Friday afternoon, South Barrington Mayor Paula McCombie’s weekly update to residents included the following:
“We are all aware of the challenges surrounding the (South) Barrington Park District’s sale of a property known as Area N.
One of the most significant issues the Village had to consider was who actually owns the property?
As a Village, we were being asked to go through a zoning review process without a clear understanding of who is the rightful owner of the property and whether or not the land sale was even lawful.
In order for us to take any action with regard to any potential zoning changes, we wanted to have these basic questions answered first and so under the guidance of legal counsel, the Village formally filed a motion to Intervene and Stay the Zoning Hearing. I can assure you this decision was not an easy one, but in the interest of fairness, transparency, and above all accountability to the residents of South Barrington, the motion was filed per code.
I joined our attorney in attending the hearing in downtown Chicago where we learned the plaintiffs in the case had decided to drop the lawsuit. There was no notice and no communication about their intent to drop the case prior to the hearing. Regrettably, village time and resources were used to file a motion that is no longer relevant. We were simply trying to get some guidance from the court and also to show our residents that we take their concerns seriously. A courtesy call would have been appreciated.
We will be withdrawing our motion, and the zoning board meeting scheduled for tonight* will proceed.
Our commitment remains to be honest, transparent and accountable to our residents, and I will be providing more updates in the future.”
*There was a public hearing on the matter that began Friday evening, and will be continued on August 26th at 7 PM.
Related: “McCombie provides “Area N” update to residents,” “South Barrington Plan Commission public hearing regarding ‘Area N’ scheduled for August 9th“
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