Tuesday, August 8, 2017

FULL CIRCLE OPEN HOUSE TO PROVIDE ACCURATE INSIGHT ON PEARL STREET COMMONS PROJECT!


An open house will be held tonight for members of the community and anyone interested in a potential development at the northeast corner of Richmond Road and Pearl Street.  The open house is an additional step being taken by the developer to answer questions, display renderings and conceptual plans regarding a proposed 25-dwelling unit project for people with physical and sensory impairments.

 
The developer, Full Circle Communities:  http://www.fccommunities.org/ is collaborating with Over the Rainbow http://www.otrassn.org/ and TLS Veterans http://www.tlsveterans.org/  on the Project.
 
 
Part of our job at the City is to monitor social media to ensure accurate information is being communicated and this was one of the primary reasons for commencing this blog.  Recent statements about the proposed project, referenced above, on social media were simply untrue and erroneous. 
 
People certainly have the right to say whatever they want and the City is not in the business of engaging in bantering on social media because it is not a productive use of our time or taxpayer dollars.  However, in this particular instance some of the statements made on social media about this project were inaccurate and represented nothing more than sensationalized hyperbole. This does a disservice to the developer, project, property owner, and the public (people who read and may believe these comments), but most importantly our community.
 
Our job is to ensure everyone is provided a fair opportunity and afforded proper due process because projects such as the one proposed may be beneficial to our community.  However if it is not given proper consideration this may not occur, and in the age of social media this is increasingly challenging. 
 
This project will follow the normal course of action as every other project in the City does, which requires Planning and Zoning Commission review.  The open house is an additional effort taken by the developer to provide an opportunity to review the plans and ask questions in a more informal setting.
 
Following the open house tonight, which anyone can attend, there will be a public hearing before the Planning and Zoning Commission on August 16, 2017 at 7:30 p.m. at the City of McHenry Municipal Center, 333 S Green Street, McHenry, IL 60050.  This meeting is also open to the public.  The Planning and Zoning Commission is a recommending body, therefore the project will ultimately be approved, approved with conditions, or denied by the City Council at a meeting in early September, which is also open to the public. 
 
There are numerous opportunities to offer comments on the project and ask questions but the bottom-line is to become informed before formulating an opinion or rendering judgment.  Review the plans and staff report or you can do one or more of the following:
 
·      Attend the open house tonight to learn more about the project, developers, potential impacts on the neighborhood and City;
·      Contact me by phone, email or come in to review the plans and ask questions/talk about the project (all my contact information follows);
·     Write a letter and send to the Municipal Center-write my name, Douglas Martin, on the envelope, and I can read your comments into the public record at the Planning and Zoning Commission Meeting, and I will also provide the letter to the Planning and Zoning Commission and City Council. You can also place the letter in the drop box next to the U.S. Post Office Box at the Municipal Center-put my name on it and I will ensure it’s distributed;
·      Contact any of the Planning and Zoning Commission and/or City Council members outside of  the aforementioned formal meetings and offer comments;
·      Come to the Planning and Zoning Commission Public Hearing and provide comments, statements, opinions, ask questions of myself, the developer and/or the Planning and Zoning Commission members;
·     You can review the Planning and Zoning Commission and City Council agendas and packets, which include all the plans and staff reports and will be posted at:   http://www.ci.mchenry.il.us/index.asp?SEC=89B3F136-890D-4086-B78D-9FAA2B66ADCA&Type=B_BASIC
·      Attend the City Council meeting and make a statement about the project.
 
We do not have an obligation to accept any project which may have adverse impacts and not be beneficial to the immediate neighborhood or City of McHenry.  We do have the responsibility as a community to consider every project which comes forward - each application filed must be reviewed.  It does not need to be approved, altered or even enhanced, however spreading untrue information inherently taints this process!
 
Douglas P. Martin
Director of Economic Development
City of McHenry
333 S Green Street
McHenry, IL 60050
815.363.2110 (d)
815.363.2173 (f)
815.790.4752 (c)
@mchmarketpulse

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