Campton Hills to talk joint boundary with Lily Lake

Campton Hills trustees want to begin informal boundary talks with their municipal neighbors to the west, despite advice from the village president that it's "premature."

The village board voted unanimously Tuesday to engage the village of Lily Lake in preliminary discussions about a joint boundary agreement between the two rural, though developing, communities.

The decision came despite warnings from Village President Patsy Smith that Campton Hills isn't ready to make any commitments regarding its borders.

Smith noted the one-year-old village, which incorporated last May, is still working on its own comprehensive planning rules and also is fighting several lawsuits that have the potential to change its borders drastically by seceding outlying neighborhoods.

"Until you get this other stuff done, I personally think it would be good to wait," Smith told the village board. "I just think it's premature at this point."

But several trustees said they disagreed. Among them was Mike Millette, who suggested there's no harm in at least opening a dialogue with Lily Lake.

"I don't think it hurts to start talking," Millette said. "It's not a bad idea."

Boundary pacts can help officials plan for the future -- and protect their towns legally -- by defining what sorts of development and annexation agreements they might one day consider near their town's borders. They're common in the suburbs.

"It's just a good neighbor policy to have a border agreement," Lily Lake Village President Jesse Heffernan said Wednesday. "It simplifies matters."

Millette and others agreed with Smith any agreements would have to wait until after related issues are resolved in Campton Hills.

"It's a lot easier to discuss boundaries now when we're not touching," Trustee Al Lenkaitis Jr. said, referring to unincorporated land between the two towns. "We can't act on anything."

The boundary issue was brought up recently at the request of Lily Lake. While Heffernan was sympathetic Wednesday to Smith's "hesitation," she said the village was nonetheless pleased to be moving forward, even if only informally.

"If we don't come to an agreement, at least the doors are open," she said.

The issue also is likely to come up at a community workshop Tuesday where Campton Hills residents can weigh in on the type of development they envision for the village.

The workshop is scheduled for 7 to 8:30 p.m. at Bell-Graham Elementary School, 4N505 Fox Mill Blvd. Citizens planning to attend are asked to register in advance by calling (630) 584-5700.