Bull Valley, Illinois

Bull Valley
Village
Village of Bull Valley
Sign leading into Bull Valley.
Location of Bull Valley in McHenry County, Illinois.
Location of Illinois in the United States
Coordinates: 42°18′58″N 88°22′01″W / 42.31611°N 88.36694°W / 42.31611; -88.36694Coordinates: 42°18′58″N 88°22′01″W / 42.31611°N 88.36694°W / 42.31611; -88.36694
Country	United States
State	Illinois
Area
• Total	9.31 sq mi (24.11 km2)
• Land	9.30 sq mi (24.08 km2)
• Water	0.01 sq mi (0.03 km2)
Population (2010)
• Total	1,077
• Estimate (2016)	1,097
• Density	117.97/sq mi (45.55/km2)
Area code(s)	815
FIPS code	17-09531
Bull Valley, Illinois
Website	http://villageofbullvalley.org/

Bull Valley is a village in McHenry County, Illinois, United States. The population was 726 at the 2000 census. However, at the 2010 census, the population was at 1,077. Surrounded by the suburban sprawl of Crystal Lake, , and McHenry, the village prides itself in its rural, low-density character.

McHenry County has gently rolling, glaciated terrain. Some of the County's larger hills border the rural area of East Central McHenry County between Crystal Lake, McHenry, and . This area has long been called "Bull Valley." McHenry County was one of the fastest-growing counties in the U.S. each decade from 1920 to 2000. Illinois law allows county government to rezone property to allow dense housing subdivisions without regard to the desires of existing residents, unless that property is located near a city or village.

In 1942, a group of neighbors organized the Countryside Improvement Association. It gradually became involved in questions of land use, and in 1955, in an unprecedented action, owners of about 3,000 acres, half of the Bull Valley area at the time, voluntarily put their land into 3-acre zoning, the highest residential classification then offered by the County. This single decision would establish the future character of the community.

In 1960, money was raised from residents by subscription, to pay for a land use study and professional planning advice. The Eastern McHenry County Plan Association (EMCPA) was then formed to address the common problems of four townships. That Association’s recommendation in a report of July 25, 1961 was that a large part of the Bull Valley area be zoned for a residential/estate use of a minimum of 5-acre tracts. Unlike the traditional concept of a community where the most intense use is at the center of the area and becomes more open as the distance from the center increases, the EMCPA area has at its center, a very attractive rolling, wooded area currently developed in low density, open estate type residential and farm development (and) included in this center portion are two very broad, scenic valleys which should be retained for non-intensive development.” When McHenry County established a Planning Commission in 1963, the EMCPA dissolved and turned its studies over to the County Planning Commission.