The Barrington Hills Park District Board will hold their monthly meeting this evening in person and via Zoom at 7:00 PM.
A copy of their agenda can be viewed here. Instructions for accessing the meeting remotely can be found here.
Archive for the ‘Land Use’ Category
December Board of Trustees meeting recordings released
Posted in Audio Recordings, Barrington Hills Park District, Big Brother, Building Department, Clown Car, Conflict of interest, Cook, County, Deception, Dumb and Dumber, EJ&E/Canadian National, Equestrian Commission, Ethics, FUBAR, Horizon Farm, Intergovernmental agreements (IGA), Land Use, One Barrington Hills, OP/Ed, Plan Commission, Plum Farm development, Politics, Property Taxes, Riding Club of Barrington Hills, Taxes, Topics Of Interest, Traffic, Transparency, Village Attorney, Village Board, Village Code, Village Director of Administration, Village Government, Village President, Zoning Board on January 5, 2024| 3 Comments »
Recording of the December 19th Board of Trustees meeting has been released. While there are several items we would like to weigh in on, the, “Annexation of Contiguous Properties Discussion,” topic* on the agenda is on top the list.
There were a few public comments addressing a property currently in the Village and one in unincorporated Cook County (pictured above). Both are off Old Sutton Road, and within roughly a mile of one another.
The property in the Village has been topic of multiple comments at Board of Trustee and Zoning Board meetings for some time now, yet nothing seems to have been done by the Village.
As for the unincorporated Cook County comments, President Cecola and the Board have approved taking steps to annex the property described by a Change.org petition as the, “Sutton and the Penny Road Properties.” One of the reasons for this apparently is the appearance of this property, and the belief our Village Code will somehow improve the situation. However, when traveling throughout our Village, numerous and obvious Code violations can be seen in plain view, and no corrective actions seem to take place.
Our President and Board are willing to spend our tax dollars to attempt to annex this property and improve the aesthetics of it presumably through Village Code enforcement. You decide if this makes sense, especially considering the number of Code violations in plain view from Village roads presently that are not addressed.
The December meeting recordings can be found here.
* As has become the Cecola administration’s practice, no explanation of what this topic was about was provided to the public in advance of the meeting in the agenda. Yet, as the recordings show, some privileged residents were informed in advance so they could prepare.
Citizens for Conservation Hill ’N Dale Preserve Restoration Plans presentation January 13th
Posted in Citizens for Conservation, County, Fundraisers, Land Use, McHenry, Resident Spotlights, Topics Of Interest on January 4, 2024| Leave a Comment »
Guest Speaker: Jim Anderson, Vice President, Citizens for Conservation
Date: Saturday, January 13, 2023
Time: 9:30 a.m. coffee, conversation, displays, handouts; 10:00-11:30 a.m. program
Location: Barrington Village Hall, 200 S. Hough Street; free parking behind building
While CFC’s acquisition of 246 acres along Spring Creek saved the former horse farm from development, the hard work is just beginning. Learn about the process to restore the critical wetland, sedge meadow, wet prairie, prairie, and savanna communities.
Jim Anderson is Vice President of Citizens for Conservation’s Board of Directors and an active restoration volunteer. He is former Director of Natural Resources for Lake County Forest Preserves. Jim also serves on the Steering Committee of Chicago Wilderness Alliance.
Cost: CFC members attend free as a benefit of membership. Program fee is $10 for non-members.
RSVP is required. Hope to see you there!
Can proposed solar farm and homes coexist in Antioch?*
Posted in Going green, Land Use, Plan Commission, Politics, Property Taxes, Real Estate, Topics Of Interest, Village Code, Village Government, Zoning Board on January 3, 2024| Leave a Comment »
Courtesy Renewable Properties LLC
By Mick Zawislak | Daily herald
Can a $5 million investment in clean energy blend in a semi-rural landscape of existing residences and potential new homes?
That’s what Antioch officials will decide, as a proposed 20-acre solar farm first presented as a concept a year ago proceeds through the village’s review process.
Renewable Properties LLC of San Francisco is seeking a zoning variance and special use approval to build the solar farm on 52 acres along the south side of North Avenue just east of Deep Lake Road in the northern part of town.
The proposal will be considered at 7 p.m. Wednesday during a combined session of Antioch’s advisory planning commission and zoning board. The session is at village hall, 874 Main St., or can be viewed via Zoom.
