Buses still don't make Carpentersville ordinance

Large pickup trucks are back in, but small school buses are out in Carpentersville.

The village board on Tuesday amended its heavy vehicle ordinance to allow vehicles weighing less than 10,000 pounds to be parked in driveways and streets. Vehicles weighing between 8,000 and 10,000 pounds will be subject to a higher rate for a village vehicle sticker.

The original ordinance banned vehicles with a gross weight of more than 8,000 pounds in an attempt to discourage the use of scrappers ­- pickup trucks and other larger vehicles that are modified to carry loads of scrap metal and other materials.

Village attorney James Rhodes said the new ordinance would affect about 120 vehicles that had complied with the ordinance.

But the changes did not accommodate a group of school bus drivers from Barrington Unit District 220 who had pleaded with trustees for months to exempt the buses, which some residents use as their primary vehicle.

"We are very disappointed," said Linnea Jaquet, a resident and bus driver. "This has upset a lot of people because we are not even allowed to park our buses in between routes."

Trustees voted 4-2 in favor of increasing the vehicle limit. Trustees Judy Sigwalt and Patricia Schultz voted to leave the ordinance in tact.

"We cannot change and bend ordinances and rules every time somebody comes before us," Sigwalt said. "I think we need to support the staff and follow the ordinances and codes we have in place."

Trustee Keith Hinz supported the change, saying the village is a working-class community where many residents rely on heavy-duty vehicles for work purposes.

"We have been a work community all of our lives," Hinz said. "People drive these vehicles."

Heavy: 120 vehicles to be affected