Lake Zurich Blocked From Forcibly Annexing Properties

And so the legal volley continues between the villages of and Hawthorn Woods over land at Route 22 and Quentin Road. 

The  had scheduled a public hearing and a vote by trustees at the Monday night board meeting regarding the located at and near the intersection.

But that hearing never occurred, nor did the vote. On Sept. 27, Hawthorn Woods won the latest legal maneuver in the continuing land battle.

The ruling resulted from a complaint filed by Hawthorn Woods on Sept. 22 seeking to stop Lake Zurich from moving forward with their forcible annexation.

Lake County Judge Mitchell Hoffman ruled that since Hawthorn Woods began its forcible annexation process first in May, Lake Zurich must cease any actions on the land until that is resolved.    

“When there are multiple annexation petitions, they must be taken in the order in which they were filed,” said Thomas Burney, Hawthorn Woods' attorney. “The judge ruled that since Hawthorn Woods’ petition had not been defeated, no other petitions could be considered until that judgment is made.”

Burney added that there also are voluntary annexation petitions from landowners on the property — namely the Wootens, Comings, Obenaufs and Nielsens — that were filed after Hawthorn Woods and also must be considered by the courts before takes its turn.

Judge Hoffman that stopped Hawthorn Woods from annexing the properties in question, a ruling they already have appealed and are waiting on for a decision.   

Burney said that ruling could come in the next couple of months.

After all the legal wrangling, there could be more where that came from.  

“We have to go through the process of resolving these questions, and there could be a trial and even another appeal,” said Carlos Arevalo, 's attorney.

Meanwhile, the individuals and families who own property on the 53 acres continue to be stuck in limbo.

Dennis Wooten and his mother Charlene Wooten own the Cedar Hill Nursery Property, and have had a difficult time selling the property due to all the wrangling over the land.

Bradford Equities LLC entered into an agreement with the Wootens, but their contract required the parcel be given the go-ahead for commercial development within 120 days of June 22, which would be in just a little more than two weeks.

With the issue still being decided by the courts, the prospect of meeting that deadline continues to look more grim.

The land issues date back to a 1993 boundary agreement between the villages of and Kildeer, as well as a .

The northwest and southwest corners of the intersection are considered to be in the boundary of , the northeast corner within the boundary of Hawthorn Woods, and the southeast corner in Kildeer.

All the properties in question are in unincorporated Lake County.

Consideration by the  for the forcible annexation petition was continued until the Dec. 5 meeting to allow time for Judge Hoffman to make a ruling. 

“If at that time the court matter has been settled, we will be able to revisit this by continuing the matter tonight,” Arevalo said.