of the Land Use Strategy (Figure 43) sets a course of action that will maintain and enhance the Urban Corridor. These elements relate not only to individual communities, but to the character and well-being of all Kane County.
Open space protection, enhancement, and acquisition Within the Urban Corridor remains paramount. Large, community-wide open spaces, such as Lord's Park in Elgin and Phillips Park in Aurora; should be protected and enhanced. Additional Fox River shoreline should be purchased and the riverfront improved for recreational opportunities and community beautification. Acquisition of critical linkages from the Fox River to the tributary creeks can further the implementation of the Northeastern Illinois Regional Greenways Plan and protect important wildlife habitat. Neighborhood parks should be enhanced and expanded to meet the needs of surrounding residents.
Successful downtown revitalization initiatives by municipalities in the Urban Corridor incorporate programs and incentives for new and diversified commercial uses, business and professional services, public institutions, and residential opportunities. The county will continue to promote and support these important efforts. Historically and architecturally important buildings shape and define a downtown's character as well as give testament to its history, and should be protected and rehabilitated. Connections and access to the Fox River should. be expanded and improved to make maximum use of this valuable and unique asset. Countywide planning efforts should continue to support the downtowns of the Urban Corridor municipalities.
Strong residential neighborhoods have long been the strength of the municipalities in the Urban Corridor. Excellent schools, churches, and other community institutions have supported family and neighborhood orientated activities Vibrant neighborhoods and neighborhood rehabilitation are crucial for community stability and serve to meet the growing need for diverse housing opportunities. The proximity and easy accessibility of neighborhoods to downtowns by a variety of transportation choices provides a market for goods and services. The development of these neighborhoods over time has resulted in a wide variety of housing types, sizes, architectural styles, lot sizes, and local commercial districts. Preservation and rehabilitation of historic neighborhoods retain the unique character of the municipalities and can attract people desiring the conveniences of a city and a strong sense of community. Successful redevelopment efforts are continuing in Elgin's Gifford Park neighborhood and Aurora's Near East Side Historic District, and serve as models for neighborhood rehabilitation.
Municipalities in the Urban Corridor have recognized the potential and planned for infill development within the Urban Corridor. The 2020 Plan supports infill development within municipal boundaries that takes advantage of the substantial infrastructure investments that have already been made. Common sense dictates that tax dollars be spent in utilizing existing infrastructure rather than unnecessarily duplicating it into the countryside to the west. Large and small tracts of undeveloped land still exist within municipal boundaries with access to existing transportation systems as well as municipal utilities and services. These opportunities for new job-creating businesses and residential neighborhoods can easily blend with existing densities, complement existing land uses, and make efficient use of existing infrastructure. Infill development should reflect the historic pattern of mixed uses in the Urban Corridor and may range from large corporate centers to well-planned residential neighborhoods. Land uses that create new jobs serve to encourage neighborhood rehabilitation.
In supporting the municipalities in the Urban Corridor the 2020 Plan will also serve to contain suburban sprawl. One side effect of suburban sprawl is the loss of individual community identity. In much of suburbia, the only way to tell where one municipality ends and another begins is by reading the "Welcome To..." signs. In order to retain the individual community character of the municipalities in the Urban Corridor, the transition area between the Urban Corridor and its neighboring land use area, the Critical Growth Area, must present visual evidence that this is where the city stops and the country begins.
The Critical Growth Area includes the central region of Kane County. On the eastern edge is the Urban Corridor, to the west is the rural expanse of the Agricultural/Village Area. The primary factors used in determining the boundaries of the Critical Growth Area were natural features, including watershed boundaries, soils, and topography, as well as municipal and county development patterns and existing and proposed sewer and water facilities.
The Critical Growth Area has a unique countryside character - a blend of rural and semi-rural residential development, villages, open space, and farmland. It is a transition area from the more intensely developed urban region to the east and the farms and villages to the west. As a transition area, the Critical Growth Area represents a microcosm of Kane County itself, on the border between the Chicago metropolitan area to the east and the vast agricultural basin to the west.
