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Clock ticking on new buildings at COD

There’s only about a month to go until classes begin for the fall semester at the College of DuPage in Glen Ellyn.

If college President Robert Breuder has his way, students will be able to spend their first day in some recently completed buildings on campus.

But that could depend on whether the school receives occupancy permits from the village as both sides continue to debate whether the buildings were constructed to code.

During an address Monday to members of the Naperville Area Chamber of Commerce legislative committee, Breuder remained confident that an estimated 1,000 students will be able to take classes at the new buildings starting Aug. 22.

“They’ll get in,” Breuder said later in an interview. “It’s not an option.”

Late last month, village attorneys filed legal “pleadings” in DuPage County circuit court that would allow them to seek a formal injunction prohibiting the buildings from being occupied. That would only happen, village officials say, if the two sides can’t get on the same page about building certifications.

The same day the village filed its motion, the two sides met at the college to discuss inspection reports completed by college-hired, third-party architects and engineers. Village officials have argued those consultants don’t have the same level of certification as village inspectors, but said they’re willing to issue occupancy permits after having a meeting and verifying the buildings were done to code.

The village has also sought that affirmation in writing — in the form of certificates of compliance. The latest hang up, it appears, is that each side has drafted its own such certificates.

Breuder told chamber members on Monday that some codes and ordinances noted in the village’s version do not apply to the college — a recurring argument from the college that speaks to the larger debate over jurisdiction control on the 273-acre campus.

Breuder said the college’s attorney would be looking at both draft certificates this week to “minimize the gap” between them.

“Our attorney is looking to see if he can feather together the one that he drafted and the one drafted by the village to find where there are points of synergy that we can embrace what the village wants,” Breuder said. “But if there’s anything in it that details an obligation to code or ordinance not applicable to us, he would not recommend we ascribe to that.”

Meanwhile, the clock continues to tick. Breuder said he’s hopeful the college can resolve issues over certificates of compliance by the end of the week. The village board meets next Monday, when trustees could consider issuing the occupancy permits.