The Burr Ridge mayor and board on Monday decided to overrule, finally, the Village’s plan commission’s recommendation for a special use variance so that a family could fence in its side yard and add a gate to the design.
While fences and gates aren’t uncommon in Burr Ridge, most residents are limited to a backyard fence or a side fence if the house meets a required setback — distance from the curb. In this case, the property at 7660 County Line Road, wasn’t big enough to achieve the setback and the Farrar family has been asking for a variance to get what they say they need without having to sell a home they bought only a year ago.
For the last year though, both the plan commission and the trustees have rejected multiple requests for the same variances until Monday, and by a divided vote, the Farrar family explained why they needed a fence and gate set up.
They argue their backyard simply isn’t big enough for their kids to play in and one of their kids has a learning disability leading to unpredictable responses — including maybe running into traffic. The gates, they say, are for safety.
Still, not everyone on the board — let alone the plan commission agreed that bad luck and bad planning by the family should warrant special treatment. Typically land use variations, by village rule, are given according to a property to protect certain features — in short, if there is a wetland on the property, that natural feature adds to the property as well as to the village as a whole and they’re happy to protect that.
Community Development Director Janine Farrell pointed out that in the last year, the Board did approve one request and the family scotched another, but the big three — the two gates and the fence — proved the biggest obstacles.
She pointed out to the board that, technically, the family had no claim.
“They said there wasn’t a need for it,” Farrell said of the plan commission.
“The plan commission once again recommended the denial of the fence and the gate and the gate within a parcel of less than 2 acres,” she said “Here we are again, looking at the same requests already denied 10 months ago.”
The parcel is almost two acres, but even so, the house doesn’t meet setback requirements of at least 80 feet, allowing for a side yard fence.
A lawyer for the Zaffar family, William Ryan, set the family could agree to a 30-foot setback.
“If you grant them to be 30 feet from the edge of the pavement, they don’t think there will be any issue,” Ryan said. Meanwhile, he added, not having a gate and a fence could harm the family.
“We think a fence along County Line Road would harm no one, and six of nine of the houses near there have a fence, so we don’t see how it would be a hardship in any area,” he said.
Later it came up that the other properties were either much larger, five or 10 acres, and thus beholden to different restrictions or in some other ways met existing code. But Ryan pointed out that the village board granted a variance about 40 years ago for a fence when the elderly woman living at the house began to wander dangerously close to traffic and her son, the home’s owner, wanted to make sure she was safe.
“We think the application of the existing codes creates a hardship for the Zeffars, especially for their five-year-old daughter,” he said. “This is an important part of their yard they need and use and that their daughter plays in.”
However, after some questioning by the board Rey Zaffar admitted he only bought the house a year ago and when he did he figured he would need a variance but he also figured he’d just get one, quick and easy.
But, 16 plan commission meetings later, that had long ago proven to be another mistake by the Zaffars.
Plan Commissioner Joe Petrich said as much at the board meeting.
“We do not base it on personal reasons, we base it on property. …. People have a choice where they buy property and you didn’t have to buy it. … There are other choices in Burr Ridge, and we sympathize but under the present circumstances I don’t see any hardships.”
Trustee Joe Snyder didn’t see any either and told the family pointedly to just keep their kids in the backyard like most families.
Even so, when it came to a vote a majority of the board voted to give it to the family and thus end the fence debate.
Jesse Wright is a freelance reporter for Pioneer Press.
