Next-Door Hole Upsets Elmhurst Neighbor

ELMHURST, IL – For the second time in a month, Elmhurst has received a complaint about excavations that affect neighbors' properties.

On Monday, Tom Altergott, who lives on Rex Boulevard, told a City Council committee about his experience.

He said a builder for a next-door house excavated up to the property line to build an underground skylight.

When Altergott asked the city about it, he said an inspector informed him the neighbor had every right to do the project because it was underground. (The skylight, as it happens, protrudes a foot above the ground, Altergott said.)

Unfortunately, Altergott said, the builder failed to install an engineered soil retention system as part of the work. As a result, after a typical May rain, over 500 cubic feet of Altergott's property collapsed into the hole, he said.

"This included a 6-foot portion of our concrete patio, which collapsed into the excavation site within hours of my wife standing on it to examine the damage to the soil around it, thus endangering her life," Altergott said.

This collapse destabilized the rest of the patio, which means the home's foundation may have been compromised, he said.

Side yard obstructions affect drainage by disrupting the natural flow of water, Altergott said.

"The damage to our property occurred even though city employees inspected and approved every move of the builder. Elmhurst's commonsense setback ordinances have protected its residents for a hundred years," Altergott said. "The construction methods needed for window wells and underground skylights inside the side yard setbacks can damage neighboring building and garage foundations, driveways, patios, fences, trees, lawns, and gardens. Why is Elmhurst permitting this to occur?"

After he spoke to the Development, Planning and Zoning Committee, its chairwoman, Marti Deuter, said the panel was in the process of updating the local zoning code. She said the code related to excavations would be among the topics.

Last month, Monica Cook, who lives in the 300 block of South Kenilworth Avenue, told the City Council that a neighbor's excavation to the lot line likely caused the quick downfall of a mature elm tree in her yard.

The city then required her family to remove the tree within 30 days, a project estimated to cost $8,000.

Like Altergott, Cook called for the city to change its code on excavations.