McHenry County planning director angers locals

A group of local environmentalists took aim Tuesday at McHenry County's longtime director of planning and development, accusing her of bullying residents and ignoring county board mandates to boost conservation efforts.

The complaints, which had been building behind the scenes in recent months, surfaced before the full McHenry County Board Tuesday night with the target of the activists' ire, Planning and Development Director SuzAnne Ehardt, noticeably absent from her usual spot at board meetings.

Ehardt, the planning director since 1998, was not at work at all Tuesday, a planning staff member said, and did not return a phone call to her home for comment. When asked about her job status, County Board Chairman Kenneth Koehler said: "We have a personnel issue that we have to deal with. I'm not at liberty to talk about it."

Many of the complaints center around whether Ehardt and her staff are properly implementing the county's new Land First measures created to encourage more environmentally friendly subdivisions.

Lisa Haderlein, executive director of the Land Conservancy of McHenry County, said Ehardt's staff are standing by idly as developers take advantage of the measure to build more homes without enhancing natural areas as required.

"Implementation of the ordinance has turned into a travesty," she said. "If I knew then what I know now, I would not have (supported) that."

Barbara Wheeler, chairman of the county board's planning and development committee and a driving force behind Land First, said the complaints were serious and should be addressed.

"I'm heartbroken about the way (the conservation design measure) has been implemented," she said. "It's embarrassing, but not surprising."

Wheeler and fellow board members met late into the night Tuesday to discuss personnel matters, but were not expected to take any specific action regarding Ehardt.