Barrington Farms

Facts You Should Know...

Fact: Village of Barrington Hills officials testified that Barrington Hills has an average population density of approximately one person for every four and a half acres of land, and that 90% of its residential zoning requires a five-acre minimum lot size. These facts do not begin to meet the demanding standards of conservation planning. Barrington Hills' own planning witness, Lane Kendig, characterized the village's zoning ordinance as 'cookie cutter', and stated that 'relying on large-lot development to preserve the environment is fraught with difficulties'.

Fact: Village of Barrington Hills officials testified that, although the Barrington Hills comprehensive plan discusses conservation design principles, the application of such standards has been limited to rare cases.

Fact: Developing the Barrington Farms project into five-acre lots with septic systems would result in more coliform and bacteria being discharged into the area's shallow aquifers. (See www.barringtonfarms.com for a comparison of the coliform output of various land treatment systems.) The sensitive ecological and environmental areas of the property would be destroyed, including savannahs and treasured woodlands that the Barrington Farms project seeks to preserve. No public open space would be created, leaving the preservation of natural resources to the management–or mismanagement–of individual lot owners.

Fact: With total disregard for the above–and despite the one and two-acre zoning which exists within Barrington Hills near the Barrington Farms site–the Village of Barrington Hills has insisted to McHenry County officials that Barrington Farms be developed into five-acre lots, without any consideration for conservation-based design to protect the sensitive environmental areas of the property.

Fact: Clustering housing on smaller lots allows for the preservation of larger parcels of contiguous space, as evidenced in conservationdesigned plans such as Barrington Farms.

Fact: The shallow aquifer from which most of Barrington Hills and Algonquin draw their drinking water is likely to be replenished by the water resource management plans proposed at Barrington Farms.

Fact: Spray irrigation systems such as the one proposed at Barrington Farms are advocated by many environmentalists. Three of Barrington Hills' expert witnesses stated that they were advocates of such land treatment systems.

Fact: Barrington Hills Village Engineer, Robert Hamilton, testified that his only concern with traffic generated by the Barrington Farms project would be construction traffic. The development team has developed a variety of strategies to mitigate any such impact during construction.

You Should Also Know ...
According to Freedom of Information records, the Village of Barrington Hill spent over $1 million in legal fees for village and court attorneys from fiscal year 2004 through the end of fiscal year 2005. The Village quadrupled its budget for such legal fees in 2004 (from $97,000 in 2003 to $512,377 in 2004 and $542,000 in 2005) following the 2003 disconnection of the Barrington Farms property from the village. The Village of Barrington Hills has stated that it will continue to appeal the disconnection in court, despite the affirmation of the original McHenry County Circuit Court decision by both the Illinois Appellate Court and Illinois Supreme Court.

Are You Aware That ...

The Barrington Farms project is located outside Barrington Hills and is adjacent to or near 1/4, 1/2 and one-acre residential zoning in Algonquin and Fox River Grove. Several one and two-acre zoning areas within Barrington Hills also exist near the Barrington Farms site;

Barrington Hills has approved and agreed to an annexation agreement for a 43-unit residential development in unincorporated McHenry County with parcels of 1.6 acres that is located immediately north of the Barrington Farms property. No traffic study was requested by the Village of Barrington Hills for this development, commonly known as ‘the Buttitta property’;

During the past 12 months, the Village of Barrington Hills approved a residential development request for one-acre zoning within the Village limits that was ‘made in the context of surrounding land uses and also in keeping with the desire, as expressed in the Village’s new Comprehensive Plan, to protect the Village boundaries by making zoning and planning decisions in the context of bordering land usage’. (Source: Village of Barrington Hills newsletter, January 2006, pg. 10.) The Village of Barrington Hills has and is spending enormous amounts of taxpayer money to fight the Barrington Farms project, while giving the ‘green light’ to others that do not meet its supposed ‘five-acre standard’. It is time for local taxpayers to ask why.

