The Village Board of Trustees will be conducting their regular monthly meeting this evening beginning at 6:30 PM. Topics on their agenda include:
A copy of their agenda can be viewed and downloaded here.
Archive for the ‘Building Department’ Category
August Board of Trustees meeting recording released
Posted in Animal Welfare, Audio Recordings, Barrington Hills Polo Club, Building Department, Clown Car, Conflict of interest, Deception, Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI), Elections, Equestrian Commission, Ethics, Goat Rodeo, Land Use, OMA, One Barrington Hills, Open Meetings Act, Organizations, Plan Commission, Police Pension Board, Politics, Privacy, Property Taxes, Public Safety, Real Estate, Resident Spotlights, Riding Club Commission, Road construction, Roads & Bridges Committee, Taxes, TMI, Transparency, Unions, VBHPD, Village Attorney, Village Board, Village Clerk, Village Code, Village Director of Administration, Village Engineer, Village Government, Village President, Village Treasurer, Zoning Board on September 3, 2024| Leave a Comment »
The recording of the August 26th Board of Trustees meeting has been released. The link can be found here.
Public comments begin at the 9:50-minute mark. Village Board comments and vote begin at the 1:01:35-minute mark on topic of, “Agritourism as a Special Use.”
Related: “Village Board votes down ‘Agritourism as a Special Use’,” “Village Board of Trustees meet Monday,” “Sitting ducks,” “Special Zoning Board of Appeals meeting scheduled Tuesday”
Village Board votes down “Agritourism as a Special Use”
Posted in Board of Elections, Building Department, Clown Car, Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI), Elections, Land Use, Mad Cows, OMA, Open Meetings Act, Plan Commission, Police Reports, Politics, Property Taxes, Roads & Bridges Committee, Special Use Permits, Topics Of Interest, Unions, VBHPD, Village Attorney, Village Board, Village Clerk, Village Code, Village Engineer, Village Government, Village President, Village Treasurer, Zoning Board on August 27, 2024| 8 Comments »
Attendees of last night’s Board of Trustees were treated to a very rare experience: all seven (7) members of the current Barrington Hills Board of Trustees were in attendance up close and personal. The last time a sighting like this occurred was the May 8, 2023, BOT meeting to certify results of the April 4, 2023 Consolidated Election (a photo of the event captured above).
Last night, the board unanimously voted to approve Kyle Murphy as the next Chief of Police for the Village of Barrington Hills. The board also voted 6-0 against a proposed ordinance amendment to a allow Agritourism as a special use. President Cecola did not cast a vote.
Recordings of the meeting will be posted when they become available.
Related: “Village Board of Trustees meet Monday,” “Sitting ducks,” “Special Zoning Board of Appeals meeting scheduled Tuesday”
Village Board of Trustees meet Monday
Posted in Agendas, Animal Welfare, Audio Recordings, BACOG, Building Department, Commercial Horse Boarding, Elections, Environmental Committee, ePacket Agendas, Financial Reports, Goat Rodeo, Heritage and Environs Committee, Heritage Fest, Horse Boarding, Intergovernmental agreements (IGA), Land Use, Lighting Ordinance, New Normal?, Police Pension Board, Politics, Privacy, Property Taxes, Public Safety, Real Estate, Resident Spotlights, Roads & Bridges Committee, Topics Of Interest, Traffic, Unions, VBHPD, Village Attorney, Village Board, Village Clerk, Village Code, Village Director of Administration, Village Engineer, Village Government, Village President, Village Treasurer, Well Water Quality, Zoning Board on August 25, 2024| Leave a Comment »
The Village Board of Trustees will be conducting their regular monthly meeting Monday evening beginning at 6:30 PM. Topics on their agenda include:
- [Vote] An Ordinance Amending Section 5-5-3(A) of the Village’s Zoning Regulations to Allow Agritourism as a Special Use in the R-1 Zoning District Ordinance 24 –
- [Vote] A Resolution Appointing Kyle Murphy As Chief of Police for the Village of Barrington Hills Resolution 24 –
A copy of their agenda can be viewed and downloaded here
Related: “Sitting ducks,” “Special Zoning Board of Appeals meeting scheduled Tuesday”
Sitting ducks
Posted in Agendas, Barrington Area Library, Board of Health, Building Department, Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI), Don't Change Barrington Hills, ePacket agendas, Land Use, Lighting Ordinance, New Normal?, OP/Ed, Politics, Privacy, Property Taxes, Public Hearing, Public Safety, Real Estate, Resident Spotlights, Topics Of Interest, Traffic, VBHPD, Village Attorney, Village Clerk, Village Code, Village Director of Administration, Village Government, Zoning Board on August 20, 2024| 7 Comments »
Our Village Code states a Home Occupation may be allowed if the general public is, “…unaware of its existence.” | March 23, 2023 Little Ducky Flower Farm Facebook photo seen above
Our Zoning Board of Appeals (ZBA) will hold a special public hearing on a relatively new resident’s request to add “Agritourism“ to the list of allowed uses in the R-1 Residential District this evening. We’d like to share what we’ve learned about the resident, and “Agritourism.“
Background
The applicant is a newcomer to Illinois it seems. He closed on his property at 315 Dundee Road on December 30, 2021. A month later, on January 27, 2022, he filed with the Illinois Secretary of State’s office to register a Limited Liability Company (LLC) under the name of, “YAMAMOTO FAMILY FARMS LLC.”
