Ill. Admin. Code tit. 35, § 368.240 – A3 Factor (Public Benefits Assessment)

a) A3 is a factor that evaluates inland lakes based on their importance or benefit to the general public. This factor is based on the following criteria:
1. 1) the ownership and accessibility of the lake to the public;
2. 2) current public lake use (annual visitor days);
3. 3) proximity of the lake to a Metropolitan Statistical Area;
4. 4) the supply of publicly-owned or accessible lakes related to existing or potential demand;
5. 5) the multipurpose nature of, or need for, the lake (i.e., public water supply and recreational use);
6. 6) the type and number of recreational facilities available; and
7. 7) the public benefits that are derived from a lake with an uncommon or unique environment as defined in Section 368.120.
b) For the A3 factor, priority points are allocated as follows (0-240 points possible):
1) Ownership/Access
A) Lake Bottom Ownership
i) Public 20
ii) Public and private 2-18 (2 points per 10% of lake bottom publicly owned; rounded to the nearest 10%)
iii) Private 0

B) Lake Accessibility

i)	Public Access (no fees)	100

ii)	Public Access (all uses are available to non-residents and non-resident fees are less than 200% of resident fees)	90

iii)	Public Access (all uses are available to non-residents and non-resident fees are greater than 200% of resident fees)	10

iv)	Limited Public Access (1 or more uses are not allowed for non-residents)

2) Recreational Lake Use
A) Very Heavy (more than 200,000 users/year) 15
B) Heavy (between 100,000 and 200,000 users/year) 10
C) Moderate (between 25,000 and 100,000 users/year) 5
D) Light (fewer than 25,000 users/year 0
3) Proximity to MSA
A) Within MSA (0 miles) 15
B) From 0 to 25 miles 10
C) From 26 to 50 miles 5
D) Further than 50 miles 0
4) Per Capita Availability of Other Public Lakes in the Area (public lake surface area in the county divided by the county population)
A) Fewer than 0.01 acres per capita 10
B) Between 0.1 and 0.10 acres per capita 5
C) 0.10 acres or more per capita 0
5) Use as a Public Water Supply
A) Primary public water supply 20
B) Alternate or secondary public water supply 10
C) Not a public water supply 0
6) Recreational Uses (may include fishing, canoe/sail/motor boats, swimming, camping bicycling, hiking, picnicking, horseback riding, etc.)
A) Facilities to support four or more recreational uses; or facilities for swimming 10
B) Facilities to support two or three recreational uses 5
C) Facilities to support one recreational use 0

7) Environmental Uniqueness

A)	The lake is a unique resource as defined in Section 368.120		50

B)	The lake is an uncommon resource as defined in Section 368.120		15

C)	The lake is not a unique or uncommon resource as defined in Section 268.120	0

i)	Public	20

ii)	Public and private	2-18 (2 points per 10% of lake bottom publicly owned; rounded to the nearest 10%)

iii)	Private	0

A)	Very Heavy (more than 200,000 users/year)	15

B)	Heavy (between 100,000 and 200,000 users/year)	10

C)	Moderate (between 25,000 and 100,000 users/year)	5

D)	Light (fewer than 25,000 users/year	0

A)	Primary public water supply	20

B)	Alternate or secondary public water supply	10

C)	Not a public water supply	0

A)	Facilities to support four or more recreational uses; or facilities for swimming	10

B)	Facilities to support two or three recreational uses	5

C)	Facilities to support one recreational use	0