Barrington Hills officials have spent years trying to come up with a solution to the commercial horse-boarding controversy sparked by a neighbor dispute and an ongoing lawsuit pitting residents against one another.
The village board recently passed a zoning text amendment aimed at resolving the controversy, but the measure was vetoed by Village President Martin McLaughlin, in what’s believed to be the first veto in village history.
The six candidates for three village trustee seats in the April 7 election recently debated the proposed solution, and McLaughlin’s veto, during an endorsement conference with the Daily Herald.
Read more here.
With a pool of candidates set for the April election, residents need to know that Mary Naumann is an Abboud apprentice for the SOS party. Her defamatory website DONTCHANGEBARRINGTONHILS.COM is an ugly website designed to fan the flames against this administration. It proports that our current President and Trustee Konicek are scheming behind resident’s backs to force bike lanes through our community. There are no factual statements for these libelous comments or raging allegations, just horrible rumor-mongering. Suggestions made on the site are patently false. It is for that reason alone I recommend to all our residents that her candidacy is a one issue alone. We need Trustees that can exhibit an understanding of the governmental process and be a voice for all, not a mouthpiece for the former President.
Abboud aprentice……Naumann is attached to Bobbie with an umbilical cord!
Marty,
We are a family of 5 with many friends in the Hills. We know who you are and what you stand for. We and our friends are the proverbial “silent majority” and we live next door to the horse bullies and we have horses. We don’t want to have problems with this undesirable group so we lay back and try to get along.
But I promise you, we know what is taking place in the village and we will be there in the privacy of the voting booth showing our indignations at the way this village has been hijacked.
Our voices will be heard in April as will the rest of the straight thinking residents. You are a man to be respected and admired as no one in our family could put up with the trash that the SOS people have put you through. We salute you!
For years, extremes of Barrington Hills’ horse community pursued an agenda that is special interest motivated. They shout that anyone who does not support their point of view is anti-equestrian. This is NOT true. In pursuit of this agenda, they trample the rights of neighbors and are responsible for polarizing our Village. Anyone who opposes them are cast out and retribution is visible.
They were smart. They stole control of our government. If not for a few dedicated and brave residents, like Marty and Colleen, our Village would have already been hijacked. It is time for us silent majority to step up. We never attended a Village meeting before and did not need to in the past. Watching proceedings now sickens us to realize the way our Village officials, elected and appointed, have sunk to depths of corruption that has no place in our community.
April is critical and we all need to ensure that change occurs. In the meantime, it’s insufficient to sit silently. We support the Village’s intent to investigate recent practices and conflicts. It is best to expose these issues and silence forever those who disregard the high ethical standards of our Village family.
Why is Mary Naumann holding hands with Ms. Meroni about keeping bike paths out of BH?
Meroni has her name and her signature all over the brouhaha of the road designations and she is the one who arranged FOR Bike Lanes on Haeger’s Bend Road in return for having McHenry pay for the resurfacing.
Strange bedfellows!
The bike lane issue is done as far as I’m concerned, I don’t quite understand why is this an issue any longer? Naumann’s comments at the Dailyherald forum mentioning that the horse boarding amendment has been taking the focus away from her bike lane issue seems to me like it’s more a personal and political move than anything else. The village voted to restore designations at BOT, does Mary Naumann believe she has any say over what Fox River Grove and Algonquin officials do with their roads?
Time to move on.
The attacks on Colleen and Marty seem very personal and the website is flooded with disturbing commentary. If individuals want solid reasons to change our current BOT, they only need to visit youtube.com to watch the conduct and manner of our elected Trustees at the January 25th meting to realize the level of dysfunctionality and corruption that exists now. Healing needs to come in the form of new board members with no previous interests either way.
President McLaughlin has my support along with Trustee Konicek. those with allegations and grudges need to produce contradictory information. If not, then your viewpoints should be disregarded.
SOS Party goes to the movies: Dumb & Dumber meets Clueless
The answer [S]pend [O]ur [S]avings BOT candidates Meroni and Selman should have given concerning Anderson II (horse boarding) is based upon a secret campaign donation [finding by IL Election Board] Meroni’s and Selman’s political committee “Save 5 Acres” received from Oakwood Farm coupled with VBH letter [Schuman Letter] issued 34 days later admittedly by former VBH President for the benefit of Oakwood Farm undoing 3 years of successful litigation by VBH against Oakwood Farm at a cost of @$182,000.00 to VBH taxpayers,
Meroni and Selman should have concluded in their answer to Daily Herald by saying they were “materially conflicted” from participating in the commercial boarding process because the secret campaign donation and Schuman Letter are identified in a complaint in a pending lawsuit filed by an adjacent landowner against Oakwood Farm. Further, Oakwood Farm was an applicant before ZBA for the change in zoning relating to commercial boarding which evolved under mysterious circumstancs into Anderson II horse boarding legislation compounding Meroni’s and Selman’s conflict.
