Marengo amends comprehensive plan

MARENGO – City aldermen voted, 7-0, on Monday night to amend Marengo’s 5-year-old comprehensive plan.

The new plan includes a higher density of land use for transit-oriented development, a topic that has been discussed at length during several steering committee meetings, community workshops and a public hearing in the past year.

A mixed-use development area within the western corridor of the city – encompassing U.S. Route 20 and Pleasant Grove, Johnson and Meyer Roads – is at the core of the study. City officials say the Western Corridor Transit Oriented Development Plan will guide community policy and decision-making during the next 10 to 15 years for issues including future land use, transportation and circulation improvements, character, and open space.

On many of the minds of residents also is the potential for a train or bus system in Marengo – an idea that remains several years from reality.

Although the city was awarded a $100,000 grant in 2007 from the Regional Transportation Authority to study a possible mass-transit station, the authority has yet to decide what mode might come to Marengo.

City officials said Monday that their actions included continuing to work cooperatively with the McHenry County Conservation District, which owns portions of land at the transit site. The entire study area is more than 800 acres and set to be a mix of commercial and residential development.

“It’s a balancing act we have here between preserving and promoting at the same time,” said Mayor Donald Lockhart.

In accordance with an RTA project deadline, the City Council was required to meet a plan approval by the end of this month.

Although the city’s comprehensive plan was successfully amended, some aldermen said Monday that they preferred the central transit area be opened to more commercial use or medium-density homes. The plan might be revisited and possibly amended again to reflect those proposed changes at a later date.