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Editorials
Boulder Hill needs maintenance code : Editorials : Oswego Ledger-Sentinel : Hometown Newspaper for Oswego and Montgomery, IllinoisBoulder Hill needs maintenance code
| 11/18/2010
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How would you feel if your next-door neighbor stopped mowing his lawn and his yard became overgrown to the point that it could be described as a jungle with tall weeds and a home to mice and other varmints?
That's the dilemma the owners of a home in the Boulder Hill Subdivision described for the Kendall County Board during a meeting last month.
The owners presented photos of their neighbor's yard to the board. Noting that the overgrown weeds might be noxious, board member John Shaw commented, "I can understand why they might be upset."
Responding to the homeowners' complaints, the county health and planning, building and zoning departments have sent inspectors to the offending home and confirmed the extent of the problem. They also sent letters to the offending homeowner requesting that he do a better job maintaining the yard.
The problem for the next-door neighbors, however, is that the county's letters are advisory only. As an unincorporated subdivision, Boulder Hill homeowners are not subject to property maintenance codes like the ones that are on the books in neighboring Oswego and Montgomery. That means the county is limited in what it can do to compel the offending homeowner to clean up his act.
The board referred the issue to the county state's attorney's office and planning building and zoning departments for further study.
Property maintenance complaints are not new to Boulder Hill. Over the years we have reported on numerous other Boulder Hill residents who have come to the county board to complain about a wide range of issues that would ordinarily be covered under a municipal property maintenance code. In addition to overgrown yards, the board has heard complaints from Boulder Hill residents involving noisy neighbors, yards being used as parking lots for junker vehicles and RVs, and even pigmy goats.
The usual county board response has been to tell the homeowners that there really isn't much they can do under state law since the subdivision is unincorporated. In some cases, the complaints have referred to the purgatory of a board committee. Sadly, the homeowners whose property values are being adversely affected by their next-door neighbors have been left with absolutely no recourse.
We do, however, remember one time when the board did take effective action to address concerns raised by Boulder Hill homeowners. Several years ago the board received complaints from Boulder Hill residents about the dense smoke from leaf fires that used to envelop the subdivision every fall. Initially, the board told residents that they could not impose a leaf-burning ban like neighboring Oswego and Montgomery had done. However, the board later obtained a legal opinion that under state law they could indeed ban leaf burning in unincorporated areas of the county by zoning district. The board subsequently voted to ban leaf burning in Boulder Hill's zoning district.
We wonder if a similar provision could now be found in state law that would allow the county to enforce some minimum property maintenance standards in Boulder Hill's zoning district. If not, the board could contact local state lawmakers to see if such a provision could be added to state law.
None of the 10 county board members live in Boulder Hill. However, we're certain that none of them would want to have their own homes de-valued by the actions of an inconsiderate neighbor. The county board should take positive action now to protect the investment that Boulder Hill residents have made in their homes.
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