The Barrington Hills Observer

Posted in Community Alerts, Equestrian Commission | 6 Comments

6 Responses

1. on March 2, 2015 at 11:36 AM | Reply Potpourri

   So they’re not going to meet until AFTER the April election. Anyone else find that strange considering what the Observer posted earlier about their silence about their LeCompte amendment vote? I do!

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   • on March 3, 2015 at 7:30 AM | Reply Petty Politics

     That’s probably why Meroni wanted to keep it hush shush until after the election! After all 68 resurfacing wasn’t on her agenda until it was brought up in the meeting.

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2. on March 3, 2015 at 8:00 AM | Reply Carlos

   Interesting that the Equestrian Commission was silent at the ZBA hearings this go around, whereas in previous years the Commission played a very active role, what with white papers and all. On the Village website, the 9-11-2014 ZBA transcript shows the following on Page 73, quoting ZBA Member Kurt Anderson, now of the infamous “Anderson Amendments” when he was promoting his first, but certainly not final, amendment to the LeCompte proposal:

   6 I’m trying to find and make sure that people
   7 are reasonable and responsible to this. As I looked
   8 at some of the other text amendments, there were some
   9 that seemed to be designed strictly to favor a
   10 specific resident. Even Mr. LeCompte had a few
   11 provisions that I felt may have been designed to favor
   12 him for other reasons, for example, retroactive
   13 provisions. I asked, you know, I struck that from my
   14 amendments. I struck those provisions in my
   15 amendment.
   16 So the goal here was to try to address the
   17 concerns of those that I’d heard within the village
   18 and keep the safety of the village and the residents
   19 of the village in mind as I put this together and
   20 proposed these amendments.

   Big question is, why, after stating the above with such certainty and passion, he backtracks on the final “Anderson Amendment” in December and not only includes it (but advocates for it) in text that was ultimately passed by the Board of Trustees? Guess he never heard that the Equestrian Commission and Member Bruce Pfaff were adamantly opposed to the “retroactive” feature. It was not brought up nor discussed by anyone on the ZBA. Perhaps ZBA Chairman Judy Freeman purposely didn’t seek the opinion of the Equestrian Commission members, but she did admit under questioning she communicated with Mr. LeCompte, as well as others in the community (some call this “ex parte” communications).

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3. on March 3, 2015 at 12:01 PM | Reply Alice

   Carlos, please confirm. Are you saying the quote in lines 6-20 is attributed to Kurt Anderson and from the Septermber, 2014 ZBA transcript? And, he recommended that the new Anderson Text Amendment have a retroactive provision for Oakwood Farms? We all also know that Judy Freeman was in favor of special use in 2011, but changed to support a Text Amendment abandoning Special Use and favoring this same retroactive provision.

   What’s changed to have these 180 degree flip flops from Anderson and Freeman?

   And why did the ZBA liaison, Joseph Messer, bring forth the vote to repeal rights of President to appoint special counsel? And, when he found out that was unconstitutional, why did Messer bring forth a vote with unanimous straight party vote to set fees for counsel at $-0- per hour? That too is likely unconstitutional without a referendum repealing President’s rights to appoint.

   Since the cover up appears to be locked in, who would be responsible for a government investigation and why isn’t that happening?

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4. on March 3, 2015 at 12:27 PM | Reply David M. Stieper

   Carlos,

   Not only did ZBA member Kurt Anderson support removal of the retroactive provision in 2011, but he and Chairman Freeman also advocated for “special use” as the only means to protect residents of the VBH. What changed and why?

   For your edification Trustee Harrington, prospects of legislating horse boarding came to an abrupt halt in 2011, when the trial judge in the lawsuit filed by Oakwood Farm against VBH ruled the “Schuman [Abboud] Letter” making Oakwood Farm magically home occupation compliant overnight was a legislative act rendering claims against Oakwood Farm “moot”.

   The Second Appellate Court Decision reversed the trial court’s decision properly holding the “Schuman Letter” was an inexplicable purposeful road block created by VBH during pending litigation for the purpose of frustrating a litigants rights concluding the Schuman Letter had no legal bearing on the lawsuit whatsoever.

   This reversal by the Appellate Court reignited the lawsuit triggering an immediate response by BOT member Messer and Chairman Freeman to immediately renew legislative interest in horse boarding at record speed, this time slanting the rules ensuring boarding was legislated as “permitted use” with a retroactivity provision intended to serve a single property owner. This is the opposite of what Freeman and Anderson advocated in 2011, but then again political times, allies and donations changed.

