Lincolnwood residents may now put their air conditioners as close as 3 feet to their property lines as long as they are installed in their backyards; some are hailing the measure as an improvement over the requirement to place them 10 feet away.
After much debate, the Village Board voted unanimously on March 19 to reduce restrictions for installing air conditioners in backyards, but to maintain restrictions against installing them in side yards.
Trustees argued that the previous requirement of keeping the units at least 10 feet from property lines was cumbersome, often leading to larger modern units getting installed virtually in the middle of the backyard of many narrow residential parcels.
“All of us have an issue at our own houses,” Village President Jesal Patel said of fellow board members. “We just want room to use our backyards. Even with new houses, why does an air conditioner have to go in the middle of the backyard?”
Trustee Chris Martel said many homes in east or central Lincolnwood, including his own, have lot widths as narrow as 40 or 50 feet.
Martel’s home stands just 5 feet from his property line, so he was forced to install even window air conditioners at least 5 feet from the side walls in order to meet the 10-foot requirement.
“I just did a remodel,” he said. “It was painful to shove windows 5 feet from the edge of the building. My house is 5 feet from the property boundary. You can’t put it on the side. And in the back of the house you have to move 5 feet in.”
Because many homes are so close together, Lincolnwood prohibits the installation of air conditioners in side yards. The board chose to uphold that restriction to prevent creating what trustees called an “echo chamber” between two homes.
“If your lot is 40 or 50 feet wide, there is no place to put them but up against the back of your house,” Martel said before the vote.
Trustee Grace Diaz-Herrera asked if Lincolnwood receives many complaints about loud air conditioners.
Patel suggested they are uncommon.
“When the air conditioner is running, your windows are closed,” he said. “It dilutes the concern a little bit. Windows are getting better and air conditioners are getting quieter.”
Martel initially pushed for reducing the rear yard setback from 10 feet to 5 feet, but Patel nudged the board to consider 2 or 3 feet.
The mayor said the rear yard technically begins at the back of the house, which reduces the echo effect by opening up the yard to reduce noise.
“I agree with Mayor Patel,” Diaz-Herrera said. “The houses are very close to each other. Maybe it should be reduced to 3 feet.”
“If it’s in the backyard, if it’s 2-3 feet, what’s the difference for practical purposes?” Patel said.
Ultimately, Martel moved to change the requirement to 3 feet on residential property, but to maintain a 10-foot requirement on commercial property and to require all commercial air conditioners to remain at least 20 feet from any residential window.
Among the amendments, the board also agreed with the Plan Commission’s recommendation to increase the noise levels permitted for air conditioners from 45 to 80 decibels.
Commissioners said typical residential units today do not comply with the previous standard, according to a March 19 report by the Community Development Department. A property owner might be found in violation if a neighbor were to make a complaint.
“When asked for clarification regarding enforcement of these noise levels, staff stated that a complaint could lead to a scenario where a property owner would have to mitigate a violation in order to be compliant, which could result in significant implications in the context of fair community-wide enforcement,” the report said.
