The Fox River is one of the region's greatest public assets. Historically, it has played a major role in shaping the region’s landscape, both natural and developed, but today its full potential remains unrealized. With support from Chicago Metropolitan Agency for Planning's (CMAP) Local Technical Assistance (LTA) program, McHenry County Department of Planning and Development and City of McHenry Department of Economic Development led a collaborative effort to develop a Fox River Corridor Plan that focused on the following areas:

• Commerce within central business districts adjacent to the rivers’ edge

• Environment and natural resources (including water resources)

• Multi-modal connections to/on the river

• Public access and recreational use to/on the river and adjacent business districts

The planning area spanned five communities, conservation areas, nature preserves, and parks over a distance of eight miles from Burtons Bridge at Route 176 as the south end to North Chapel Hill Road on the north end. The project built on the foundation of two previous Fox River Corridor plans — one for Villages of Algonquin and Carpentersville (completed in December 2015) and another for McHenry and Lake Counties (completed in September 2018). However, this project ws ultimately a blank slate upon which priorities can emerge through the planning process.

The planning process, developed in collaboration with McHenry County and the City of McHenry, included four phases aimed at convening a diverse group of stakeholders to help neighboring communities, park districts, businesses, and residents come together to craft a common vision for the river.

• Phase 1: encompassed project orientation and the formation of a steering committee.
• Phase 2: involved a thorough analysis of the existing conditions within the corridor relying on information gathered from the steering committee, interviews with key stakeholders, a public meeting, an online interactive survey, review of previous plans and studies, and collection of maps and data.
• Phase 3: focused on developing a vision for the Fox River corridor and strategies to attain that vision.
• Phase 4: involved developing the draft corridor plan that will be reviewed by the steering committee and the public. This phase also involved revising the corridor plan based on public feedback and its final adoption.

The Fox River Corridor Plan was adopted by McHenry County and the City of McHenry in 2022.

The public have several opportunities to participate in the planning process. McHenry County and City of McHenry, in partnership with CMAP embarked on a series of virtual outreach meetings with residents and community stakeholders to solicit and incorporate local input to the planning process.

CMAP has  launched an online engagement webpage to give the public an opportunity to participate in the planning process. The webpage provided multiple opportunities throughout the planning process for the public to provide input, share feedback, as well as track the plan’s development.

Visioning workshops

McHenry County and the City of McHenry, in partnership with CMAP, hosted two virtual visioning workshops via Zoom for the Fox River Corridor Plan. The workshops provided community members the opportunity to share their vision, goals, and ideas for the future of the Fox River and its communities, from Burtons Bridge to Johnsburg. 

Attendees participated in facilitated small group discussions to identify their vision and goals for economic development, river management, environmental protection, recreation, and transportation in the corridor. Following the small group discussions, attendees reconvened to rank priority actions and develop a shared vision.

Visioning survey

The visioning survey was designed to establish a vision and priorities for the corridor based on community feedback.

Open houses

In November 2020, McHenry County and the City of McHenry, in partnership with CMAP, hosted two virtual public open houses via Zoom for the Fox River Corridor Plan.

Each open house gave members of the Fox River community an opportunity to discuss the strengths and challenges of the Fox River study area (spanning from Burtons Bridge at Route 176 to Johnsburg at North Chapel Hill Road). After a brief overview of the project, participants broke out into small groups to discuss two of the following topics:

• Economic development

• Environmental quality

• Parks and recreation

• Transportation

All of the input that was received will help craft a comprehensive plan that includes strategies and actions for communities in the Fox River study area to realize their long-term vision for the corridor. View summaries of each meeting:

• November 10 open house summary
• November 12 open house summary

Existing conditions survey and mapping

On October 8, 2020, McHenry County, the City of McHenry, and CMAP launched a public survey and interactive mapping exercise to gather insights on existing issues and opportunities within the Fox River study area. The survey and mapping tool closed on November 27, 2020. The information collected up until then will be used to inform the existing conditions report, which is compiled at the end of the existing conditions phase.

• Online survey and mapping summary