The words “land grab,” with all the connotation of settlers galloping at breakneck speed to stake their claims on coveted land, are popping up in conversations around Lakewood and Crystal Lake.
In this case, the coveted land is around the intersection of Illinois Highways 176 and 47, surrounded by fields and wetlands, with the Crystal Woods Golf Club and farms nearby.
Because of the area’s expected development, several communities are interested in guiding the future of the intersection, which is now in unincorporated McHenry County.
“Historically, that’s how it is done around here,” said Lakewood Village President Blair Picard. “Whoever gets there first, grabs it.
“You jump in the wagon and race for the land,” he said.
The Crystal Lake Plan Commission wants the city to incorporate the strip of land stretching more than 2 miles west along Illinois 176, from the city to the intersection. Panel members have directed city staff members to map out likely uses for the intersection and its approaches.
The area is expected to become a commercial center in the next decade because Illinois 47 leads south through Kane County to Interstate Highway 90.
The Crystal Lake panel compared the future of the now-rural intersection to the transformation of the intersection of Algonquin and Randall Roads, which 15 years ago was four stop signs surrounded by cornfields and pastures. Now that intersection is part of a busy commercial corridor that generates about $1 million a year in sales tax for Lake in the Hills. Algonquin also has a considerable commercial tax base there.
“It’s about income,” said James McDonough, plan commission chairman. But he added that he was having trouble seeing the city’s boundaries moving that far west on Illinois 176.
“I’m struggling with this,” McDonough said. “When I look at a map of the city I’m having trouble seeing this little arm sticking out.”
But McDonough was the sole dissenting voice on the panel.
“I’d like to see Crystal Lake control the area or at least have a say in what happens there,” said commission member Dirk Vause. “It is a clean slate there now and we would be starting from scratch.”
Vause said the struggle for land around the intersection “could become a land grab” if Crystal Lake and Lakewood–along with nearby Woodstock to the north and a growing Huntley to the south–did not negotiate boundary agreements.
Michelle Rentzsch, Crystal Lake city planner, said the wetlands in the area could impede some development, but not commercial development along the thoroughfares.
She said she will have projections for the intersection ready for the April 12 Plan Commission meeting.
Picard said annexing the intersection is “a matter of survival for Lakewood.”
“We have almost no business in our town,” Picard said. “All we have is the Turnberry Country Club and a village-owned golf course. It’s self-serving to say it, but we need that intersection more than they do.”
Picard said annexing property takes some time. A municipality must be contiguous to a parcel to annex it. Property owners and developers hold out for the best deal.
Another factor is the speed with which a municipality can run water and sewer lines to a parcel to be annexed.
Alan Hamilton, 78, said he’s lived on his 200-acre farm north of the golf course his whole life. He’s retired, so the job of growing corn and hay goes to his son and son-and-law.
Just recently, he said, he began to realize the land will become much more valuable as the area develops commercially.
“I’m going to hold onto my farm and work it a few more years,” he said.