According to Renewable Properties, the solar farm would generate enough electricity to provide power to 538 homes, or about 1,600 people, and represents a $5 million investment.
The property has been on the market for several years. Village planners’ original vision and the town’s comprehensive plan foresaw the land developed with large estate homes.
Read more here.
*How soon will it be before we must consider this same question?
Blue States Are Stripping Rural Counties Of Ability To Prevent Green Energy Takeover Of Their Communities
Posted in Audubon Society, FPDCC, Going green, Horizon Farm, Land Use, Politics, Pritzker’s Rules of Order, Property Taxes, Springfield, Taxes, Topics Of Interest, Village Code, Zoning Board on December 20, 2023| 1 Comment »
By NICK POPE | Daily Caller
Several blue states have deprived rural counties of the ability to reject the massive green energy projects that corporations want to site in their communities, while green industrial interests and environmentalist groups have poured money into state capitals.
Michigan, California, New York and Illinois have all passed legislation that consolidates authority over land use issues and rules with state-level bureaucrats at the expense of local governments that could have altered their own zoning codes to stem the tide of industrial green projects like solar and wind farms. These policies deprive rural residents in these states of their freedom and local autonomy, while also benefiting the corporate interests that line the pockets of the states’ Democratic governors, state policy experts and lawmakers told the Daily Caller News Foundation.
“Much of the renewables business and movement has been co-opted by big corporations,” which “are spending millions” on politics “because this is a matter of billions for them,” Edward Ring, a senior fellow for the California Policy Institute and the organization’s co-founder, told the DCNF. “What we are seeing, for example, with the ‘Inflation Reduction Act,’ is one of the biggest gifts of money to corporations that we have ever seen in this country,” Ring told the DCNF, referring to the IRA’s subsidies facilitating the rise of green energy.
Since 2020, there have been about 350 local restrictions or rejections of solar and wind projects across the country, according to energy expert Robert Bryce’s Renewable Rejection Database. (RELATED: Grid Watchdog Warns That Dems’ Climate Agenda Could Put Large Swaths Of US At ‘Elevated Risk’ For Blackouts)
Illinois
In February, Democratic Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker enacted H.B. 4412, which “prevents counties from enacting preemptive local ordinances that outright ban local wind and solar projects, hindering the state’s new climate goals.” Illinois is aiming to reach 100% green energy generation by 2050, and will need to build out a significant network of new solar and wind projects to get there.
“These new energy companies, many of which are owned by large, out-of-state venture capital firms receiving massive tax breaks, are now able to remove local control against the wishes of the community,” Republican Illinois State Sen. Terri Bryant told the DCNF about the policy. “This bill is especially dangerous in heavily agriculture counties that have limited zoning and large spaces of land used for crops… removing local control in favor of new energy companies, many of which are out of state and out of the country, is not just a threat to property rights, but to our national security and food supply chain.”
In his two terms as governor, Pritzker has pursued left-wing policies in numerous policy arenas, including imposing tight gun control measures, a $15 minimum wage and eliminating cash bail requirements for suspected criminals. These policies align with the left-wing agenda promulgated by other members of his family, one of the wealthiest in the country, according to the New York Post.
The offices of Whitmer, Newsom, Hochul and Pritzker did not respond immediately to requests for comment.
Read more here.
