Asphalt recycling plant planned on Route 31

An asphalt shingles recycling plant might soon be built along Route 31 in what until earlier this week was Cary, and now is unincorporated McHenry County.

However, the owners of the so-called Krueger property, about 19 acres at 8813 Route 31, could soon request to become part of Lake in the Hills.

“I do believe it’s their desire to annex to Lake in the Hills,” Cary Village President Tom Kierna said.

Earlier this week, the Cary village board approved in a 5-2 vote a March 21 de-annexation request from the Lawrence Krueger Declaration of Trust. Trustees Karen Lukasik and Jeff Kraus cast the dissenting votes.

A 2001 boundary agreement between Cary and Lake in the Hills states the village of Cary has 30 to 60 days to approve a de-annexation request for the Krueger property, Kierna said. The agreement was ratified during negotiations about the boundaries of Hoffman Park.

Cary was legally bound to accept the request, he said.

However, Lukasik said she wasn’t given enough information before the meeting. If there are any negative effects from building the plant, such as bad odors, Cary businesses and residents of subdivisions across Route 31 would feel the impact, she said.

“It will affect the Cary community more than Lake in the Hills,” she said. “Unfortunately, a past board made that agreement and we had to vote on it. We weren’t given any options.”

Kierna said he met in early March with representatives of Bluff City Materials Inc., of Bartlett, but the company was not aware the area was zoned for houses and that it would have had to petition for a zoning change, Kierna said.

Lake in the Hills Village President Ed Plaza said no annexation request has been submitted to the village yet. About a month and a half ago, the issue was discussed at a meeting between the village, the owners of the property and representatives of Bluff City, he said. “All we talked about was the possibility of them (requesting annexation),” he said.

Bluff City representatives did not return requests for comment.

A representative from the McHenry County planning and development department said no building permit applications have been submitted for the property.