Lake County has become a local leader in developing model ordinances that help guide sustainable practices such as wind, solar and geothermal energy. The county is now in the process of developing a Sustainable Building and Development Standards Report and a Sustainability Plan.
The process of developing these model ordinances is based on the assumption that what’s good for the county is probably good for villages and cities within the county as well. And, it’s cost-effective for all with the county spending the time and funds to create these ordinances.
“It’s not just a sustainable project, but the process is sustainable when we’re all working on leaner budgets,” said David Husemoller, senior planner, planning, building and development department of Lake County. Husemoller spoke at a breakout session at the County Green Conference, held May 24 at the College of Lake County. “We don’t need to reinvent the wheel,” he said.
Lake County’s role as a leader in creating model ordinances, started in 2009 when the county created the Wind Energy Task Force. County leaders recognized they were not prepared if a homeowner of business asked to erect a wind turbine.
The task was to strike a balance between encouraging green energy and protecting neighbors concerned with wind turbine aesthetics, noise and issues such as electromagnetic interference. Husemoller pointed out that there were many variables to consider when drafting the wind energy ordinance. The process was a collaboration between the county and some area municipalities – including Gurnee and Bannockburn – that also were dealing with the issue.
It took two years to draft and pass the ordinance. “Sometimes things are more complicated than they seem,” Husemoller said. He noted that the process included more than 40 hours of public comment.
The county passed the wind-energy ordinance that focused on small wind facilities in March.
“People from across the country borrowed from our ordinance,” Husemoller said.
Taking lessons learned from creating the wind ordinance, the county also created a model ordinance for solar and geothermal power.
The county is working on a Sustainable Building and Development Standards Report, which is expected to come before the Lake County Board in July. This online document will serve as a resource to promote sustainable building design, site planning and construction. It was financed with a $100,000 grant from the Department of Energy’s Energy Efficiency Conservation Block Grant.
“We’re looking to develop a model that everyone else can use. It will be a resource guide in essence. We have the ability and the staff and whatever we do, we try to share,” said David Stolman, Lake County Board chair, in a follow-up interview.
The report is wide-ranging and addresses issues including alternative energy, transportation, open space and natural resources, water quality, storm-water management and local food supply.
Husemoller said the document draws on the work that has been done in the county, such as the recent wind-energy ordinance, as well as sustainable strategies used elsewhere.
The report looks at a sustainable practice, such as the use of rain gardens for storm-water management, and provides links to existing projects as well as possible actions the county might take to encourage rain gardens.
“One of the goals is to remove barriers to sustainable practices. For instance, we had a call from someone who wanted to have bees, but they got tagged for keeping bees. Maybe we need to re-evaluate that. When you look at local food, maybe bees are a good thing,” Husemoller said.
Another goal is to create incentives to encourage sustainable practices. An example of this would be if the county allowed a developer an increase in density in exchange for incorporating sustainable practices into a development, Husemoller said.
Lake County also will work on a Sustainability Plan with the Chicago Metropolitan Agency for Planning, which will help promote Go To 2040, CMAPs regional plan for seven metropolitan Chicago counties.
“The sustainability plan is broad conceptually and more philosophical. It will identify our priorities and goals,” Husemoller said. “This looks at how to highlight sustainability in our regional framework plan. It connects us to the Go To 2040 plan and will serve as a model region wide.”
CMAP is providing technical assistance on the Sustainability Plan and it is expected to serve as model for other communities in the Chicago region and beyond.
“Go To 2040 is not just CMAPs plan, it’s everybody’s plan,” Stolman said. “From our perspective green doesn’t mean anti-business. What has to happen is that we need to promote sustainability and economic growth.”
Lake County defined sustainability in its Strategy for a Sustainable Lake County, adopted by the county board in 2009: “Being ‘sustainable’ means the County is achieving economic prosperity while protecting the planet’s natural systems; and meeting the needs of the present generation without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs.”
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