Neighbors settle fence dispute in Buffalo Grove
It was an issue could have created a wall between two communities.
Instead the two sides decided to mend fences -- or rather, one fence in particular.
The homeowners of Cambridge on the Lake, a six-building complex with 392 units located along Dundee Road east of Buffalo Grove Road in Buffalo Grove, needed to replace a deteriorating, 40-year-old six-foot wooden fence.
Since there is a five-foot limit, the homeowners needed a variance. The Zoning Board of Appeals recommended the variance, which then went to the village board.
But in the meantime, neighbors in the Cambridge subdivision, consisting of 50 single-family homes on Cambridge Drive, Anthony Road and Harvard Lane, learned that the homeowners association had agreed to replace the wooden fence with a white vinyl fence. The neighbors were upset with what they saw as a white wall facing their homes.
When the matter came before the village board, Village President Elliott Hartstein and several trustees urged the two sides to compromise.
And compromise they did.
On Monday, the village board voted to approve a variance for a six-foot wooden fence.
Hartstein applauded both sides. "I think this - is an example of why Buffalo Grove is such a special community.
"The best thing that can happen is when people give and take and work together as citizens of our community to work for their mutual benefit."
Sherwin Chapman, president of the Cambridge on the Lake homeowners association, said he was inspired by something Hartstein said at the last meeting.
"At the last meeting - very contentious as you well know - you made one comment which really struck me and was emotional to me. You said, 'Try to make an accommodation with your neighbors.'" At the end of that meeting, Chapman said, he told the board's attorney and the property manager, "We can't continue on with this white fence."
On Aug. 25, the contract for the white vinyl fence was canceled, and the board agreed to construct a natural wood fence.
"Our neighbors are going to love it," Chapman said.
One of those neighbors, Larry Arends, thanked Cambridge on the Lake, as well as members of the ZBA and Deputy Building Commission Brian Sheehan. "The citizens of Buffalo Grove truly can take pride in knowing that we have a city government that functions in a very professional and equitable manner."