The June Board of Trustees meeting agenda included an item titled, “Proposed Special Use Request in Unincorporated McHenry County.” Recordings from the June meeting have been released, and here is what President Cecola had to say in the item:
“So, um, we got an email and was brought to my attention and I felt it was extremely important to get this out as soon as possible. If you haven’t had a chance to read the packet it’s regarding the property on, on Ridge Road there, right next to the CFC conservation, and they have come to us it says…, people who don’t know, this property is unincorporated McHenry County so we basically have no say in what they do on the property.
Um, but they have come to us for road access, and we are looking in to, and Sean, maybe you can elaborate, uh, the road access, but this is going to be huge, ‘cuz this is, again, a commercial entity if you look at the drawings it’s a pretty big space. It’s massive, and they’re, um, if you haven’t read the…, three hundred, a hundred guests per day, two events per month up to three hundred people twice a month, um, farm store, breakfast lunch dining, ticketed dinners, education classes… . There’s a whole bunch…, yoga…, I know Riff will be there.
But there’s, I mean, it’s a, it’s a…, this is not a small lttle operation, so, uh. For sure going down Ridge Road on a single lane, or you know, twenty-five miles an hour, um they have to have access and they have to get our permission.”
The recordings can be found here, and begin at the 42:41-minute mark for this topic.
A contributor to The Observer obtained documents regarding the development Cecola referred to. They show that a 13.49-acre parcel at 11719 Ridge Road is being planned for development by, “The Gentlemen Farmer LLC,” or “The Farmstead at Hill ‘n Dale.”
According to the plans, the proposed development would include hog sheds (2), a farm store, barns, cottages, barn house etc…
Planned uses include:
- TICKETED MEALS (BOTH INDOORS AND OUT), AND BREAKFAST AND LUNCH WALK-UP MEALS
- FARM STORE SALES, READY MADE AND PREPARED FOODSTUFFS
- AGRITOURISM FOOD CONCESSION STAND: 3RD PARTY VENDORS OF COFFEE/NON-ALCOHOLIC DRINKS, READY MADE AND PREPARED
- FARM TOURS, COOKING, AND GARDENING CLASSES, FIELD TRIPS, AFTER SCHOOL PROGRAMS
- COMMUNITY EVENTS AS PERMITTED UNDER LIMITED AGRITOURISM
Plans state, “At peak programming, we anticipate the following maximum attendance levels:
- Farm Store: Up to 100 shoppers per day during peak season weekends
- Breakfast & lunch dining: Up to 100 guests per day during peak service days
- Ticketed Farm-to-Table Meals: Up to 50 guests per seating, with a maximum of four meals per week
- Ticketed and Timed Casual Community Dinners: Not to exceed 100 guests per event, with a maximum of two events per week
- Educational Classes (e.g., gardening, cooking, arts, yoga): Maximum of 25 participants per class, with up to five (5) classes per day and 22 classes per week
- Ticketed Community Events (e.g., lectures, field days): Up to 300 guests per event, with a maximum of three events per month
These numbers represent estimated maximums; most activities will be smaller in scale and vary seasonally.”
A copy of the documentation obtained thus far can be found here.