Summer 2006
	A Conservation Planned Community Facts You Should Know... Fact: Village of Barrington Hills officials testified that Barrington Hills has an average population density of approximately one person for every four and a half acres of land, and that 90% of its residential zoning requires a five-acre minimum lot size. These facts do not begin to meet the demanding standards of conservation planning. Barrington Hills' own planning witness, Lane Kendig, characterized the village's zoning ordinance as 'cookie cutter', and stated that 'relying on large-lot development to preserve the environment is fraught with difficulties'. Fact: Village of Barrington Hills officials testified that, although the Barrington Hills comprehensive plan discusses conservation design principles, the application of such standards has been limited to rare cases. Fact: Developing the Barrington Farms project into five-acre lots with septic systems would result in more coliform and bacteria being discharged into the area's shallow aquifers. (See www.barringtonfarms.com for a comparison of the coliform output of various land treatment systems.) The sensitive ecological and environmental areas of the property would be destroyed, including savannahs and treasured woodlands that the Barrington Farms project seeks to preserve. No public open space would be created, leaving the preservation of natural resources to the management–or mismanagement–of individual lot owners. Fact: With total disregard for the above–and despite the one and two-acre zoning which exists within Barrington Hills near the Barrington Farms site–the Village of Barrington Hills has insisted to McHenry County officials that Barrington Farms be developed into five-acre lots, without any consideration for conservation-based design to protect the sensitive environmental areas of the property. Fact: Clustering housing on smaller lots allows for the preservation of larger parcels of contiguous space, as evidenced in conservationdesigned plans such as Barrington Farms. Fact: The shallow aquifer from which most of Barrington Hills and Algonquin draw their drinking water is likely to be replenished by the water resource management plans proposed at Barrington Farms. Fact: Spray irrigation systems such as the one proposed at Barrington Farms are advocated by many environmentalists. Three of Barrington Hills' expert witnesses stated that they were advocates of such land treatment systems. Fact: Barrington Hills Village Engineer, Robert Hamilton, testified that his only concern with traffic generated by the Barrington Farms project would be construction traffic. The development team has developed a variety of strategies to mitigate any such impact during construction. You Should Also Know ... According to Freedom of Information records, the Village of Barrington Hill spent over $1 million in legal fees for village and court attorneys from fiscal year 2004 through the end of fiscal year 2005. The Village quadrupled its budget for such legal fees in 2004 (from $97,000 in 2003 to $512,377 in 2004 and $542,000 in 2005) following the 2003 disconnection of the Barrington Farms property from the village. The Village of Barrington Hills has stated that it will continue to appeal the disconnection in court, despite the affirmation of the original McHenry County Circuit Court decision by both the Illinois Appellate Court and Illinois Supreme Court. Are You Aware That ... The Barrington Farms project is located outside Barrington Hills and is adjacent to or near 1/4, 1/2 and one-acre residential zoning in Algonquin and Fox River Grove. Several one and two-acre zoning areas within Barrington Hills also exist near the Barrington Farms site; Barrington Hills has approved and agreed to an annexation agreement for a 43-unit residential development in unincorporated McHenry County with parcels of 1.6 acres that is located immediately north of the Barrington Farms property. No traffic study was requested by the Village of Barrington Hills for this development, commonly known as ‘the Buttitta property’; During the past 12 months, the Village of Barrington Hills approved a residential development request for one-acre zoning within the Village limits that was ‘made in the context of surrounding land uses and also in keeping with the desire, as expressed in the Village’s new Comprehensive Plan, to protect the Village boundaries by making zoning and planning decisions in the context of bordering land usage’. (Source: Village of Barrington Hills newsletter, January 2006, pg. 10.) The Village of Barrington Hills has and is spending enormous amounts of taxpayer money to fight the Barrington Farms project, while giving the ‘green light’ to others that do not meet its supposed ‘five-acre standard’. It is time for local taxpayers to ask why.