Village: Plan doesn’t include unincorporated area

PRAIRIE GROVE – Those who border the village of Prairie Grove might be happy to learn that plans for the Route 176 Corridor no longer include their area.

Instead, the plan, which will be the topic of a community workshop tonight, will cover only areas within village limits, said Bob Gray, the village’s Planning and Zoning Commission chairman. The move came after more than 250 residents protested the plans at a January meeting.

“Whether we think it’s a good idea or not is not the point,” Gray said. “It’s the wishes of our neighbors.”

The plan, which was funded through a grant, covers the Route 176 Corridor where the highway crosses the Fox River. It includes a wish list of things such as commercial development and street reconstruction.

However, residents such as Chuck Nichols, who lives in the Riverside Park subdivision, which is south of McHenry and east of Crystal Lake, had expressed concerns about the possibility of forced annexation and too much commercial development.

Nichols said he still was wary of the situation.

“My concern is that I don’t trust Prairie Grove,” he said. “I’ll be thrilled if we’re not included, but that remains to be seen.”

Regardless of which areas are included in the final version, nothing in the Route 176 Corridor plan would be binding.

“It’s a just a direction-setting plan to help the village and help the developers,” Gray said.

If the new version of the plan gets positive community feedback tonight, it then could be up for a Planning and Zoning Commission vote. After that, the Board of Trustees would vote on the issue.