DeKalb County Farm Bureau Position Page
Below are the DeKalb County Government positions taken by the DeKalb County Farm Bureau.  Please review these positions and 
contact your County Board member to register your support.

Open Space
  We encourage prudent use of new land acquisition dollars in purchasing land for future open space needs that follows the guidelines set forth by the DeKalb County Forest Preserve Commission. Farm Bureau also encourages the county to be aware of the maintenance costs associated with property acquisition and consider this cost prior to acquiring property. 
  We strongly encourage the Commission to evaluate the impact that land acquisition, whether it be for parks, natural areas and/or bike paths, has on adjoining agricultural land and other local service providers in the community. Consideration should be given to entering into intergovernmental agreements with other jurisdictions should such expansion have adverse impacts on their services and/or the funding needs for their infrastructure. 
  We encourage the evaluation of surrounding areas when establishing/expanding a wetland bank. Minimizing adverse impact to surrounding land uses should be a top priority before approving or expanding any wetland bank in DeKalb County. 
  We oppose the public taking of land.

Infrastructure
  As growth continues in DeKalb County, its impact on transportation and the shipment of commerce between communities will become ever so important. We encourage the County to work closely with municipal governments to alleviate congestion and provide sufficient means to assist in the flow of commerce. 
  We encourage the DeKalb County Highway Committee to develop a 10 year plan to bring roads and bridges up to 80,000 lb. road standards. Until this happens, we continue to support making Peace Road an 80,000 lb. thoroughfare around the cities of DeKalb and Sycamore and encourage the County to remain strong on limiting access to this road. We also ask the County to support legislation allowing local jurisdictions to issue permits for 80,000 lb. divisible loads to and from the farm in order to connect with currently designated 80,000 lb. roads.
  We support and encourage the maintenance of county road right-of-way through routine mowing, responsible snow plowing practices and the eradication of noxious weeds and other weeds posing safety, environmental and liability concerns to the public. 

Safety and Law
  Farm Bureau continues to support the County Board's efforts to research alternatives to all incarceration in order to minimize the cost to taxpayers. We support the exploration of alternatives to enhance the efficiency of courthouse operations as DeKalb County prepares itself for growth in population. 

Planning and Zoning
  Farm Bureau continues to support a 40 acre lot size in the A-1 District of the DeKalb County Comprehensive Plan. Preservation of prime agricultural land should continue to be a top priority with support of the county LESA (Land Evaluation Site Assessment) system. This precious natural resource we possess in DeKalb County not only serves the residents of DeKalb County through the enhancement of quality of life, but it also is a societal benefit in regards to food supply for the world and is a necessary resource for production agriculture. 
  We oppose the creation of future boundary agreements (green space zones) similar to the one adopted by the DeKalb County and the cities of Genoa and Sycamore. Such agreements have adverse impacts on land values and should offer compensation to landowners adversely impacted by this type of a growth control tool. 
  Farm Bureau also supports efforts to keep the growth in and around current municipal boundaries and strongly supports the County's effort to work with municipalities in developing comprehensive plans within 1½ miles of municipal boundaries.
  We support the development of a notification process to landowners when new and/or existing public utility improvements are made utilizing cable plowing or trenching methods to install or replace utility cable on private or public easements. 
  We encourage the County to work with all drainage districts when considering any stormwater proposals that impact drainage within these districts. We oppose additional regulations being placed on agricultural buildings in order to control storm water runoff when the building falls within the true definition of agricultural use. 

Energy 
  We support legislative action to make Illinois the top producer of renewable fuels and ensure a direct demand for Illinois grown commodities. In this regard, we encourage the county's use and support of renewable fuel initiatives such as ethanol and bio-diesel.

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