Approximately 22,000 people live in the Critical Growth Area, which encompasses 21% of the county's 334,032 acres. The Critical Growth Area offers a pleasant lifestyle with open space, scenic vistas, convenient transportation routes, and proximity to shopping and other amenities. The desirability of the Critical Growth Area is evidenced by countryside residential developments and master planned communities such as Fox Mill and Mill Creek. These well-planned residential developments preserve open space, incorporate scenic vistas, create neighborhood identity, and maintain the countryside character of the Critical Growth Area by integrating the natural environment.
The Critical Growth Area contains a blend of land uses: open space, agriculture, residential, and limited areas of commercial services. Open space is a prominent feature of the Critical Growth Area. Public and private open space provides environmental protection, recreational opportunities, visual beauty, educational opportunities, and countless other benefits. Agriculture is also a significant land use in the Critical Growth Area, with 80 percent of this area still being farmed in 1991. Much of the farming in this area, as in all of Kane County, is family-operated.
Current residential land use in the Critical Growth Area consists of single family lots of one to four acres and greater and rural subdivisions. The majority of these residences were constructed with private wells and septic systems. This development is based on soil conditions, surrounding densities, and natural features. This type of residential development has a demonstrated market in Kane County and is often a desirable land use.
The Critical Growth Area also includes the villages of Gilberts, Huntley, La Fox, Lily Lake, Pingree Grove, Plato Center, Udina, and Wasco. These villages were originally established to support the surrounding farm area and continue to serve as commercial and social centers. The villages, made up of predominantly older residential and commercial buildings, give community identity to the surrounding area.
The 2020 Plan recognizes that it is crucial for the municipalities and the county to manage growth in the Critical Growth Area while protecting the environment. Much of the Critical Growth Area will develop under the influence of the municipalities. This area will be the county's litmus test - where the county and municipalities either surrender to conventional suburban sprawl or make a stand for managed growth and the preservation of countryside character and open space. The Critical Growth Area is, to a large extent, where the future character of the municipalities and the county will be determined.
In the Critical Growth Area it is vital to prevent suburban sprawl. Suburban sprawl, the spread of residential and commercial development into rural areas, is considered a serious urban and environmental issue in the Chicago metropolitan area. The metropolitan region's acreage of residential land increased 46 percent between 1970 to 1990, while population increased a mere 4.1 percent. The continued expansion of suburban development in the region will increase development pressures in the Critical Growth Area.
The Elements of the Land Use Strategy depict the planning approach for the Critical Growth Area. The approach focuses on preserving the unique countryside character and natural resources of the Area. The elements of the Critical Growth Area strategy call for preservation of 40 percent open space in all new development, coordination of transportation and land use, community character enhancement, balanced land use, and water resource management.
Open space preservation is a high priority in the Critical Growth Area, providing "breathing space," environmental protection, recreational areas, visual beauty, educational opportunities, and other community benefits. Protection of open space will directly benefit the water quality of the five major watersheds in the Critical Growth Area. Water resources - creeks, lakes, wetlands, floodplains - are prominent natural features in the Critical Growth Area and will be enhanced as well as protected from pollution and encroachment.
A key to the enhancement and protection of water quality in the Critical Growth Area is minimizing the amount of impervious surface in new developments. Impervious surfaces include rooftops, roads, driveways, sidewalks, and parking lots. The amount of impervious surface on a site directly affects the quantity and quality of runoff. Minimizing impervious surfaces reduces runoff, which reduces the rate, volume, and pollutant load of water traveling downstream. This is essential to protecting the quality of water within the five major watersheds of the Critical Growth Area.
