Breathing gets a bit easier in McHenry County

Clean air advocates celebrated Tuesday after the McHenry County Board authorized new restrictions that could significantly reduce the number of property owners allowed to burn leaves and other yard waste.

The board, in a 16-8 vote, approved changes to the county's public health ordinance that now will ban leaf burning within 100 feet of any residence, barring the practice for anyone not living on a large lot.

"This is a happy day," said Beverly Meuch, a Wonder Lake resident who has been working to ban leaf burning for about two decades. "When there's burning, I'm miserable. I like to breathe."

The new regulations go into effect April 1 and apply countywide.

However, they will not affect many residents living within a municipality since most ban leaf burning altogether. The measure will impose tighter restrictions than those now in force in Huntley, Lakemoor, Fox Lake and Barrington Hills.

"This is for the health and well-being of the people of McHenry County," said board member Virginia Peschke, a leading advocate for the measure. "We do have to take a stand here."

And while the board ultimately did take that stand, it took more than two hours of debate and numerous amendments, or proposed amendments, to the regulations before a majority supported the plan.

The initial proposal called for a burning ban within 150 feet of a residence, up from the existing 30-foot requirement. But concerns over whether that would prevent even owners of large properties from burning, most board members backed a reduction of the no-burn zone to 100 feet.

"I think 100 feet is enough that people on larger lots will still be able to burn, but restrictive enough to get rid of the problem in more congested areas," board Vice Chairman John Jung said.

Board members also eliminated language in the measure that permitted members of the county's Planning and Development Department to enforce the ban, but left in a portion allowing local fire departments to enforce it. The new restrictions were endorsed by an association of local fire chiefs.

Under the ordinance, a first-time violator would face a $100 fine. Subsequent offenses could lead to fines of up to $1,000.

Backers, however, said they are less interested in punishing violators than they are in educating leaf burners about the practice's harmful effects and the alternatives to it.

"What we will be striving for is compliance," said Patrick McNulty, McHenry County Department of Health administrator.