Weeks later (when presumably the ground was still frozen), Yamamoto registered a Facebook account: “Little Ducky Flower Farm.” On May 3, Little Ducky Flower Farm launched an Instagram page.
With his plans progressing so quickly, one might wonder if he happened to check to see if Village Code allowed for his commercial his plans? Apparently not.
Little Ducky Flower Farm website
According to Little Ducky Flower Farm website, they sell bulbs, t-shirts, wool products, ducks and sheep and, of course, flowers. Marketing of Little Ducky Flower Farm has included television coverage on WGN9, CBS2 Chicago and NBC5.
Country Magazine featured Little Ducky Flower Farm in a piece and there was a “Lunch and Learn” seminar at Barrington’s White House conducted on September 28th of last year.
Things progressed quickly with marketing and sales based at 315 Dundee Road, however the Village issued a stop to it with a cease and desist order in May of this year. Tonight our Zoning Board of Appeals has been asked to consider “Agritourism“ businesses to be allowed in our R-1 Residential community.
So, what is agritourism?
The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s National Agricultural Library defines it as follows:
“Agritourism is a form of commercial enterprise that links agricultural production and/or processing with tourism to attract visitors onto a farm, ranch, or other agricultural business for the purposes of entertaining or educating the visitors while generating income for the farm, ranch, or business owner.”
The National Agricultural Law Center cites some examples of agritourism, including:
- pumpkin picking patches;
- corn mazes;
- U-Pick operations;
- petting and feeding zoos;
- hay rides;
- cut-your-own Christmas tree farms;
- dude ranches;
- demonstration farms;
- agricultural museums;
- living history farms;
- on-farm farmers’ markets;
- winery tours and wine tasting;
- rural bed & breakfasts; and
- garden tours.
In the “Agritourism” filing submitted to our ZBA (seen here), the applicant has proposed a plan for parking for cars and presumably other “vehicles” seen below:
He has also posted a “Roadmap” for his zoning approval plans for the business on his website:
Our thoughts
It’s unclear how or when this homeowner communicated his plans with the Village or when the Village became aware of what was occurring at 315 Dundee Road. The answer to both it appears is too late, and that is unfortunate. Now it is clear that the property owner is asking the ZBA to forgive the violation(s) and allow him to reopen his “Boutique Flower Farm,” business.
Our Comprehensive Plan states, “Barrington Hills is a unique single-family residential community….” Little Ducky Flower Farm’s commercial operations did not and will not fit that description. And, if our ZBA approves the applicant’s requests, we fear homeowners in the Village might become sitting ducks to commercialization of neighboring properties.
We implore the members of our Zoning Board to deny this application, thus protecting our residential community.
