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Residents and staff press forward on LaFox of Campton Hills IGA for 900‑home proposal
Summary
Kane County staff and residents discussed a draft intergovernmental agreement for the LaFox of Campton Hills development, a roughly 900‑home plan that proponents say preserves large open‑space tracts and shifts some road responsibilities to the village; staff warned the draft is incomplete and technical issues remain.
At the Kane County Transportation Committee meeting, residents and county staff discussed a draft intergovernmental agreement (IGA) that would set access, road jurisdiction and infrastructure responsibilities for the proposed LaFox of Campton Hills development.
Drew Franz, president of the LaFox Civic Organization, urged the committee to move the IGA forward. Franz said the proposal is about "900 homes" and described it as "by far, and I mean by far, the best proposal that's come along out of the five in the last 25 years." He told the committee the developer has agreed to a smaller plan than a previous 2,000+ home proposal and has met a two‑page list of resident requests, including a conservation package that Franz said would leave about 650 acres as public‑access open space and protect two miles of Mill Creek.
County staff described the IGA as an early draft and flagged two substantive issues. Kurt, speaking for county highway staff, said the IGA must address standard KDOT signal language that would make a municipal partner financially responsible if signal warrants develop in the future; the county seeks to avoid future county expenses tied to development. Rickert of the Division of Transportation said the development would generate roughly "9,000 trips" distributed to the county highway system and stressed that staff is trying to align the draft with adopted county plans and policies. "This agreement is probably premature," Rickert told the committee, urging continued negotiations with the village and developer.
Committee members, including Chair Williams, praised the smaller scale and conservation elements compared with earlier proposals. Williams said the current plan is a marked improvement over an earlier, denser plan and expressed a desire to expedite the process while ensuring technical details are resolved. Staff noted that LaFox Road is proposed for jurisdictional transfer from the county to the village and that KDOT intends to mill and overlay the road before turnover; details about right‑of‑way ownership in the historic LaFox hamlet remain under negotiation.
Developers and local advocates said they hope to return a final draft to the committee next month, though staff warned that additional village requests or variance petitions could delay that timeline. The committee did not take a formal vote on the IGA at this meeting; staff will continue meetings with the village and developer to refine signal language, right‑of‑way treatment and other technical elements before bringing a final IGA back to the committee.
Next steps: county and village staff will continue negotiations; committee members indicated they want to keep the project moving but emphasized that outstanding technical and jurisdictional issues must be resolved before formal approval.