The enhancement of community character in the Critical Growth Area is being achieved through design techniques such as prairie traditional. This design method is a viable alternative to conventional suburban patterns which consume large acreages. Prairie traditional often uses a clustering technique whereby homes are set in smaller, compact neighborhoods in an open space setting. Along with encouraging neighborhood activities, cluster site planning reduces costs for roads, water lines, and sewer lines. This design also provides privacy and neighborhood identity and preserves natural features or farmland. Architectural design features are based on patterns seen in small towns and neighborhoods built before World War II. These features, such as front porches, sidewalks, alleys, detached rear garages, and neighborhood parks, define the community character.
An additional important benefit of prairie traditional planning is viewshed management, an effort to preserve country atmosphere by identifying and protecting scenic vistas. Often a curve in a road can lead to an expanse of trees, a water feature, or perhaps a local landmark such as a church steeple or the rise of Johnson's Mound. These unexpected encounters help to separate the countryside from the suburbs, as well as provide a transition from one community to the next.
As the Critical Growth Area develops, it will be important to coordinate transportation planning with County and municipal land use plans. By- pass routes around some of the small villages may be appropriate. New developments should plan pedestrian and bicycle friendly trails. Balancing the need for additional transportation capacity with land use will help to maintain the countryside character of the Critical Growth Area.
Kane County and the municipalities must wisely manage the Critical Growth Area. The edges of this area provide visual evidence of land use and density changes between the Critical Growth Area and the Urban Corridor to the east, and the Critical Growth Area and the Agricultural/Village Area to the west. It will be essential that the eastern edge of the Critical Growth Area remain well-defined so that a person can tell when he leaves the city and enters the countryside. Rather than denoting municipal boundaries, this edge maintains the integrity of the Critical Growth Area, whether developed by the municipalities or the county. The western edge of the Critical Growth Area is equally important, providing a transition from mixed countryside land uses to the rural land uses of the Agricultural/Village Area.
The Agricultural/Village Area encompasses the western portion of Kane County. The Agricultural/Village Area borders the county's Critical Growth Area on the east and extends west to the DeKaIb County line. This area of prime farm land is actually the eastern edge of a vast agricultural basin that extends west to the Rocky Mountains.
Eight villages are located in the Agricultural/Village Area, which comprises 50% of the county's 334,032 acres and is home to about 17,000 people. Agricultural uses range from large row crop productions and horse farms to small apple orchards and nurseries. Moving west across the Agricultural/Village Area the terrain changes from gently rolling land with scattered wooded areas to flat, fertile farmland. The wide farmland vistas give much of this area its rural character, and also offer residents and travelers a sense 9f peace and serenity.
Farming has been the predominant use in the Agricultural/Village Area since northern Illinois first opened to settlement in the mid 1830s. Farm families moved west from the east coast and established farms shaped by their diverse ethnic traditions. These traditions influenced settlement patterns and building styles and are still evident as part of the visual landscape. The farms of the Agricultural/Village Area are predominately family operated, with many multi-generational farms still producing agricultural products.
The villages in this area were established to provide support businesses and services to the growing number of farmers coming to the area. Most were located along railroad routes, providing easy transportation for manufactured goods and exporting agricultural products. The villages eventually grew to include opportunities for social activities, housing, and employment, with each village developing a unique community identity.
The Agricultural/Village Area will change the least between now and the year 2020 in comparison to the Urban Corridor and Critical Growth Area. This is appropriate because the western half of Kane County contains some of the most fertile farmland in the world. The 2020 Plan provides more than enough opportunities in the Urban Corridor and Critical Growth Area to accommodate development to the year 2020.
The 2020 Land Use Strategy calls for minimal new development in the agricultural area of the Agricultural/Village portion of the county and supports logical and planned growth for the villages. In most of this area, the county will discourage growth magnets such as significant road expansions and public sanitary sewer systems. The county will also strongly discourage any expansion of a Facility Planning Area that diverges from existing agricultural and village development patterns. Development will be steered towards existing villages and subdivisions, thus avoiding the "pop-up subdivisions" that suddenly appear in the countryside.
