McHenry County denies Pebble Solar conditional‑use permit after debate over trees and wetlands

The McHenry County Zoning Board of Appeals on Oct. 22 denied a conditional‑use permit for Pebble Solar LLC’s proposed commercial solar facility (case Z250065) after prolonged testimony about tree removal, wetland impacts and neighborhood screening.

Petitioner materials submitted before the continued hearing included a tree survey and a wetland delineation the developer asked be entered into the record. Dylan Haber, lead developer for Pebble Solar (a subsidiary of Cultivate Power), summarized the tree survey results: “We did have a count of 1,321 total trees in the surveyed area … 85 total are considered to be notable to McHenry County … Only 4 of these 85 trees are anticipated to have to be removed and those are … along the edge of that existing curved access road.”

Environmental scientist Sarah Skowronski of Kimley‑Horn summarized the wetland work and Corps permitting expectations: “The posts themselves are not considered by the U.S. Army Corps as permanent impacts. It’s considered a temporary impact,” she said, describing a pre‑application and permitting pathway and stating that no grading or fill is proposed within the delineated wetlands.

The team also described design choices intended to…