Neighbors voice concerns over Harvard's Plum Tree National Country Club

HARVARD – After Plum Tree National Country Club held a meeting to address community concerns, some neighbors still are worried about the future of the property in an area that many moved to for its peace and quiet.

“I think as a neighbor they have every right to be concerned about what’s proposed next door,” McHenry County Board Chairman Joseph Gottemoller said.

Gottemoller attended the meeting, held Oct. 4, and said Plum Tree representatives said they had various ideas for the property, including outdoor concerts and a 9-hole golf course.

Questions were raised from neighbors about traffic, noise and safety, Gottemoller said.

He said Plum Tree representatives gave various estimates of how many people their events may attract, which included numbers over 5,000 people.

MaryAnn Hay, who lives in a subdivision near the club off Bunker Hill Road, said about 100 people attended the meeting at Plum Tree.

"I don’t feel that they are being a very good neighbor in trying to assess our needs and fears,” Hay said of Plum Tree administration.

Although Hay said a few people at the meeting who spoke out supported the country club, many had concerns.

Anna Alteno, who lives in the same subdivision as Hay, said she also was at the meeting.

“I’m concerned about having people running around in our neighborhood that are inebriated," Alteno said. "I’m really, really concerned about the people who live around the golf course because they’re the ones who are really gonna suffer from this."

Alteno said she was at home when Plum Tree held a concert Sept. 26.

"It was very loud, but I was outside," Alteno said. "Inside I got a lot of the bass. At my house, I could feel it shaking.”

Plum Tree National Country Club's website, www.plumtreenational.com, lists camping, wedding, fishing and golfing as some of the activities offered.

Its website also lists future events including an outdoor movie and pre-Halloween party with live music.

Gottemoller said he addressed some confusion at the meeting about how many concerts Plum Tree could hold with a temporary permit.

A temporary permit can be issued for four events a year, which may last up to two days each, and not occur more than twice in a quarter, he said.

Dennis Sandquist, McHenry County planning and development director, has said Plum Tree, 19511 Lembcke Road, was issued a temporary use permit for its event Sept. 26.

To have a more permanent venue, the group would have to get a conditional use permit, which would require McHenry County Board approval based on a public hearing and recommendation from the McHenry County Zoning Board of Appeals, Sandquist has said.

Sandquist said Plum Tree has not filed any conditional use or rezoning petitions as of Tuesday.

Neighbors also have voiced concerns about an owner of the property, who Sandquist confirmed as Eddie Carranza, because of his previous involvement with Chicago properties including the Portage and the Congress theaters.

Marion Chambers, an administrative worker with Portage Theater Group, said Carranza owns the group, which owns Plum Tree National Country Club and other theaters in Chicago and Cicero.

Plum Tree General Manager Collyns Stenzel declined comment on the community meeting Oct. 6. He did not return a call for comment Friday or Tuesday.

No one from Portage Theater Group was available for immediate response Tuesday.