Part of this planning strategy is to identify and encourage protection of the three existing land use trends in the Agricultural/Village Area:
Farming, including agricultural infrastructure, agricultural industry, and farmstead; Towns and villages, which support and enhance agriculture; and Countryside residential, where limited single-family development will be allowed on non-prime farmland adjacent to existing residential uses.
The 2020 Land Use Strategy reinforces the premise that agricultural land in Kane County should not be considered a holding zone waiting for market pressures to dictate development. The agricultural areas outside of the villages in the Agricultural/Village Area are not the appropriate place for large-scale non-agricultural economic development. Such industries often eventually push out farming as well as subsidiary industries - equipment sales, greenhouses and nurseries, sod farms, etc. - that boost the county economy. Maintenance and expansion of agribusiness operations should be encouraged along with the practical function of food production from farmland.
The 2020 Plan recognizes that the towns and villages of the Agricultural/Village Area are still centers of local services, social activities, and employment as well as provide community identity to the surrounding farm areas. Because of these important functions, their preservation and growth is as important as that of agricultural land itself. Evolution will be inevitable in these communities - Big Rock, Burlington, Elburn, Hampshire, Kaneville, Maple Park, Sugar Grove, and Virgil - as new and existing businesses expand services to meet the needs of in-town residents and surrounding farm families. These communities should continue to function as local service, social, and employment centers, expanding along existing development patterns when appropriate. As growth occurs, existing buildings and residences should be rehabilitated and kept in productive use.
Planning in the Agricultural/Village Area will focus on protection of farmland and farming as a way of life as outlined in The Elements of the Land Use Strategy. Agricultural land is a nonrenewable resource that contributes to a stable county and national economy. By recognizing and protecting this important land use, and by setting an agenda for the future, the 2020 Plan seeks to allow agriculture and its supporting services to continue to thrive in western Kane County.
The Land Use Strategy Perspective is a composite of the Urban Corridor, the Critical Growth Area, and the Agricultural/Village Area. This composite clearly depicts the Land Use Strategy for Kane County. The Land Use Strategy provides for a projected population growth of 190,000 to the year 2020, most of which will occur in the cities and villages as they expand through annexati6ns and approval of new developments. The 2020 Land Use Strategy supportsthe logical, orderly growth of the cities and villages and appropriate opportunities for new deve~opment in the unincorporated areas. It accomplishes this by (1) supporting infill development and logical municipal growth in the Urban Corridor; (2) calling for coordinated planning, managed development, and resource protection in the Critical Growth Area; and (3) supporting the logical, orderly growth of the villages in the Agricultural/Village Area while preserving at least fifty percent of Kane County as agricultural land. Open space, depicted in green, is the armature that links the three areas together by providing natural resource protection, providing opportunities for recreation, connecting communities and wildlife habitats, and framing the diverse and beautiful character of Perspective is a composite of the Urban Corridor, the Critical Growth Area, and the Agricultural/Village Area.
This composite clearly depicts the Land Use Strategy for Kane County. The Land Use Strategy provides for a projected population growth of 190,000 to the year 2020, most of which will occur in the cities and villages as they expand through annexations and approval of new developments. The 2020 Land Use Strategy supports the logical, orderly growth of the cities and villages and appropriate opportunities for new development in the unincorporated areas. It accomplishes this by (1) supporting infill development and logical municipal growth in the Urban Corridor; (2) calling for coordinated planning, managed development, and resource protection in the Critical Growth Area; and (3) supporting the logical, orderly growth of the villages in the Agricultural/Village Area while preserving at least fifty percent of Kane County as agricultural land.
Open space, depicted in green, is the armature that links the three areas together by providing natural resource protection, providing opportunities for recreation, connecting communities and wildlife habitats, and framing the diverse and beautiful character of Kane County.