– The Observer
Related: “Special Zoning Board of Appeals meeting scheduled Tuesday,” “Special Zoning Board of Appeals Public Hearing August 20th”
Village Board of Trustees meets tonight
Posted in Agendas, Algonquin Rd, BACOG, Barbarian Migrants in Busses at the Gate, Big Red, Building Department, Clown Car, Deception, Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI), Dumb and Dumber, Elections, ePacket Agendas, Ethics, Financial Reports, Land Use, Mac's Property Management, Mad Cows, Mówimy po polsku, OMA, One Barrington Hills, Police Pension Board, Police Reports, Politics, Privacy, Property Taxes, Public Safety, Public Safety Committee, Real Estate, Roads & Bridges Committee, Topics Of Interest, Traffic, Transparency, Unions, VBHPD, Village Attorney, Village Board, Village Clerk, Village Code, Village Director of Administration, Village Engineer, Village Government, Village President, Village Treasurer, Zoning Board on July 22, 2024| Leave a Comment »
The Village Board of Trustees will be conducting their regular monthly meeting this evening beginning at 6:30 PM. Topics on their agenda include:
- [Vote] A Resolution Authorizing the Execution of a Contract with Corrective Asphalt Materials LLC (CAM) for Pavement Rejuvenation Application on Select Village Maintained Roads Resolution 24 –
- [Vote] An Ordinance Amending the Village’s Municipal Code Concerning Fireworks – Title 8, Chapter 2, Section 8-2-13 Ordinance 24 –
- [Vote] An Ordinance Granting a Special Use Permit to Allow an Elementary School at 160J Bateman Road Ordinance 24 –
- [Vote] Resolution of Proclamation Commending Police Chief Joseph Colditz on his 25 Years of Dedicated Service to the Village of Barrington Hills Resolution 24 –
- [Vote] A Resolution Appointing David Kann to the Position of Interim Police Chief for the Village of Barrington Hills Resolution 24 –
- [Vote] Personnel Manual Revisions
A copy of their agenda can be viewed and downloaded here.
Village Board of Trustees meets tonight
Posted in Agendas, Big Red, Building Department, Clown Car, Conflict of interest, Deception, ePacket Agendas, Equestrian Commission, Ethics, Financial Reports, Fundraisers, Insurance Committee, Mac's Property Management, Minutes, Mówimy po polsku, One Barrington Hills, Plan Commission, Police Pension Board, Police Reports, Politics, Property Taxes, Public Safety, Resident Spotlights, Riding Club Commission, Road construction, Roads & Bridges Committee, Taxes, Topics Of Interest, Transparency, Unions, VBHPD, Village Attorney, Village Board, Village Clerk, Village Code, Village Director of Administration, Village Engineer, Village Government, Village President, Village Treasurer, Zoning Board on June 24, 2024| Leave a Comment »
The Village Board of Trustees will be conducting their regular monthly meeting this evening beginning at 6:30 PM. Topics on their agenda include:
- Audit Communications Letter
- [Vote] Accept the Audit Report FY 2023 – Eccezion
- [Vote] A Resolution Authorizing the Acceptance of a Quote for Seal Coating and Crack Sealing the Village Hall Parking Lot Res 24 –
- The Land We Love Run – 5K/10K + 2-Mile Walk – Registration Open, Volunteers Needed
A copy of their agenda can be viewed and downloaded here.
Editorial note: This marks the 6,000th post to The Observer since this publication began in 2009.
Village Board of Trustees meets tonight
Posted in Agendas, Barbarian Migrants in Busses at the Gate, Barrington Honor Ride, Big Red, Building Department, Clown Car, Cuba Township Road District, ePacket Agendas, Equestrian Commission, Ethics, Financial Reports, Insurance Committee, Minutes, One Barrington Hills, Open Meetings Act, Pension Funding, Plan Commission, Police Pension Board, Politics, Public Safety, Real Estate, Roads & Bridges Committee, Taxes, Topics Of Interest, Transparency, VBHPD, Village Attorney, Village Board, Village Clerk, Village Director of Administration, Village Engineer, Village Government, Village President, Village Treasurer, Zoning Board on March 18, 2024| Leave a Comment »
Our Village Board of Trustees will be conducting their regular monthly meeting this evening beginning at 6:30 PM. Topics on their agenda include:
- [Vote] A Resolution Authorizing the Acceptance of a Quote for the Replacement of a Culvert ($18,340) Located Under Little Bend Road in the Village of Barrington Hills Resolution 24 –
- [Vote] A Resolution Accepting a Proposal with GOV HR/MGT to Assist the Village in the Recruitment and Hiring Process for the Chief of Police Resolution 2 24 –
A copy of their agenda can be viewed and downloaded here.
