Burr Ridge Homeowner Ignores 1st Stop-Work Order: Village

BURR RIDGE, IL – A Burr Ridge homeowner failed to get a building permit before a project and then ignored a stop-work order, according to the village.

The work was not stopped until a second order, officials said.

At this week's Village Board meeting, trustees discussed the homeowner's request for an exception to local zoning regulations to build an addition.

The house, owned by Ravinder Sethi, is in the 600 block of Ambriance Drive.

Sethi is requesting the addition of a master bedroom and bathroom for his multi-generational household, according to village documents.

The first order was broken when the homeowner had a concrete foundation poured, the village said. The owner's son denied they intended to violate the order.

Trustee Guy Franzese said the violations bothered him "tremendously."

"It's like the rules are being ignored," he said. "You're telling the staff what they want to hear, and on the other hand, you're doing what you please."

Now, Sethi, with a lawyer's help, is asking for the village to let him expand his house to cover a quarter of his property. The village code only lets a homeowner go up to 20 percent.

Earlier this month, the Plan Commission voted 5-2 against Sethi's request, with the majority saying they feared the village would set a precedent.

Sethi's lawyer, Sarah Reusche, requested that the village send the matter back to the Plan Commission, saying her client had new information to present.

She rejected the suggestion from some officials that her client could seek to change the building-coverage rule for the entire Ambriance suggestion.

Every Ambriance property, she said, was "incredibly unique."

Trustee Russell Smith said he had no interest in sending the issue back to the commission, given that it took two orders for the homeowner to comply.

"I don't want to waste their time," he said, referring to the commission.

During the meeting, Sethi's son said he had no intention to build something above the foundation that was poured. He said the foundation was related to air conditioning work.

The Village Board voted 3-2 to send the matter back to the commission, with Franzese and Smith dissenting. Trustee Joe Snyder was absent.

Mayor Gary Grasso told Sethi's son that he got another chance.

"I think you should be very thankful for it," Grasso said. "If there is another stop-work order in the interim, then I'm going to show up at the hearing."

"It won't happen," the lawyer said.