Tear Down This Fence, Burr Ridge Family Told

BURR RIDGE, IL – A majority of the Burr Ridge Village Board this week decided that a part of a fence built without a permit must be torn down.

Two trustees, however, feared this would prompt other homeowners to violate village codes and ask for forgiveness later.

Colleen and Matt LaConte, who bought the house southeast of 80th and Madison streets, had a contractor erect a fence along their side and front yards. The house has been in the family for generations.

The family admitted they made a mistake not seeking a permit. But they noted Gower Middle School is on one side of their house and industrial buildings on another.

The fence did not meet the village's requirement that it be 50 percent open, meaning the slats need to be spaced out more.

The new side yard fence replaced one built decades ago. The old fence was grandfathered in the village code, but once it's torn down, a new fence must comply. Under the rules now, the fence is too close to the street.

The remainder of the fence violates the rule against fences in front yards.

"The village didn't create this problem," Trustee Guy Franzese said. "You could have picked up the phone and made one single phone call or sent a simple one-sentence email, and we wouldn't be here talking about this."

Colleen LaConte defended her family.

"We're just humans, and we just are doing our best in a difficult time," she said. "We're just looking for some relief."

She said the fence was needed because of her three small children.

"I don't feel as contained and safe. I feel more open and exposed in the unique spot that we're in," LaConte said.

Franzese said siding with the family would be "tremendously precedent-setting." The 50 percent rule, he said, has been in place for more than four decades.

Exceptions "have been discouraged forever. We would open a huge can of worms for the other residents we've denied, so I can't support this," he said.

Mayor Gary Grasso proposed a compromise. He said the board could let the LaContes keep the side yard fence without meeting the 50 percent requirement, but require them to tear down the front yard fence.

"There has to be some pain here. The equity here is you violated the ordinance," the mayor said. "You could have easily checked, and you have a contractor that is not stepping up either and who should have known. I would like to know who the contractor is."

Franzese warned that if the board approved the compromise, it would send a message to residents and contractors that it's fine if they violate the village code and then seek forgiveness later.

Trustee Tony Schiappa agreed, saying he had a hard time making such an exception.

Trustees voted 3-2 in favor of the compromise. But for it to pass, the board needed four votes. So Grasso then voted with the majority.

He said he has never voted on a substantial issue in his years as mayor.