Month: November 2022

Campton Hills has a long tradition of detailed planning, from Green Infrastructure, to development of the Town Center to the 2012 Comprehensive Plan. These plans should be thought of as snapshots of a moment in time. They were meant to be living documents that the community could use as the basis for future action. The current administration has failed to build upon and update these plans; you cannot draw a straight line between any aspect of the “Village’s Vision Statement” that governs the re-zoning process and our prior infrastructure and comprehensive plans.

Table The New Zoning Ordinance!

Keep in mind that the Village is attempting two things during the re-zoning process and they’re both bad. First, they want to reclassify the zoning of hundreds of parcels in the village. So your F may become and RE3 or your RE may become an R, etc. In some cases, this is necessary. For instance, certain court-ordered subdivisions in the area with very small R lots are still classed as F – an obvious error. Correcting it has no tax consequences for anyone. If the Village allows urban homestead on R lots, it doesn’t impact their use unless they have an HOA restriction.

In addition, the Village is attempting to pass an overly broad, 127-page Zoning Ordinance that affects the land use of every parcel in Campton Hills. Removing the unnecessary and inappropriate restrictions in this ordinance is the most important change we can make in this process.

Table The New Zoning Ordinance!

Many residents, realizing the new Zoning Ordinance will take away some of their property rights, have questioned the Village. They are often told not to worry, that their use will be “grandfathered” or that they can apply for a “Special Use Permit”.

Of course, Special Use Permit applications can be denied. But even if you get one, or the Village “grandfathers” your use and doesn’t enforce against you, a subsequent owner won’t get that consideration.

Perhaps you have a couple of horses, a horse barn, a paddock and small outdoor arena. You’ve invested six figures and it is awesome. What about your buyer a few years down the road? Will they love your improvements and kill the deal when they discover they can’t keep them? Will they reduce their offer AND ask you to remove them?

Don’t be fooled. Special Use is exactly what it sounds like.

Table The New Zoning Ordinance!