The moral and ethical course of action by BOT members Meroni and Selman should have been to step aside due to “material conflict of interest” rather than opting to promote “special interests” over “public interest”. These same [S]ave [O]ur [S]kin BOT candidates against the strong admonition of VBH counsel elected to get mired in the horseboarding process possibly exposing VBH taxpayers to additional liability and expense.
Did Meroni and Selman act out of self-interest when they voted for Anderson II hoping it would pave the way for the doctrine of mootness to be raised (again) in defense of the pending lawsuit, meaning Meroni, Selman et. al. would not have to testify to the relationship, if any, between the “unprecedented” Schuman Letter and secret campaign donation 34 days before or were Meroni and Selman in their capacity as BOT acting in the public interest? We, the public, cannot be certain as to the precise motives of Meroni and Selman which is why Meroni and Selman were legally obligated to recuse themselves from the horse boarding process; but even after fair warning, they chose not to.
The Daily Herald and remaining VBH trustee candidates simply got it wrong. It is not legislating horseboarding which poses difficulty for VBH residents, but the cloud of “corruption” and “air of suspicion” which hovered over the process due in significant part to actions by [S]ave [O]ur [S]kin candidates Meroni and Selman. I am troubled none of the other candidates raised the issue of conflict of interest or chose to stand beside the VBH taxpayer by pointing out the absolute waste of taxpayer funds by BOT in choosing to prosecute the lawsuit against Oakwood Farms and then, when VBH finally won at the Appellate leve,inexplicably disappear ignoring the order of the Court. Might as well thrown the $180,000.00 in the street, preferably on Braeburn Road near Saville Row.
This debacle could have been illustrated by any candidate by simply asking Meroni and/or Selman, “why would BOT authorize payment of $180,000.00 of taxpayer dollars in legal fees to Burke-Warren to shut down boarding operations at Oakwood Farm if all it took was the 45 cent VBH Schuman Letter to keep it open? They refuse to answer to this question.
.
You see, if the Schuman Letter is legitimate, then this is an indictment on Meroni’s and Selman’s ability to properly manage taxpayer funds by not crying foul in calling attention to BOT expenditure in legal fees to B-W if all it took was a 45 cent letter to remedy this boarding situation. If the Schuman Letter is illegitmate, than it suggests something even more sinister. Can their be a third explanation, perhaps Meroni and Selman will eventually let us know? But if history is any indication of the future, please do not hold your breath, well at least until the election is over..
Candidates are not doing residents a service by trying to portray the issue of commercial boarding as some sort of match of witz between zoning elite when in reality, it is nothing more than a street fight between those who have chosen to stand up for the rule to law, notions fair play and fundamental decency against those who do not share these values and beliefs.
Remaining VBH Candidates, which side do you belong?
I’m on the same page with Marge i.d. of Naunmann as apprentice to Abboud. While we’re at it; have you ever read the rambling rants in the emails of P. Denise, neighbor, and apparent “worshiper of false Gods”? Anyone who is up at all hours, spewing such garbage may have a serious sleep disorder. Perhaps, hubby Mark will go out and shop for a new mattress as Valentine’s Day gift to P.D.
Naumann has gotten caught up in some delusional fantasy about bike lanes, most residents like myself aren’t engaged in that issue any longer. I’m really worried about our 911 issue and horse boarding to a point. What is her platform, only bike lanes? What are here positions on 911, and boarding?
Mary ended up finding her cash donor for her outrageous website don’tchangebarringtonhills.com via Bob’s help. She was recruited by Bobbie’s team as they cleverly convinced her that they will help her prevail against McLaughlin and ruin him and Colleen in the name of bike lanes.
Nothing could be further from the truth… It’s horrible when citizens don’t understand how politics work, this village is engaged in a terrible battle. In politics, no one ever does something without expecting something in return. Pay for play etc…
In return Mary was purchased by the SOS clan, and the price of membership into that private club will cost big bucks. Reality will come in the form of great disappointment when she realizes that she was used as a pawn in our village’s game of campaign chess. OH, well we learn from our mistakes.
