If you store your recreational vehicle or boat in your driveway in the off season, you are in for some serious changes.
The McHenry County Board is considering a Unified Development Ordinance.
One of the significant differences between today’s rules and those proposed concerns the storage of recreational vehicles.
If the new zoning ordinance passes, you won’t be able to store them in your driveway.
There are nuances, so read the proposed language yourself:
To see how widespread the practice of storing RV’s and boats is in Wonder Lake, I drove a block on West Lake Shore Drive and up one street to Thompson Road and, then, south past the bank.
I’ll intersperse what I found with what McHenry County Board member John Hammerand, who alerted me to the change, has sent constituents, which starts below the next photo.
The airstream at this house on the lakefront is parked in its backyard. (The front yard of lakefront property is considered to be on the lake.) The trailer seems to be parked in its driveway.
Thank you so much for contacting me.. I definitely plan to vote against this ordinance!
The article below [see here] was posted a week ago, when I first found out about this issue and asked to have it posted.
Since then, I have been working unincorporated areas with a flyer, trying to get the word out.
It would make a huge difference if you could attend Tuesday’s Meeting and speak during Public Comments.
The matter will not be voted on that night, but it may give the impetus needed to change the ordinance before adoptionAt 6 pm during the Committee of the Whole meeting, we will be reviewing the last few chapters of the UDO.
There is a place on the agenda for public comment – the standard comment time is 3 minutes.
The County Board meeting will begin at 7 pm – public comments come early in the meeting following Zoning and Plats.
So Tuesday the public will have two opportunities to address the Board, tho the attendance of the Committee of the Whole meetings has been weak. You are more likely to have the most County Board Members at the 7 pm meeting.
Give me a call if you have further questions at 815-728-0700
I hope to give you a call to answer any questions you may have. I also suggest you contact other county board members – they don’t seem to understand the issues.
Michelle Aavang 815-648-4210 Bob Martens 815-675-6353
Yvonne Barners 847-516-2719 Mary McCann 815-568-1061
Nick Chirikos 847-658-3434 Mary McClellan 815-482-5693
Sue Draffkorn 815-653-6057 Anna May Miller 847-639-5112
Diane Evertsen 815-943-3298 Bob Nowak 847-977-5516
Joe Gottemoller 815-382-9940 Nick Provenzano 815-355-8540
Jim Heisler 815-404-4775 Sandy Salgado 815-276-2317
Tina Hill 815-347-4222 Carolyn Schofield 815-455-9550
John Jung 815-338-6201 Ersel Schuster 815-338-2207
Ken Koehler 815-459-7841 Mike Skala 847-669-3804
Donna Kurtz 815-788-0632 Mike Walkup 815-477-8978
Paula Yensen 847-669-0507
See below for information on the Planning and Zoning Committee members
John Hammerand 815-728-0700
As a neighbor, who’d want to look at all of that junk?
there must be a better way to “store” these vehicles, or I guess Wonder Lake just doesn’t care.
People that live in Wonder Lake are NOT proposing the new rules!
Why do politicians have to impose their likes and dislikes on all.
I thought our Board members were strongly Republican, believing in individual property rights, maybe not.
They are eyesores and cheapen the appearance of the neighborhood.
They should be allowed overnight and that is all.
Re: “I thought our Board members were strongly Republican”
Check their voting records.
All but two are listed with an ‘R’ next to their name but the majority have no idea what is listed in the Republican platform and they certainly do NOT vote conservatively or support smaller government!
Now that the McHenry County GOP has announced their fund raiser, I doubt they too have any idea what is in the Republican platform based on who they list as their keynote speaker!
They will not get one nickel from me or anyone I speak with!!
Our first house we purchased in Addison, had a 15 ft. tall 25 ft. long Agricultural Grain Dryer.
Just a giant metal box parked between my neighbor’s and mine, but mostly obscured by our fences, but still quite noticeable.
My wife and were always curious to why he had it, but we never complained or said anything to our neighbor.
And do you know why I never complained?
