Lake Zurich officials say Hawthorn Woods violated agreement

Hawthorn Woods' Thursday night land-grab didn't end with the village board's annexation of the unincorporated Kildeer Estates subdivision at Quentin Road and Route 22.

That same night, trustees also approved taking land west of Quentin Road - a move that angered residents and Lake Zurich officials, who said it violates a boundary agreement between the villages.

"Any such action is a clear violation of a 1998 intergovernmental agreement, which clearly established boundary limitations upon both Lake Zurich and Hawthorn Woods," Lake Zurich Village Administrator Bob Vitas told Hawthorn Woods officials.

The 56-acre property is between Telser and Quentin roads near Route 22. Lake Zurich Village President Suzanne Branding said it is protected by the agreement that sets Quentin Road as the dividing line between Lake Zurich to the west and Hawthorn Woods to the east.

"You don't sign something and then not honor it," Branding said Friday. She added she is unsure how the village will respond until the village board meets July 6.

Residents at Thursday's meeting were surprised when Hawthorn Woods voted to annex the property because it wasn't part of the Monday public hearing when the Kildeer Estates site was discussed.

Dennis Wooten said he wasn't aware his property was being annexed until Thursday morning.

"That's not very courteous to me as a resident, a businessman of this town for 30 years," said Wooten, who owns Cedar Hill Nursery in Lake Zurich.

Deborah Cronberg also complained about the lack of notification.

"I was here for five hours (Monday). The fact that the area west of Quentin Road, north and south of Illinois 22 was never addressed," Cronberg said. "If that was known to be on tonight's agenda, you would not have been able to have parked here this evening."

To worried residents, Hawthorn Woods Mayor Joseph Mancino responded: "We are annexing you because we feel it's in the best interest of our village."

Village attorney Daniel Shapiro said proper notification was given in the Daily Herald.

This annexation came in addition to assumption of about 72 acres of Dartmoor Homes property northeast of the Quentin Road/Route 22 intersection. That site is Kildeer Estates and a portion of Forest Lake, just to the north.

The small part of Forest Lake had to be included in the annexation so Kildeer Estates was contiguous with Hawthorn Woods, Mancino said. Once that was approved, it became possible for property west of Quentin to be annexed, he said.

Hawthorn Woods also would have taken land southeast of the Route 22/Quentin Road intersection if it could have, Village Trustee Steve Riess said.

"If this wasn't (in) Kildeer, we would have annexed that, too," he said.