City Council denies Mildred Solar rezoning and conditional-use request after neighbor opposition

A majority of the McHenry City Council voted Monday to deny a petition to rezone and grant a conditional-use permit for the Mildred Solar community project on land near Curran Road and Ojibwe Lane.

The vote came after hours of presentations from the petitioner and public discussion about site selection and neighborhood impact. The denial blocks the proposed community solar array, which the developer said would have been about 25 acres supporting a roughly 5-megawatt project.

The petitioners, represented by Forrest Houck of 1 Energy Renewables and attorney Carolyn Scofield of the law offices of Tom Thomas Birney, outlined revisions made since a July presentation, including moving electrical equipment to the north side of the parcel, adding a wooden security fence plus an evergreen buffer, a 150-foot setback agreement with adjacent property owners in the southwest corner, and an offer of a 30-day subscription exclusivity for city residents. Houck said the project would “allow citizens of city of McHenry to subscribe and receive a 10 to 20% saving on their electric bill.” He also described economic estimates presented by the developer: an increase in annual property tax revenue from about $7,000 today to more than $45,000 with the solar installation, subscriber bill savings the petitioner summarized as roughly $2,000 per subscriber per year, and an estimated $3 million in one-time construction wages and benefits.

The petitioners also proposed a $250,000 community benefit fund to be paid at construction and said they would donate spare panels to local nonprofits; they stressed the project would not require municipal funding. Scofield argued that community solar can fit within the city’s 2050 comprehensive plan and said the project “meets the approval criteria for a conditional use.”

Opposition came from nearby residents and Ward 4 aldermanic representation. Alderman Bassi said he had canvassed homes in the adjacent subdivisions and that residents opposed another solar installation near an existing nearby proposal, and he concluded, “myself and the residents on Ward 4 can no longer support the solar farm.” Alderman Miller, who made the motion to deny, told the petitioner his action reflected constituent feedback, saying, “it’s not because I don’t like you and don't like your concept. It's that I also have to reflect my constituents and my constituents have said not there.”

Council members asked technical questions about noise and cost. Houck said inverters and other electrical equipment had been relocated so that “no electric equipment is within 800 feet of any neighboring residence” and estimated energy generation costs at about “8 to 9¢ a kilowatt hour,” while noting Illinois defines a statewide “price to compare” at 9.8¢ and a renewable energy discount of 1.6¢ (resulting in about 7.2¢ by the petitioner’s calculation).

After debate, Alderman Miller moved to deny the rezoning and conditional-use permit; Alderman Cook seconded. The clerk called the roll and the motion to deny passed with the following recorded votes: Alderman Miller — yes; Alderman Cook — yes; Alderman Davis — yes; Alderman Bassi — yes; Alderman Doherty — yes; Alderman Glab — yes; Alderman Behney — yes. The motion outcome was recorded as approved (denial of petition).

The council record shows the petitioner had offered to narrow the rezoning area from roughly 88 acres identified in the initial filing down to the 35 acres the project would occupy; the petitioner said it was willing to accept that change if it would address planning commission concerns. The council action on denial leaves open future applications at other sites or revised proposals, but no new direction to staff or conditional assignments were recorded at the meeting.

Community reaction and next steps: Council members who opposed the project emphasized neighborhood preference to keep the land open and asked staff and petitioners to consider other locations; the petitioners thanked council members for their engagement. The petitioners did not receive a council approval and did not present a revised motion that night.

Ending: With the denial recorded, the Mildred Solar proposal will not proceed under the presented zoning map amendment and conditional-use permit; the petitioner may choose to revise the proposal or pursue alternate locations or filings in the future.