Village Board of Trustees meet tonight
Posted in Agendas, Audio Recordings, BACOG, Barrington Hills Farm, Big Red, Building Department, Deception, Dumb and Dumber, EJ&E/Canadian National, ePacket Agendas, Ethics, Finance Committee, FPDCC, Horizon Farm, Intergovernmental agreements (IGA), Land Use, Mac's Property Management, Mad Cows, Minutes, One Barrington Hills, Pension Funding, Politics, Property Taxes, Public Safety, Real Estate, Riding Club Commission, Roads & Bridges Committee, Taxes, Topics Of Interest, Transparency, Unions, VBHPD, Village Attorney, Village Board, Village Clerk, Village Code, Village Director of Administration, Village Engineer, Village Government, Village President, Village Treasurer, Zoning Board on December 19, 2023| Leave a Comment »
Our Village Board of Trustees will be conducting their regular monthly meeting this evening beginning at 6:30 PM. Topics on their agenda include:
- [Vote] An Ordinance for the Levy and Assessment of Taxes for the Fiscal Year Beginning January 1, 2023 and Ending December 31, 2023 Ordinance 23 –
- Village of Barrington Hills Annual Appropriation Ordinance for the Fiscal Year Beginning January 1, 2024, and Ending December 31, 2024 – DRAFT
- [Vote] A Resolution Approving the Execution of an Intergovernmental Agreement with the Illinois Office of the Comptroller to Participate in the Local Debt Recovery Program Resolution 23 –
- [Vote] A Resolution Approving the Purchase of Emergency Automatic External Defibrillator Equipment from Second Chance Cardiac Solutions, Inc. Resolution 23 –
- [Vote] A Resolution Authorizing the Purchase of Police-Related Equipment, Software and Services from Axon Enterprise, Inc. Resolution 23 –
- [Vote] Ordinance Amending Building Code Regulations Set Forth in Section 4- 2-7 of the Village Code Regarding Chamber Septic Systems Ordinance 23 –
- [Vote] A Resolution Authorizing Execution of an Intergovernmental Agreement Among the Village of Bartlett, the Village of Hoffman Estates, The Village of Barrington Hills, and the Village of Barrington, for the Equally Shared Costs for Work Towards the Recertification of a Quiet Corridor Along the Canadian National Railroad Resolution 23 –
- [Vote] A Resolution Approving an Adjustment to the Professional Services Rate for John Z. Toscas As Special Counsel for Administrative Adjudication Hearing Officer Services Resolution 23 –
- Annexation of Contiguous Properties Discussion
A copy of their agenda can be viewed and downloaded here.
“Forest Preserve Master Plan Presentation for Horizon Farm & Spring Creek” meeting cancelled
Posted in BACT, Barrington Hills Park District, Barrington Hills Polo Club, Citizens for Conservation, Cook, County, Ethics, Flint Creek Wildlife Rehabilitation, Flint Creek/Spring Creek Watersheds Partnership, Fox River Valley Hunt, FPDCC, Friends of Forest Preserves, FRVPC, Horizon Farm, Land Use, Massbach Hounds, Organizations, Politics, Preckwinkle's Rules of Order, Property Taxes, Public Safety, Riding Center Advisory Committee, Riding Club of Barrington Hills, Topics Of Interest, Traffic, Transparency, Unions on December 12, 2023| Leave a Comment »
The Forest Preserve District of Cook County (FPDCC) presentation of long-term plans for Horizon Farm & Spring Creek scheduled for tomorrow evening has been cancelled. Before posting news of the cancellation, we’d hoped to announce a new date, however recent news of the Forest Preserves of Cook County General Superintendent stepping down squashed that plan.
Once a new date, time and location is announced, we’ll be sure to post it.
Cook County Forest Preserves’ general superintendent to end productive 13-year tenure
Posted in Barrington Hills Park District, FPDCC, FRVPC, Intergovernmental agreements (IGA), Land Use, Politics, Preckwinkle's Rules of Order, Property Taxes, Public Safety, Real Estate, Riding Center Advisory Committee, Riding Club of Barrington Hills, Topics Of Interest, Transparency, Unions on December 9, 2023| Leave a Comment »
Arnold Randall, the general administrator of the Cook County Forest Preserve District, addresses the audience at the forest preserve’s public meeting in June of 2014 on what should be done with Horizon Farms at Countryside Elementary School. (Daily Herald Staff Photographer)
By Eric Peterson | Daily Herald
Cook County Forest Preserve District General Superintendent Arnold Randall has announced plans to step down next month, ending a distinct and productive 13-year tenure.
He will become the next executive director of the Gaylord & Dorothy Donnelly Foundation, whose mission is supporting land conservation, artistic vitality and the regional collections of often overlooked people in the Chicago region and the Lowcountry of South Carolina.
ince Randall’s appointment by Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle, the forest preserve district has forged an ambitious Next Century Conservation Plan, celebrated its centennial, developed new strategic plans for its trails and habitat restoration, strengthened its partnerships including through the creation of an advisory Conservation and Policy Council, and opened five new campgrounds.
Randall credited Preckwinkle for providing the political will to improve the reputation of all aspects of Cook County government, including ending the practice of making the forest preserves a patronage dumping ground and embracing its original mission of land conservation and investment in equitable accessibility to natural areas.