   The pending lawsuit also changed through allegations in the Drury Amended Complaint under Adjacent Landowner’s Act making the Schuman Letter and the facts surrounding its creation a focal point resulting in the conflct of interest by donees, Messer, Meroni and Selman. Now with Andeson II, the “mootness” defense will no doubt again be raised by Oakwood Farm, this time with even higher stakes, preventing all of participants known and unknown from having to be deposed about the Schuman Letter and whether it was the by-product of “pay to play” politics in VBH.

   I am convinced more than ever after listening to the audio of the equestrian commission tapes this board which was created by Abboud should be disbanded. If not, then a resident’s commission should be formed to counteract the obvious bias commission and ultimage threat it poses to VBH zoning code and 5 acre residential estate living.

   It was stunning to me after listening to the audio presented by BHO, this commission’s fundamental lack of knowledge of VBH zoning code, history of Oakwood Farm litigation and obvious pandering to a special interest at the expense of residents at large. The most aggregious being that no boarding operation should be subject to what a neighbor has subjected Oakwood Farm too.

   It was the VBH ZBA who issued the cease and desist against Oakwood Farm and it was Oakwood Farm who brought suit against VBH which was successfully defended by VBH through Abboud and BOT succeeding at both the trial and appellate court level at an expense of $182,000 to village taxpayers.

   When VBH won its case against Oakwood Farm (ruling that Oakwood Farm was not agriculture nor home occupation, the latter claim having been waived by LeCompte) Abboud made it (at least he thought) all go away for Oakwood Farm 34 days after the illegal campaign donations to his slate, Save 5 Acre candidates Messer, Meroni and Selman through the Schuman Letter. [It should be noted that LeCompte had prepared a separate letter for Abboud to put on Village letterhead and sign making Oakwood Farm legal, but Abboud rejected this strategy and instead opted for the stealth home occupation compliant letter by Abboud pretending to be building inspector Don Schuman]

   The Appellate Court in the Second decision was not fooled by this obvious attempt to game the process via Schuman Letter, so VBH gov. being what it has become under Abboud and his leftovers, went back to work through ZBA Chairman Freeman resulting in Anderson II. Drury only stepped into the case under the Adjacent Landowner’s Act because VBH would take no action on the successful court order VBH spent $182,000 to obtain. In fact, undermine this court order through creation of Schuman Letter. This, even after Burke-Warren advised BOT in executive session to recant the Schuman Letter.

   If Equestrian Chairman McQue wants to discuss an injustice, maybe she should focus on the misuse of taxpayer dollars through this whole process by Abboud and BOT rather than a horse boarding commercial enterprise named Oakwood Farm who was found by a court of law to have violated village zoning laws. But then again, in the eyes of SOS and its blind followers, they are bound to only “Consider the Horse”.

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5. on March 4, 2015 at 9:12 AM | Reply Historian

   Re Mr. Stieper’s comment:

   The text re “retroactivity” is hidden at the bottom of the definition of “Agriculture” rather than in the “Whereas” section of the Amendment, as follows:
   “Such amended definition is retroactive and in full force and effect as of June 26,
   2006”.

   It should be noted that on June 26, 2006, Ordinance No. 06-12, re “Home Occupation” included expanded text re Horse Boarding, and was passed by the Board of Trustees with 7 Aye and 0 Nay votes.

   Board of Trustee Minutes of 6/26/06 Meeting:

   Home Occupation Text Amendment of Zoning Code – Trustee Schueppert motioned to accept the ordinance amending Sections 5-2-1 and 5-3-4 of the Village Code by re-defining and adding rules and regulations pertaining to “Home Occupations” within the Village. Trustee Smithe seconded. The text of the amendment was recommended by the Zoning Board of Appeals. The Trustees discussed the present definition of home occupation and the more complete definition of home occupation in the amendment. The amendment includes employee limitations, structural limitations, operational limitations and expressly allows the boarding and training of horses under certain conditions.
   All present said aye.
   Ordinance 06-12

   Board Members at meeting : R. Abboud, F. Gohl, S. Knoop, G. Schueppert, J. McKevitt, W. Smithe, T. Horne.

   ZBA Member Anderson’s re-inclusion of the “retroactivity” language in his final amendment erases nearly 8 years of Village code. No testimony was given in any hearings with evidence that any complaints are on file with the Village involving home occupation and commercial boarding, other than the complaint filed against the LeCompte operation.

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