The McHenry County Board late Tuesday unanimously voted down a Wonder Lake-area slaughterhouse that neighbors had strongly opposed.

Nearby residents had raised concerns about noise, smells and the potential impact on groundwater, among other objections.

The proposal was first taken up by the county’s Zoning Board of Appeals last year, but the matter was delayed in July because requirements involving the notification of nearby residents and property owners had not been met.

The zoning board took the proposal back up in the fall and, in a 6-1 vote, recommended denying it, in large part because the board felt county requirements had not been met.

The County Board upheld that denial Tuesday, with a 17-0 no vote. Board member Brian Sager was absent.

Before the vote, several county board members explained why they were against it, some echoing the zoning board’s comments about why they felt the plan didn’t meet standards.

The petitioner for the project had requested a variation to operate without a frontage road. The slaughterhouse property is accessed through an easement that cuts through the Greenwood Cemetery property.

Board member Joe Gottemoller said Tuesday the lack of road frontage was a “great concern,” adding he couldn’t imagine getting fire trucks or other emergency vehicles through the cemetery to get to the property. He said the reason for minimum frontage requirements was to allow emergency vehicles to get access to a property.

“They can’t get here,” Gottemoller said.

Board member Tracie Von Bergen said the county needs more processing facilities but that the property in question along Greenwood Road wasn’t a good place for one.

“There are far too many challenges with this property, including the easement and close proximity to a residential subdivision. These issues create real conflicts,” Von Bergen said.

When the board voted, board member Mike Shorten, who called into the meeting, said he was a “strong no” on the proposal. Regarding why he was not present, Shorten said he was in Springfield on McHenry County Council of Governments business.

Greenwood Township and the village of Greenwood objected to the proposal, which set up a three-fourths supermajority approval requirement, said Adam Wallen, the McHenry County director of planning and development.

That meant 14 of the 18 county board members would have needed to vote to approve the slaughterhouse plan for it to pass.

The would-be operator, Sergiy Bazylyuk, had proposed the facility on his property. It would only have handled animals he raises, and county records indicate he expected it would be a part-time operation that wouldn’t run more than three days per week. He expected about four staff members to be on site and maybe eight to nine customers to stop by weekly to pick up online orders.

No members of the public spoke on the slaughterhouse Tuesday, though many previously expressed opposition. Bazylyuk’s attorney, Terry McKenna, was not immediately available for comment Wednesday. Tom Burney, who was the attorney for some of the neighbors, expressed gratitude for the County Board and zoning board and their work on the proposal.