About 15% of today’s trail system in the county’s preserves has been built during Randall’s tenure.
“The trails get millions and millions of visitors,” he said. “We recognized that improving that trail system was very important. … We looked at places where there had been a historic lack of investment.”
Read more here.
Related: “Forest Preserves of Cook County Fully Opens Northwest Cook County’s Horizon Farm Preserve”
Riding Club of Barrington Hills Bridle Path Rules Certification
Posted in Barrington Hills Park District, Barrington Hills Polo Club, BraveHearts, Entertainment, Equestrian Commission, Ethics, Fox River Valley Hunt, FPDCC, FRVPC, Horizon Farm, Intergovernmental agreements (IGA), Land Use, Organizations, Public Safety, Riding Center Advisory Committee, Riding Club of Barrington Hills, Topics Of Interest, Transparency, Unions, Village Code on November 25, 2023| Leave a Comment »
“RCBH BRIDLE PATH ETIQUETTE AND RULES
The bridle paths include both public trails on county-owned property and private trails in Barrington Hills. Over 150 miles of these paths are maintained by the Riding Club of Barrington Hills. Everyone with a Forest Preserve of Cook County tag for their horse and license for the rider can take advantage of the public trails maintained by the Riding Club of Barrington Hills in the Cook County Forest Preserves. Trails located outside the Forest Preserve are for the exclusive use of Riding Club of Barrington Hills members and guests by stipulation of the land owners where these trails are located.
RCBH TRAILS ON PRIVATE PROPERTY – When the Riding Club of Barrington Hills (RCBH) was established in 1937, an informal agreement was entered into by neighbors, whereby mounted members of the Riding Club could traverse the landowners’ properties on horseback. Almost 80 years later, that relationship still exists. Our relationship, by its very nature, is a delicate one, we therefore ask you to follow the bridle path rules, to ensure that our system will continue to be viable.
- Riders must be current RCBH members in order to ride on the private trails, however RCBH members may bring a guest when they ride. The host club member is responsible for ensuring that their guest has signed the required waiver form before riding. Waiver can be found in the directory and is also available on our website https://ridingclubofbarringtonhills.org/online-waiver/
- Follow the RCBH bridle path markers, always stay on marked trail, be respectful of the trails and don’t ride if conditions would cause damage or leave hoof prints on the lawn. Don’t litter and where possible consider picking up manure after you ride.
- Current RCBH bridle tags must be displayed at all times when riding on private trails.
- Private bridle trails are for mounted riders only, no dogs, motorized vehicles or pedestrians allowed.
- If you open a gate, close it.
- Private trails are walk only.
RCBH TRAILS ON PUBLIC PROPERTY
The Riding Club of Barrington Hills maintains 65+ miles of trails within the Forest Preserve District of Cook County (FPDCC) properties. These are multi-use trails. Riding on FPDCC trails is by permit only: to obtain these permits, please go to their website at https://fpdcc.com/things-to-do/equestrian/. Rules for riding in the FPDCC are available on their website at https://fpdcc.com/about/rules-regulations/.
IF YOU ARE UNABLE TO CLEAR A PATH YOURSELF, PLEASE REPORT BLOCKED TRAIL TO THE TRAIL REP IN YOUR SECTOR.
TRAIL REPS ARE LISTED IN THE RCBH DIRECTORY AND ON OUR WEBSITE UNDER TRAILS.
The Sponsor certifies that the Applicant has adequate knowledge of the RCBH Bridle Path Rules to join the Club by entering information below and clicking [Submit]“
Zoning Board of Appeals Special meeting tonight
Posted in Agendas, Algonquin Rd, Animal Welfare, ePacket agendas, Land Use, Real Estate, Special Use Permits, Taxes, Village Attorney, Village Code, Village Director of Administration, Zoning Board on November 14, 2023| Leave a Comment »
32W939 Algonquin Road
The Village Zoning Board of Appeals meets this evening at 6:30 PM. Topics on their agenda include:
- [VOTE] APPEAL: VETERINARY CLINIC USE IN B3 GENERAL BUSINESS DISTRICT (32W939 Algonquin Road)
- CODE MODIFICATION DISCUSSION – RECREATIONAL VEHICLES AND RENEWABLE ENERGY, and
- [VOTE] RULES FOR REMOTE PARTICIPATION
A copy of their agenda can be viewed and downloaded here.
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