Village Board Agrees To Sponsor Petition To Amend Tree Ordinance

According to the village’s tree regulations, a Lake Bluff family would need to pay more than $180,000 to replace 100 percent of the trees that would be destroyed to build their home in the 100 block of Arbor Drive

Lake Bluff’s Tree Preservation Zoning Code is problematic to building on the heavily forested lot.

The Village Board agreed at Monday night's meeting to petition for an amendment to the code, which will spare the homeowners the fees of petitioning. The fees tied into petitioning range from $2,000 to $3,000, according to Village President Christine Letchinger.

Village Trustee Kathleen O’Hara said the petition is necessary to avoid problems caused by the code in the long run.

"We did not originally consider a heavily wooded lot,” she said regarding the creation of the code.  “I think it’s our problem."

While the board is petitioning an amendment to the code before the Lake Bluff Zoning Board, it is not indicating whether it supports the amendment or not. The zoning board then would need to recommend the amendment to the Village Board for final review, said Brandon Stanick, assistant to the village administrator.

In Other Village Board Action:

• Lake Bluff’s 2011 Tax Revenue Reflects Current Economy

Lake Bluff will finish with $69,000 in the black this fiscal year, but the amount is still less than what the village posted in 2008 or 2009, according to Susan Griffin, Lake Bluff finance director.

The figure came from Griffin's May 2011 finance report, which included the village’s tax revenue from sales, property and utility taxes spanning over the past five years.

When discussing sales tax revenue, she said major components were auto sales and home improvement items.

Utility tax revenue showed that income from natural gas usage has dropped over the past few years. Probably, she said, “people are being much more frugal with the temperature gauge at home.”

Stanick said the village's most significant sources of revenue and what the board pays particular attention to are the receipts from property taxes and sales taxes.

“These sources of revenue make up approximately 25 percent each of the village’s annual projected revenue,” he said.

The finance report is presented once a month and gives the board a picture of the treasury, investment and budget analysis accounting for general fund revenues and expenditures.

• Insurance Company’s Expansion, Good News

Employees Life Co., 916 Sherwood Drive, Lake Bluff, received an OK from the Village Board to go forward with building renovation and parking lot configuration plans.

The renovation plans include adding an additional 12,000 feet to the building, 11 parking spaces and exterior parking lot lighting, among other modifications.

“It’s great to see someone expanding,” Lake Bluff trustee Brian Rener said during the meeting.

The expansion also will create a handful of jobs, said Brandon Stanick, assistant to the village administrator.

Employees Life has been in business since 1946.

• Illinois Terrorism And Task Force Awards Police Department

The Lake Bluff Police Department received $6,200 from the Illinois Terrorism and Task Force to help update their radio equipment.

“This grant is a 50 percent matching grant where Lake Bluff will provide the other $6,200 of the cost,” said Brandon Stanick, assistant to the village administrator.

This grant also helps the village reach its goal of cost saving alternatives, he said. The village budgeted $20,000 to replace equipment this year.