A development that could impact the Historic District of La Fox and the Historic Rustic Road, Brundige Road, (indicated in bright blue on the map above) is being considered.
Google satellite image of the La Fox Historic District. All the farmland (ie where there are no trees) would become new housing if the Charles Farm development were to be approved as submitted in the concept plan.
The La Fox Historic District was established "to preserve the quality of life that a rural historic village offers so that an example of traditional rural values remains for future generations" because, its landmark application explains, "few communities remaining [in Kane County] are as historically intact as La Fox is."[1] This historic designation is meant to, among other things, “safeguard the County’s historic, aesthetic and cultural heritage, as embodied and reflected in such structures, landscapes and areas,” according to the Kane County Historic Preservation Ordinance.[2]
Brundige Road from Keslinger Road to Route 38 is designated a Kane County Rustic Road. The purpose of a “Rustic Road” designation is to preserve scenic views and the rural character that defined Kane County’s past.[3] Typically, rustic roads are intended to remain gravel roads, something common a century ago but nearly extinct today in Kane County.
The proposed development by Pulte Homes and Del Webb would include 2,011 residential units on approximately 970 acres bounded by Route 38, Brundige Road, Keslinger Road, and Harley Road (see concept plan map above).[4] The developers will present their concept plan proposal of annexing the development into St. Charles to the St. Charles Plan Commission on Wednesday, September 4. As a concept review, the Plan Commission will not vote on the proposal but provide feedback and an opportunity for the public to comment. Typically, developers will listen to this non-binding feedback and consider modifying their proposals before formally submitting for approval at a later date. Before ground would ever be broken on the proposed development, the project would require many other approvals from the city, county, and probably state bodies. In other words, this is the beginning of a years-long process.
Brundige Road looking south from Google Streetview, October 2022. All the farmland to the right of the road would become new housing if the Charles Farm development were to be approved as submitted in the concept plan.
Over 20 years ago, a different developer of this land presented a similar housing development they called “Grand Prairie,” but St. Charles City Council voted against annexation. According to Drew Frasz, President of the La Fox Civic Association, his group and others met with those developers to collaborate on a solution that respected the rural scenery of the La Fox Historic District and Brundige Road. However, before the plan could be finalized, the developer abandoned the project due to the 2007-2008 housing crisis.
Residents near the proposed development understand the county expects there to be increased development in the central corridor of the county. This “Critical Growth Area,” as identified in the 2040 Kane County Land Resource Management Plan, is generally the land between Randall Road and Route 47.[5] Increased development, however, does not mean unnecessarily dense or character-damaging development. The county’s 2040 plan asserts the necessity to “implement Smart Growth Principles and incorporate Priority Places into community development decisions.”[6] St. Charles’s newly adopted Strategic Plan agrees. Their plan calls for “Balanced and thoughtful development [that] respects our unique character and contributes to a diverse local economy by facilitating developments that enhance the community’s quality of life.”[7]
Importantly, Kane County’s 2040 plan notes the importance of preserving the county’s history when considering proposed development. “The protection of [historic] sites,” the county lays out, “contributes to the important visual characteristics of the area.”[8] Surrounding a Rustic Road and a rural historic district with modern development does not seem to fit with preserving “the important characteristics of the area.” Without a reasonable buffer between the historic and the modern, the rural historical context for which the Brundige Road and the La Fox Historic District were designated would be nearly impossible to comprehend.
An annexation agreement that is contingent upon consideration of the historic assets of the county and a sensitive transition with open space between modern and historic areas could meet the needs of the developer and their soon-to-be neighbors as was achieved in 2008.
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[1] “Nomination for the La Fox Historic District,” presented to the Kane County Historic Preservation Commission (1994), 14, archived at the Kane County Government Center, Geneva, Ill.
[2] Kane County Historic Preservation Ordinance, Kane County Code, Chapter 16, Article 4, Section 16-58.2, as adopted June 14, 1988 and amended July 11, 2000.
[3] “Kane Pushes to Preserve County’s ‘Rustic Roads’, Chicago Tribune, published June 20, 2000, updated August 20, 2021, https://www.chicagotribune.com/2000/06/20/kane-pushes-to-preserve-countys-rustic-roads/.
[4] Russell G. Whitacker to Russel Colby, “Summary of the Project: Concept Plan Review—Charles Farm,” July 31, 2024, https://www.stcharlesil.gov/projects/charles-farm-pulte-lafox-concept-plan.
[5] “Kane County 2040 Plan: Healthy People, Healthy Living, Healthy Communities,” Kane County, Illinois Board (May 8, 2012), 30, https://www.kanecountyil.gov/Documents/Quality%20of%20Kane/2040%20Plan/full2040Plan.pdf.
[6] Ibid., 31.
[7] “Strategic Plan 2023-2027,” City of St. Charles (2023), 7, https://www.stcharlesil.gov/sites/default/files/documents/St.%20Charles%20Strategic%20Plan%202023%20rev.pdf.
[8] Ibid., 182.