Billed as a union of historic preservation with farmland protection and open space initiatives, Kane County is set to roll out its “rustic roads” program, Development Department Executive Director Phil Bus told a group of local government officials.
Speaking to about 70 members and guests of the DuKane Valley Council at a seminar, Bus said the county’s voluntary campaign to preserve the vistas that embody Kane County’s rural heritage was expected to be unveiled at the County Board’s Development Committee.
The Kane County Board voted last July to revise its historic preservation ordinance to allow for road corridors, or “rustic roads,” to be added to the county’s list of about 60 historic homes and landmarks already designated for preservation.
The main objective of the program is to preserve and enhance the county’s rural character while incorporating new development and transportation needs as subtly as possible, according to Bus.
With Kane County having grown faster over the past decade than originally projected and “with another decade of rapid growth [anticipated], we have to be constantly vigilant” about protecting the county’s natural resources, Bus told the seminar.
“A big challenge to all of us is to get beyond the conventional approach to suburbia,” Bus said.
Although not unique nationally, Kane County’s “rustic roads” program is an unconventional approach for a local governing unit to encourage preservation of heritage, according to county conservation planner Scott Berger.
Berger said the Kane initiative is patterned after a statewide program in Wisconsin.
Both the county’s 2020 Transportation Plan and 2020 Land Resource Management Plan cite the need and desirability of such a program for Kane County as a way to “add to the enjoyment of roadside scenery and to a sense of place.”
The aim of the local effort, according to Berger, is to protect rustic roads “and the characteristics around them … the rural nature, the tree canopies and those kinds of issues.”
As approved by the County Board, a “rustic road” designation will be granted on a voluntary basis and any property owner in unincorporated Kane County who wants to opt out of a proposed preservation corridor may do so.
No roadwork necessary for safety or maintenance can be blocked by virtue of a rustic road designation and each corridor designated is allowed to establish its own guidelines for preservation within it.
Once designated for landmark status, any major, visible changes to property within a rustic corridor would require approval of the Historic Preservation Commission.
