Planning officials answered questions from residents Tuesday night on a range of topics, including road safety, the strain on infrastructure, and the impact of data centers, during an open house on the second draft of the McLean County Strategic Land Use plan.
Among other things, the plan attempts to address "development pressures" from the expansion of large employers such as Rivian and Fererro. It also looks to address the housing shortage, and suggests McLean County should add more than 8,000 housing units to accommodate growth.
But the plan itself — and a perceived lack of public input on the front end — has drawn criticism on a variety of fronts.
Some in attendance said the plan for how land will be developed doesn't fit with current uses. Others raised concerns that "natural resource" areas that accommodate storm drainage are already taxed, and will be exacerbated further by the development that's indicated.
McLean County Building and Zoning Director Phil Dick said planning is extremely important when growth like this is occurring. "Winging it is not a great plan when you have pressure for growth," he said.
County officials, as well as representatives of Bloomington and Normal, joined members of the McLean County Regional Planning Commission in taking public questions. In all, about 20 people gathered at the Downs Community Fire Department.
Another open house will be from 5 to 7 p.m. Thursday in the Community Commons Building at Heartland Community College in Normal.
People who can't attend that forum may submit comments at mcplan.org.
Some issues raised, such as wind farms and potential use of land by Ameren, are regulated at the state level, and outside county control, said Lea Cline, chair of the McLean County Board's Land Use and Transportation Committee.
And specific developments and zoning also aren't addressed by the plan.
Speaking afterwards, Jennifer Sicks, senior transportation planner with the regional planning commission, told WGLT the distinction between the plan and zoning may be confusing, but it's important.
"Zoning is a very specific tool ... to make decisions about the here and now. Land use planning and comprehensive planning are about the future, what happens next, what can we extrapolate from what we know today that seems to be the right direction based on the policies held by those jurisdictions," Sicks said.
And even after the plan is finalized — something expected by the end of the month—- that doesn't mean development begins.
"It will then go to the local jurisdictions, to Bloomington-Normal and McLean County, to decide how they want to use it, or if they want to use it. They can do with it what they want," said Sicks. "Our job was to give them a tool to use, and then they can decide how to use it. Nothing we're doing at this stage can magically happen."
For example, dotted lines on the maps that indicate access from Interstate 55 near Towanda and Interstate 74 near Downs are vestiges of discussions of an east side corridor. Sicks said a project like that would require approval from both state and federal governments and eight to 10 years of studies and information gathering. And that's only if discussions became serious.
Public reaction
Ruth Burke has attended all the public forums around the plan. She's concerned about the "vast industrial expansion" and its impact on the natural resources in the area. Still, the Old Town Township resident, said the back-and-forth nature of Tuesday's meeting, as well as the presence of county zoning and engineers, was a positive step.
"This has certainly been one of the more productive ones ... and I've learned a lot," she said.
Heyworth resident Tricia Braid, another regular attendee, agreed. She said her personal concerns have been alleviated in the current draft, but she remains concerned about the way public input is incorporated.
"I do appreciate the meeting this evening was the meeting that needed to happen instead of the meeting that has happened."