Because he was a good neighbor and that is something you can’t value enough, as well as the fact I’m not a Jackass.
When we sold, we received multiple offers and fetched 5% over our asking price.
If you don’t like the rules, don’t move into an unincorporated area.
Why do people move to areas and try to change the rules?
Do your homework before you buy a house.
This works the same the other way as well.
Don’t move into Villages that prohibit trailers and complain you can’t store your boats, trailers and RV’s outside.
Live in an area where the rules fit your needs!
Absolutely Jason. Same goes for the idiots that buy houses next to airports (at discount of course), then complain about the noise.
Or the knuckleheads that buy next to the Expressway (once again getting a location discount on the purchase)and demanding taxpayers foot the bill for sound barriers.
However in this case it seems to me Government is changing the rules, midgame.
As a conservative I wonder why we need to pass a new law which is frivolous and quite possibly a way to get more tax money from storage units.
Don’t move to an area that isn’t pretty enough for you to begin with.
As a conservative I find it frivolous to pass a new law/ordinance/restriction to an area simply for cosmetic reasons.
If you knew the area allowed outdoor rv/trailer parking on personal property before you moved there, then you shouldn’t ask those that lived there before you and were happy with it to want to incur more expense because of your vanity.
Ridiculous and quit possibly a scam to get more taxes/revenue through storage units and fees.
Maybe they are changing the rules because at one time parking your toys were done in a manner where it was not an eyesore to the neighborhood.
Sometimes as time goes by it begins to look like a landfill because people are abusing the right to have these things.
They should only allow things that are in working order not items that haven’t worked in 10 years and are just dumped in their yards.
I think that is more the issue here.
Keep it neat and not an eyesore.
If you really read the ordinance it isn’t bad.
People are hung up on the “It’s my right” issue.
Voter, I agree.
What’s wrong with one area, isn’t necessarily the case in all.
I live on the Fox Waterway, own a home and a boat, and keep it parked on my driveway (along with nearly 100 others, neatly – as mandated by our village.)
This really should be a village issue, not the county.
I used to live in Schaumburg – no problem parking a boat there!
Still isn’t.
It’s why I moved this way.
Being a good neighbor, keeping things neat and not rundown, is the true issue here.
This is an oxymoronic proposal here, considering where I live, anyway.
And if I have to pay to store it, the nearest facility is in Lake County, which I will gladly use.
Go figure.
Just another reason to reconsider boat ownership in Illinois… It’s getting ridiculous, already.
Lake Co. Board tried this a few years ago.
The it was a push to get rid of campgrounds on the water so the boat slips could be bought for new developments on the water.
These all look like eyesires to me and I wouldn’t want to live near any of these homes pictured.
I prefer a neighborhood with lots of rules so that people keep up their properties.
How long would someone have to comply with the new law.
Some people don’t have the money in savings or space to build a pad or gravel parking area next to their garage / house or in the back yard, or store the items off site.
What ever happened with the proposed gun ordinance, something about new rules for discharging firearms within so many yards of a residence.
This rule will apply to everyone now living in unincorporated areas.
It does not just apply to those who would move into unincorporated McHenry County after it goes into effect.
The need to enforce ordinances helps justify the employ of still more government employees. \
It becomes an argument for even bigger government… it implies an inability of neighbors to exercise good common sense.
Those of us who argue against big government and higher taxes should think about what comes with new more restrictive legislation…
The tightening of government control over you and your property comes incrementally and sometimes with little notice…many would be very surprised to find how many violations exist in their own back yard…
When the county leaves a red tag on your door…try not to think that your tax money paid for it…and paid dearly…
The question here is!
Who on the county board or who do they know has or are opening a storage facility?
I thought mchenry county was a recreational community.
This is why i choose to live here.
If i buy a camper to go camping in i do not want to have to travel to get it and the same goes if i want to take my boat out on the weekend i can easily do that at my time not at a storage time.
I do not live on the river or lake so i have to pull the boat in and out every time.
Enough with these dumb laws already. If your neighbors yard is an eyesore ask them to clean it up.
