In McHenry County, the Zoning Board of Appeals (ZBA) and the McHenry County Hearing Officer (MCHO) have been established as advisory bodies that conduct public hearings and make recommendations on all zoning petitions. The ZBA and MCHO are appointed by the McHenry County Board.

The Zoning Board of Appeals has the following powers, pursuant to the Unified Development Ordinance:

• To make recommendations on zoning map and text amendment applications. 
• To make recommendations on applications for zoning variations submitted in conjunction with rezoning, conditional use permit, and planned unit development applications, or when the Hearing Officer is unavailable. 
• To make recommendations on conditional use permit applications. 
• To make recommendations on planned unit development applications. 
• To make final decisions on zoning appeals.

By statute, the ZBA also is empowered to hear Appeals of decisions of the Code Enforcement Officer. Those seeking to make an appeal should review Section 5.9 of the Unified Development Ordinance (UDO) as well as the ZBA Rules and Procedures to obtain information for making such a request.   

The Hearing Officer has the following powers, pursuant to the Unified Development Ordinance: 

• To make recommendations on applications for zoning variations not submitted in conjunction with rezoning, conditional use permit, or planned unit development applications. 

The McHenry County Hearing Officer Rules and Procedures are supplementary to the provisions of the Unified Development Ordinance. 

Written communication to the Zoning Board of Appeals or Hearing Officer can be mailed to:

• Zoning Board of Appeals or Hearing Office
  C/O McHenry County Department of Planning and Development
  Suite 208
  2200 N. Seminary Ave.
  Woodstock, IL 60098

Or you can e-mail to:  ZBA@mchenrycountyil.gov

The ZBA and MCHO are required to follow all applicable Illinois state statutes, particularly the Counties Code (55 ILCS 5), and the McHenry County Unified Development Ordinance regarding zoning petitions and appeals. 

Zoning Hearings Agendas and Documents are available online. 

Free viewers are required for some of the attached documents.
They can be downloaded by clicking on the icons below.

Acrobat Reader Windows Media Player Word Viewer Excel Viewer PowerPoint Viewer