The complaints about too many zoning change opponents talking before the McHenry County Board may have been heard by the McHenry County Zoning Board of Appeals.
The Northwest Herald posted a short story about the Tuesday meeting’s results by noon Tuesday, again not waiting for the print edition to share the news that I assume that courthouse reporter Kevin Craver.
By voting 7-0 against re-zoning the pit for Merryman Aggregate—surely not one of the biggies in the gravel business like Switzerland-owned Meyer Material, which is seeking pit approval in Cary–the ZBA has given “cover” for board members also to defeat the proposal.
This gravel pit’s opponents used tactics similar to those used by Burton Bridge folks who call themselves “Nunda Neighbors” to defeat a trucking terminal. (They still have to worry about a commercial or retail use business development on the same site.)
Signs in front of nearby houses.
The yard signs are professionally produced.
The first I saw said,
No Gravel Pit 815-301-9922
There may have been something underneath, but it was hidden by grass.
in reverse lettering, the better to stand out from the white background
A web site “Not For Pit.”
The site features a short slide show.
One says,
“Stop the Pit!”
The word “Stop” is on a stop sign.
Nice touch, considering the extra gravel truck traffic that would undoubtedly result on Franklinville-Hobbe Road, Kishwaukee Valley Road, Rose Farm Road and South Street.
Another of the rotating photographs shows a cornfield next to a hill. One can see wooded hills in the background.
“Keep McHenry County beautiful…” is printed above the bucolic scene.
A picture of a dusty (or maybe a combination of dust and haze) gravel pit appears. Superimposed on it are the words,
We don’t need another pit.
There is a map of the site, part of which you can see in this story. It certainly is close to Route 14, isn’t it?
“Protect our water supply,” is another legend, put on top of a babbling brook, certainly not taken in McHenry County. (There is a picture of a tributary of the Kishwaukee River called Franklinville Creek on another page of the web site and a nice little pond that apparently would be destroyed.)
“Up to 400 trucks per day?!?” shouts still another photograph in the revolving display.
These neighbors also put up a homemade stenciled sign announcing an upcoming important zoning meeting. Maybe it was updated after I took this picture on June 16th to tell local residents about the June 26th Zoning Board of Appeals meeting.
The Northwest story also reports a 7-0 negative vote on the horse racing events at Del Sol in Coral Township. Neighbors had complained of noise at these races, which were attended primarily by those of Mexican descent.
There is also a tutorial showing what has to be proven to defeat a gravel pit on the site, as well as the county board members phone numbers. Most, but not all county board members, have email addresses.