But a boat or a rv or a trailer is not going to make your yard look better or worse.
The county board should not be authorized to make this kind of decision in a vacuum.
The public should have a vote through a referendum.
Since that’s not the case, then it’s time vote the only way we can – VOTE ANYONE WHO APPROVES THIS ORDINANCE OUT OF OFFICE!
Enforce ordinances we already have in place.
Ok, where are people supposed to put them.?
There isn’t enough storage places to hold them all!
We have looked and most are filled up and people are on waiting lists, again what do you do with them in that case!
As long as they are not trashed, leave them alone.
Great point, Laura!
People who prefer tighter community rules should have looked into the area before they made the move into a community that was less restrictive. Alot of folks moved here because they wanted a more relaxed environment.
What’s next…telling people what they can grill for dinner?
Why would the county decide what you can and can’t have in your yard.
I live in Wonder Lake and for the last thirteen years we have own a boat and yes we park it in our driveway.
It doesn’t hurt anyone!
So why is the county now saying it’s bad, they don’t even know us.
I can easily have four cars in my driveway but instead I have a boat and three cars all with current plates and all maintain!
I don’t know how you expect people to now pay for storage fees, between higher gas prices and people losing jobs, their homes and everything else continuing to go up.
People are trying to find someway to still get some relax time for themselves and their families and now you want to take that away too!
If someone has an issue with a neighbor talk to them.
What we don’t need is the county getting into our business and telling us what to do.
rchased my home thirteen years ago because we liked the idea of a lake right near us and we are boat people who enjoy the water.
Who are you to take that away
STOP, STOP, this can’t be happening in our free United States of America….
We should be able to park our Motor Home, Boats, Recreational Vehicles any where we damn want to on our property (ours are parked behind our house line)
Our unincorporated subdivision covenents have no restrictions, those are the ones we should all follow….
we pay our fair share of PROPERTY TAXES….
we should be able to do as we please with our pleasure vehicles…
You want to pay my storage fees????
How dare this issue even be brought up to the County to decide.
We live in Lake In The Hills area.
We were planning to buy a small RV trailer for the family.
We were planning to keep the small RV in our driveway during the winter for longer than 30 days.
During the other seasons, we were planning to do camping at least once every 2 weeks.
Does this new ordinance mean that we should skip buying the RV since we can not afford to pay the storage expenses?
The proposed County rules would only apply to unincorporated parts of McHenry County, not those in villages like Lake in the Hills.
Generally municipalities have more strict rules than out in the country.
I would suggest you check with the Lake in the Hills village officials before making your purchase.
Olivia, Here are some Lake in the Hills ordinances regarding boats,trailers and RV’s:
During the In Season-(April-Nov.) boats,trailers and RV’s can be stored on a prepared surface
During the off season (Dec-March)they must be stored indoors or in the rear yard but it has to be on a prepared surface.
If less than 6 ft. in height it may be stored in the side yard but also on a prepared surface but only if it is screened in by a 6 ft. fence.
Hope this helps but it sounds like you will be pouring concert and building a fence on the off season unless you have a separate drive in the rear of your house.
Thanks for the information.
It sounds like that we can park the RV trailer on the driveway
In Season-(April-Nov.)correct?
I am surprised about the restrictions that the county board wants to impose unincorporated parts of McHenry County.
I heard Walmart and some other retail supermarkets allow people to park their RV for a month in their parking lot.
You can park your RV in Walmart’s parking lot but not in your own private yard?
I keep my travel trailer in the driveway, one week before and after I travel on vacation.
I have no problem with any of my neighbors doing the same thing.
I hate restrictions elected officials place upon us and if they really represented me they would ask me for my opinion.
However, they never seem to find a way to ask me.
Not to mention everytime I write them a letter, I never receive a response.
We don’t have sidewalks, streetlights, don’t get spray for mosquitoes in unincorporated Woodstock. Pleasant Valley and timber lane flood and nobody can do anything about that!
They’re worried about parking trailers our driveways are you kidding me!
and our taxes are absolutely unbelievable.
Get real!!!