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McHenry County Zoning Board continues Pebble Solar Farm hearing, requests wetland and tree studies
Summary
The Zoning Board of Appeals continued a conditional-use hearing on the Pebble Solar Farm after residents raised concerns about wetlands, remnant oak woodlands, setbacks and property values; the board set an Oct. 22 continuation and asked petitioners for additional ecological studies.
The McHenry County Zoning Board of Appeals continued its hearing on the Pebble Solar Farm conditional-use application and set a date-certain continuation for Oct. 22 at 1:30 p.m., requesting a wetland delineation and a tree health/inventory study before further action.
The board paused its review after extensive public comment and petitioner testimony that included a property-value expert’s summary of academic and paired-sales research and developer statements about design, setbacks and compliance requirements. The hearing record showed residents’ repeated concerns about impacts to remnant oak woodlands, Boone Creek watershed wetlands and nearby homes.
Why it matters: Board members said the county’s Unified Development Ordinance requires facilities to be “situated so as to minimize impacts to woodlands, savannahs, wetlands, drainage tiles and encroachment into floodplains.” Several members and nearby residents told the board they lacked enough site-specific ecological evidence to judge whether the current site plan minimizes those impacts.
Erin Bowen, a real‑estate appraiser and property‑value expert with Kone…
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