County ZBA shoots down Seneca gravel pit, Coral horse races

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WOODSTOCK – The McHenry County Zoning Board of Appeals opposed a plan by two Wood Dale men to hold a twice-monthly Sunday horse race and fair near Union.

Siding with legions of incensed neighbors and local governments on Tuesday, the zoning board voted, 7-0, to recommend denial of Hernan Rivera and Jose Aguirre’s conditional use permit for the events at their 29-acre Del Sol horse ranch.

Neighbors complained that three similar events held in 2006 at the 18718 W. Union Road ranch filled their quiet rural area with litter, drinking, loud music and trespassers. Rivera and Aguirre applied for a conditional use permit Jan. 8, several months after the county rejected a temporary permit for a fourth event.

“This was moving from a temporary use that had happened a couple of times to a proposed permanent fairgrounds, which I don’t think is appropriate to put right in someone’s backyard,” board Chairman Rich Kelly said before the vote.

While some board members said they liked the petitioners’ idea, they added that they did not like the idea of having it on a small farm twice a month between March and November.

“This petitioner is trying to do too much with too little land, at the expense of everyone living in the area,” board member Elizabeth Scherer said.

Rivera and Aguirre declined comment after the decision. Attorney Melissa Wick said her clients are unsure whether they will take the request to the McHenry County Board, which could override the zoning board’s recommendation.

“That decision has not been made,” Wick said. “At this point, I don’t know that it makes a difference. A 7-0 vote is pretty hard to overcome. It’s as simple as that.”

Rivera had offered to curtail the event to daylight hours and ban alcohol from the grounds. But zoning board member Erv Staveteig said he doubted that Rivera could enforce bans on alcohol and gambling.

Neighbors attended hearings in force, complaining to the board about the last three events. Some, such as Valerie Ksiazek, said partygoers routinely trespassed on her 5 1/2 acres, and on at least one occasion urinated on it.

Ksiazek appeared relieved after the vote.

“It just needs to be in a different place, just like the ZBA said,” Ksiazek said.

The governments of Coral Township and Union also opposed allowing the fair.

The county’s Planning and Development Department granted Rivera three temporary use permits for the events in August and September 2006, according to information obtained under the Freedom of Information Act. But the department rejected a fourth permit for an Oct. 1 event.

Department officials determined in their Sept. 19 rejection letter that the festivals had become a business enterprise, and that admission was being charged rather than a voluntary donation that Rivera had indicated in a previous letter.

What it means

The McHenry County Zoning Board of Appeals voted, 7-0, on Tuesday to recommend denying a conditional use permit to hold a twice-monthly horse race and fair on a 29-acre farm just west of Union. The county board might consider the matter on July 17 if the petitioners choose.