McHenry County ZBA continues hearing on ECA Solar after tree‑survey prompts questions about removal of 500+ trees

The McHenry County Zoning Board of Appeals on Oct. 28 continued a hearing on a proposed ECA Solar community array after the developer and a certified arborist reviewed a tree survey and answered extensive board questions about woodland impacts, shading and site engineering.

Ben Dykema of ECA Solar and Sarah Spronsky, a certified arborist with Kimmy Warren, presented a tree inventory and mitigation ideas. Spronsky told the board the survey was limited to the areas proposed for clearing and used ANSI A300 and International Society of Arboriculture standards to assess species and condition. She said the inventory covered 512 trees in the disturbance area and that “the majority of the trees that were surveyed for this specific project…were most of them were of lower quality disturbance tolerant species such as boxelder, black walnut, black cherry.”

Spronsky testified that 12 of the surveyed trees were 12 inches DBH or greater, and that 32 oaks and hickories were below the 12‑inch diameter‑at‑breast‑height threshold the county uses as a marker for older savanna trees. She said most trees in the clearing band were edge, disturbance‑tolerant species and that relatively intact woodland stands lie farther east of the proposed array footprint.