Gilberts tweaks law to deal with Indian Trails

Gilberts trustees Tuesday changed law to give them power to enforce covenants over the subdivision of Indian Trails.

"We're doing this for the neighborhood, not to the neighborhood," said Gilberts President Rick Zirk. "People are less likely to violate a regulation if it's a village ordinance rather than a covenant."

The decision ends years of wrangling among residents over who should enforce rules pertaining to fences, the length of boats that can be parked or stored on the property, a prohibition on sheds and how long a recreational vehicle could be parked in a driveway.

Neighbors didn't want to tattle on each other and often ended up calling the police to settle disputes.

The subdivision was built in 1988 with covenants homeowners had to adhere to, but no homeowner's association to enforce them.

Village trustees considered several changes in the late 1990s and as recently as 2005.

This time around, the village asked residents to gauge interest via a survey and more than 80 percent favored the village stepping in.

Tuesday night, residents who addressed the village board were divided on the issue.

Some believed it was another layer of government interference and the village needed to take a few more weeks to survey residents again and the move could set a precedent for other neighborhoods.

"I think it's a waste of taxpayer money," said resident Jeff McIntyre. "I think Indian Trails should go out and form a homeowners association."

Added resident Tom Sparks: "It's just another hand in the mixing pot. To me, it's like splitting the baby and we don't like the half of the baby we got."

Other residents who surveyed their neighbors said every homeowner was aware of the rules when they moved in.

"It's the people who are looking for exemptions that are making all the noise," said resident Dan Baird. "Let's just play by the simple rules we all agreed to when we bought our house."