The calm before the storm!
Much will be discussed about the Commercial Boarding Text Amendment during the campaign, some factually inaccurate. Anyone wishing to correct the following is invited to comment. Otherwise, our issue is not horses, but potential corrupt practices.
1. Barrington Hills is a unique Open Spaces community and better off promoting a robust equestrian community that supports commercial horse boarding for our neighbors.
2. Home Occupation Ordinance rights of neighbors have long been an essential practice protecting the character of our privacy and tranquility.
3. The Village spent legal fees in excess of $150,000 fighting Oakwood and reversed its position declaring Oakwood as Home Occupation. Timing of action occurred within 60 days of campaign donations to Trustees Messer, Meroni and Selman, later found to be in violation of Illinois campaign reporting laws.
4. In July, 2011, the ZBA Chair provided a recommendation (see below) to the BOT for commercial boarding to be practiced under Special Use for large boarding operations due to “their impacts on surrounding properties.” The BOT, led by Bob Abboud and Joe Messer, denied stating that no changes were necessary to our Village code because no problems existed, thereby reinforcing Special Use and HOO practices.
5. The Illinois Appellate Court ruled that Oakwood Farms was illegal (see below).
6. April, 2013; defeated President Abboud made 33 committee appointments, later found in violation of the Open Meetings Act by the Illinois Attorney General’s office.
7. In 2014, at the direction of ZBA liaison Trustee Joseph Messer, the BOT instructed the ZBA to revisit and provide a recommendation for commercial boarding, now referring to problems.
8. Through a rushed process, the ZBA recommended a version of the LeCompte proposed Text Amendment abandoning Special use allowing all commercial boarding operations under Agriculture. The Text Amendment approved by the ZBA and BOT included a provision retroactively changing the law by 8 years in order to legalize Oakwood.
9. President McLaughlin, consistent with independent legal counsel opinion, vetoed the Text Amendment, and asked for an investigation of potential “improprieties” during the process.
10. Trustee Messer presented a repeal of the President’s right to appoint counsel for investigation at January BOT meeting (used by Abboud and supported by Messer previously), that was noticed and voted for by a majority of the Board in less than 48 hours. Trustee Messer stated that veto will be overturned at February meeting by the majority he controls.
Polarization in our community is the result of extreme special interest practices of elected and appointed officials who test the boundaries of good ethics and the law in order to favor their agenda and protect special interests. An investigation is warranted.
July 20, 2011
President and Board of Trustees
Village of Barrington Hills
112 Algonquin Road
Barrington Hills, IL 60010
RE: Commercial Horse Boarding
Dear President and Trustees:
After many months of discussion of the commercial horse boarding issue in Barrington Hills, we have reached a consensus on a proposed manner of regulating boarding in the Village. We are respectfully requesting that you review and discuss our proposal and if it is acceptable to you, that you refer it back to the Zoning Board of Appeals to conduct a public hearing so that we may make the appropriate recommendation to the Board of Trustees for its adoption . The specific language that we have discussed and are proposing is attached hereto as Exhibit A.
As you are aware, this issue has been under consideration for several years and numerous meetings and discussions have taken place with regard to it. We have had various “white papers” submitted to us by the Equestrian Commission and a number of proposals that have been made by the Legal Committee, the Equestrian Commission and others. We are aware of the situation with Oakwood Farms and the recent holding by the Illinois Appellate Court denying the claim by Oakwood Farms that horse boarding is agriculture and therefore a permitted use.
In 2005, the ZBA recommended and the Board of Trustees approved changes to the Home Occupation Ordinance, which allowed horse boarding as a home occupation. While we considered simply allowing all boarding operations to operate as home occupations, we felt that was not the best approach. Larger boarding operations can have impacts on the surrounding properties. In these circumstances, we are recommending that larger boarding operations should be required to obtain a Special Use Permit. The special use permit requirement would allow the community to have some involvement in whether such operations are appropriate at that particular location and, if so, under what conditions they should operate. As a result, we are suggesting that those facilities that board ten (10) horses or more be regulated as Special Uses. We discussed, at length, requiring stables or barns of a certain size to also obtain a Special Use Permit, but in the end determined that was burdensome and potentially overreaching.
We feel that the attached proposal represents a good balance between preserving and protecting the equestrian nature of the Village while taking into account the concerns of residents who might be impacted by larger boarding facilities.
Very truly yours,
cc: Copy to each of the ZBA members
Judith Freeman – Chairman
Zoning Board of Appeals