College, Glen Ellyn reach interim deal over signs
Glen Ellyn officials approved a tentative interim agreement with College of DuPage that allows the school to finish installing more than $2 million in electronic signs while the two sides work on a deal that addresses oversight of future construction projects.
Under terms of the interim pact, the school would agree to a six-month period of public comments on the signs.
The interim deal still must be approved by the COD board, which meets Thursday.
"The school is very eager to find a resolution that serves the needs of the entire community," said Joe Moore, COD associate vice president for external relations. He declined further comment, saying the matter remains under litigation and has yet to be placed on Thursday's agenda.
The agreement calls on COD to place its lawsuit against the village on hold during the 60-day negotiating period that ends Oct. 12. In the lawsuit, school officials say the village's ordinances do not apply to its construction projects because community colleges fall under the state's jurisdiction.
Village officials say the ordinances and inspections that would follow ensure the safety of residents and students.
Village President Mark Pfefferman said the interim agreement gives both sides time to hammer out a more permanent deal regarding future construction.
"We made it clear that we are willing to work hard to continue to settle this through negotiation," he said. "This step is a commitment to negotiate."
The interim accord comes not long after the dispute turned ugly, with the village issuing citations to the school for building without a permit and the school, in turn, saying the village was trying to bully it into installing unneeded sidewalks.
In 2007, the school began a major construction push and entered into an intergovernmental agreement with the village. The agreement, according to village officials, gave the school very loose guidelines on future construction. The college decided to withdraw from that agreement unilaterally in December 2008.
As a result, the village took the position that sign codes applied to the school and, in April, notified COD the proposed signs violated village ordinances.
In June, preliminary talks broke off and both sides said any further discussion would be handled by each entity's respective attorneys.
At a mediation session Aug. 13, Judge Hollis L. Webster helped craft the interim agreement, which also includes an item that clarifies that neither side was backing down on its position regarding jurisdiction. Also, the school has shared construction plans for ongoing projects.
"If we had any questions, the college would answer them," Pfefferman said.