Boone County Journal Letters to the Editor

DISCLAIMER: The views written in the Letters to The
Editor do not necessarily reflect the views of The Boone
County Journal, nor does The Boone County Journal take
any responsibility of the views stated by those who write to
the editor.
LETTER TO THE EDITOR

Dear Boone County Journal Editor
What is the true reason for destroying the historic
St James Catholic church in Belvidere? Sure, the Catholic
community has grown in Belvidere and Boone County. St
James Church is full to capacity on occasion. Parking and
traffic patterns are difficult, especially for local residence.
Let’s examine another local community and how they dealt
with growth. Belvidere has roughly 26,400 residences, Freeport
has roughly 25,000. Freeport now has three Catholic
churches: St Joseph, St Mary, and St Thomas Aquinas. The
St Joseph church just celebrated 150 years and is a similar
design to Belvidere’s St James church. To accommodate
growth Freeport built the more modern St Thomas Aquinas
church rather than tear down their history.

St James received a donation of 22 acres to build a
new church on the intersection of Squaw Prairie and Town
Hall. This generous offer yielded a perfect opportunity to
build a 2nd Catholic Church in Boone County, preserve the
historic existing church and the surrounding community,
and provide for future growth flexibility. Yet the current
plan is to sell the 22 acre property, tear down the125 year
existing church for a parking lot, and build a massive 70 ft
tall structure on a lot adjacent to the school that is just too
small to accommodate it. The new structure will be 30 feet
from the school on one side, and just 4 inches from the sidewalk
on the other. The height, setbacks, and parking are significant
variance issues that the Zoning and Planning Commission
have already given an approval recommendation.
The Belvidere City Council has scheduled a meeting on July
5th for a potential final vote and the meeting is open to the
public. If approved, and the massive structure is built on the
proposed lot, traffic patterns and parking will be a nightmare
due to a reduced mass schedule and seating capacity
expanded from the existing 350 to 850. What’s wrong with
this picture?

Why did Father Geary and a small group of appointees
choose this path rather than build on the 22 acres
donated for the express purpose of building a new Catholic
church? Some say the infrastructure costs (sewer and water)
were too expensive. Others have said that building on the 22
acre site will draw parishioners and their money away from
Rockford’s Holy Family Catholic church, whose boundary
ends right at the Boone county line. When the Historic
church is gone, and the massive new church is operational,
most will look back and regret the decisions a few made for
the majority. There is a growing concern that politics and a
false sense of urgency have overridden good judgment.
This is a call to action. If you are troubled by St James’ current
direction and would like to preserve Belvidere’s historic
St James Church and prevent the impact to the surrounding
neighborhood please:

* Call and write your alderman to voice your opinion before
the July 5th meeting, www.ci.belvidere.il.us
* Contact Father Geary or Bishop Doran and request an explanation
* Contact “Concerned citizens to save St James Church”
and get involved
- Robert Casey (racskc007@aol.com) 815-540-8655
- Michael Mattus (magneticmike1@yahoo.com) 815-985-
5560
- Dan & Jean Christenson (Jeanchristenson@Live.com)
815-543-4179
Robert Casey

 

 

Dear Editor,

Allow me to introduce myself. I am Jean Christensen
resident of 544 Main St. in Belvidere. I am passionate in my
fight to protect the safety, beauty, uniformity and integrity
in my neighborhood and the downtown area. The Planning
and Zoning Department, Councilmen, Alderman, and
Mayor are asked to permit a business to construct an oversized
building on an under-sized residential parcel in direct
violation of minimal setbacks, height restrictions, parking
requirements & more.

50 foot is the maximum height allowed for a building
to be built and it must have, I believe a minimal setback of I
believe 20 or 30 feet from the sidewalk. They intend to build
a 70-foot plus tall building with only a 4-INCH setback. My
God, what are they thinking? If a building is erected that is
70 foot tall 4 inches from the sidewalk, this would endanger
the lives of anyone in close proximity when the snow and
icicles form and fall. Their solution was gutters. Well, a
gutter will catch water providing it isn’t frozen over with
ice.

It is my opinion that it is a disservice to the
community not a service. Allowing this would open up the
City of Belvidere to lawsuits and allegations of willful &
wanton neglect. They have an obligation to uphold the law
not to allow a business to dictate how the laws should read.
I pray they VOTE NO to any applicant that isn’t willing to
comply with the law.

Thank you for your time. Be safe and have a great day.

Respectfully,

Jean Christensen