Related: “VBH Chief of Police Joseph Colditz announces retirement”
Village Board of Trustees meet tonight
Posted in Agendas, Barbarian Migrants in Busses at the Gate, BCFPD, Board of Health, Building Department, Clown Car, Conflict of interest, Cuba Township Road District, Deception, Dumb and Dumber, ePacket Agendas, Equestrian Commission, Ethics, Financial Reports, Insurance Committee, Intergovernmental agreements (IGA), Land Use, Legal Expenses, Mac's Property Management, Minutes, OMA, OP/Ed, Pension Funding, Plan Commission, Police Pension Board, Politics, Property Taxes, Public Safety, Real Estate, Riding Club Commission, Roads & Bridges Committee, Topics Of Interest, Transparency, Unions, VBHPD, Village Attorney, Village Board, Village Clerk, Village Code, Village Director of Administration, Village Engineer, Village Government, Village President, Village Treasurer, Zoning Board on January 22, 2024| Leave a Comment »
Our Village Board of Trustees will be conducting their regular monthly meeting this evening beginning at 6:30 PM. Topics on their agenda include:
- PUBLIC HEARING: Village of Barrington Hills Annual Appropriation Ordinance for the Fiscal Year Beginning January 1, 2024, and Ending December 31, 2024 Appropriation Ord FY 2024 – Draft.pdf
- [Vote] Annual Appropriation Ordinance for the Fiscal Year Beginning January 1, 2024 and Ending December 31, 2024 Ordinance 24 –
- [Vote] Resolution for Use of Motor Fuel Tax Funds on Snow Removal 2024 Resolution 24 –
- [Vote] Ordinance Amending the General Penalty of the Village Code Adjusting the Maximum Fine Ordinance 24 –
- Annexation of Contiguous Properties Discussion
The fourth item on the list amending the amount(s) of, “General Penalty of the Village Code,” reads:
“Any person convicted of or found liable for a violation of any section of this code shall be fined in a sum not less than one hundred dollars ($100.00) and not to exceed seven hundred fifty dollars ($750.00) two thousand five hundred dollars ($2,500.00) for any one offense, excepting any specific section of this code wherein the maximum fine is limited to a lesser amount.”
Both amounts are too low, especially the $100.00 amount. By the time all the costs, from start to finish, are aggregated to collect $100.00, the Village will likely lose money (and no doubt has been for many years).
A copy of their agenda can be viewed and downloaded here.
Related: “A matter of trust,” “December Board of Trustees meeting recordings released,” “Change.org petition posted: ‘Why Barrington Hills should not annex Sutton and the Penny Road Properties.’”
A matter of trust
Posted in Building Department, Conflict of interest, Cuba Township Road District, Deception, Dumb and Dumber, Ethics, Financial Reports, FUBAR, Legal Expenses, Mac's Property Management, New Normal?, One Barrington Hills, OP/Ed, Politics, Roads & Bridges Committee, Taxes, Transparency, Village Board, Village Director of Administration, Village Government, Village President on January 19, 2024| Leave a Comment »
Monday evening’s Board of Trustees meeting includes a Public Hearing regarding the proposed 2024 Village Appropriation Ordinance. We have concerns and questions, not the least of which is our first one.
You see, for the fifth (5th) year in a row, the amount appropriated for “Snowplowing” is not disclosed. In 2019, the amount of $279,500 was appropriated, but since then that line has remained blank:
If President Cecola’s (alleged) business in Winter months includes snowplowing, are there implications of concern with our Village currently contracting with (alleged) friend(s) of his after he spearheaded the firing of Cuba Township Road District (Cecola abstained from that vote, by the way)?
Why has he chosen not to have the amounts published again in 2024 or previous years during his Administration? Further, why is the obsessively detail oriented Roads and Bridges Chair allowing this to proceed this far before a vote?
Following are some of the amounts appropriated to “Municipal Buildings & Grounds” as seen in the draft report:
Question: Is “Snow Removal” separate from “Snowplowing”? In the copy of the draft linked below, an amount is listed for “Salt” ($1,100) under Roads and Bridges, by the way, but nothing for snow plowing.
There are other items of concern in the 2024 Appropriations Ordinance draft, which we’ve highlighted in a copy that can be found here.
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