McHenry County hearing on Sunbury Orchard slaughterhouse continued amid questions on septic holding tank, alarms and variances

The McHenry County Zoning Board of Appeals continued a hearing on petition Z250068 after multiple witnesses and residents questioned whether the proposed Sunbury Orchard processing facility can be built and operated without harming groundwater or nearby homes.

Petitioner Sergei Bazilyuk, owner of Sunbury Orchard, and his attorney described a low‑volume, USDA‑inspected processing building to handle animals raised by the petitioner. “This is not a factory style slaughterhouse,” Bazilyuk’s representative said in an opening statement, adding the building would be small, enclosed, and set back from neighboring homes. The petitioner’s plans call for a roughly 100‑by‑50‑foot processing structure sited among existing farm buildings and orchards on a 107‑acre parcel, with the specific permit area encompassing about 1.044 acres.

Why it matters: Neighbors raised repeated concerns about odors, overflow risk, alarm notification, traffic and property values; the county health department and the petitioner provided technical details but several outstanding items must be addressed before the county will issue final permits.

County health testimony

Celine Taylor, an environmental health practitioner with the McHenry County Department of Health, testified she reviewed the private sewage disposal and holding‑tank plans. She said the septic system…