Having a naked man turn up in your shed will get your attention.
It prompted the Zeman family to seek a zoning variance to allow a protective, six-foot, privacy fence on their property at 5005 S. Willow Springs Road.
By a 4 to 1 vote, the La Grange Village Board voted to overrule the recommendation of the Zoning Board of Appeals and allow Heather and James Zeman to construct a fence designed to protect their property and family.
“I’m very excited,” Heather Zeman said after the vote “and I’m pleased with the outcome. It took us five months to go through this process.”
Zeman said that the naked man had somehow gotten out of the AMITA Health Campus across Willow Springs Road and “took up residence or refuge in our shed. We were alerted to the incident from the police response.”
Subsequently, there had been other incidents, including finding alcohol, cigarettes, condoms, and medical debris. Zeman told the Board that she wanted to protect her family and family pets and that her property was unique to the area.
“I’m the only property on Willow Springs Road in that section with a driveway that goes out to Willow Springs Road,” Zeman told the Board before the vote. “I’m just trying to keep my family safe.”
She said that several ZBA Commissioners had said at the June 29 public meeting that they were worried about setting a precedent.
“They thought that this would open the floodgates for others to ask for fences in from of their homes,” she said.
But she pointed out to the Board that her family’s request was only the third in thirty years.
“I don’t think that’s really an issue,” she said.
Front yard fences are not permitted in R-2 Residential Single Family, although side and rear fences are. ZBA sent it to the full Village Board recommending a denial of the variance request by a 6-2 vote. But most of the trustees disagreed with ZBA.
“I’m going to go against what I normally do,” Michael Kotynek said, stressing he almost always accepts ZBS’s recommendations. “This is one where I tend to side with the minority of the Zoning Board of Appeals.”
Lou Gale said that the nature of the property made him favor granting relief.
“This is a very unique circumstance,” he said, echoing Zeman’s comments about her driveway. “It’s the only driveway going out to Willow Springs Road. They’re not able to enjoy the quiet enjoyment of their property.”
Beth Augustine agreed that it was an unusual situation.
“We’re looking at a really unique, really unique property,” she said.
While she approved the request for the variation, Augustine indicated that she understood ZBA’s concern about setting a precedent.
“There’s very few people that have asked for something like this,” she said.
