Orland Park plans to increase fines for many offenses and add regulations on feral cat colonies and loud noise, Village Board members said Monday.
Donna Norton, an attorney assisting with a review of village codes, said Cook County Animal Care and Control in 2024 reported 14 feral cat colonies in the village totaling 77 cats.
“This ordinance will give the village more control over any future nuisance complaints,” Norton said.
A proposed ordinance prohibits more than six cats in a colony and requires that colonies be registered with the county. Feral cat colonies would not be allowed inside residences, but must be sheltered in a garage, shed or basement during extreme weather.
Fines for first, second and third violations would be $250, $500 and $1,000, respectively.
The village also plans an ordinance regulating loud noises, as the loud noise ordinance provides little information on enforcement.
The proposed ordinance prohibits noise that “unreasonably disturbs, injures or endangers the comfort, health or safety of reasonable persons of ordinary sensitivity” between 10 p.m and 7 a.m. Thursdays through Sundays and from 11 p.m. to 7 a.m. on Fridays and Saturdays.
For scheduled or special events in residential areas, noise would be expected to stop by 11 p.m. and not begin sooner than 7 a.m. and be at least 20 feet away from other residential properties. Police would be given discretion to decide under what circumstances to give a citation, and citations range between $250 and $1,000.
“I think that this ordinance gives us more teeth to repeat offenders,” police Chief Eric Rossi said. “Residents who are having graduation parties — I think our officers do a good job dealing with those types of situations.”
Mayor Jim Dodge said review of village codes is designed to create a “stiff enough message” that prevents people from “doing things that are clearly against the rules.”
“My hope for tonight and over the coming weeks as we go through this is a pretty healthy discussion with this board about what the rule book is, how we want staff to apply that rule book, and then let’s make sure we do it fairly and consistently,” Dodge said.
Norton said the village has seen recent cases of people knowingly violating local ordinances “with the attitude that the levied fine was just the cost of doing business and the amount was worth the risk of getting caught in noncompliance.”
The proposed changes raise the minimum general penalty for violations where there is no specific fine listed from $75 to $250 and raise the maximum penalty from $1,000 to $2,000.
Board members expressed support for making expectations more clear for residents and provided several ideas for the review of village code, a process that is expected to take about a year. Village Manager George Koczwara said the last restructuring was in 1993.
“What happens over the years is you get duplications. There’s sections of the code that are no longer relevant. So it’s a very healthy exercise to go through that and clean that up,” Koczwara said.
The board also voted Monday to approve an encroachment agreement for ongoing construction on the 143rd Street and John Humphrey Drive intersection, which is scheduled to finish next year. Federal funding is covering about $4 million of the $9 million project to fix the roads’ sinking foundation.
The board also voted to receive free oak tree saplings as part of the Metropolitan Water Reclamation District’s Restore the Canopy program. Trustee Dina Lawrence said the village could receive anywhere between 50 and 200 saplings that will be given to interested residents.
Lawrence said the village will announce an event to distribute the saplings it receives.
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