College of DuPage takes sign spat with Glen Ellyn to state
After months of insisting that certain local ordinances do not apply to the school, College of DuPage officials are asking the state to put it in writing.
College board President Kathy Wessel will attend Friday's meeting of the Illinois Community College Board, hoping to convince its members to ask the state legislature to change its administrative rules to exempt colleges from local signage, permit and zoning codes.
The move comes as both sides work under an interim agreement that allowed the school to complete a $2 million project to install about 4,000 interior and exterior signs. That deal, crafted by Judge Hollis L. Webster after a mediation session last month expires Oct. 12. It gave both sides 60 days to hammer out an agreement to address future construction projects. Also, the school agreed to a six-month public comment period on the signs.
The dispute between the village and the college grew from an intergovernmental agreement that the college backed out of in December 2008. As a result, the village took the position that its sign codes applied to the school and, this past April, notified COD that its proposed signage violated village ordinance.
The dispute turned ugly in July, when village officials issued citations after the college ignored a stop-work order and kept installing signs without a permit. A short time later, the college sued the village, saying the town had no jurisdiction over the school, that state codes were applicable.
But before the matter reached trial, the two sides agreed to try to mediate a settlement.
College of DuPage officials on Thursday denied they were trying to bypass Glen Ellyn by taking their case to the state and that they still hope to work things out with the village.
"This is an issue of interest certainly to College of DuPage but also to community colleges throughout the state," said Associate Vice President for External Relations Joe Moore. "It's an issue discussed off and on for a long time and we believe that this rules change could take some of the ambiguity out of it."
State law appears to require that schools follow local building codes. One passage states that schools must follow "any local building codes that may be more restrictive" than state codes. However, COD officials have asked the state board to add a passage that specifically addresses zoning, signage and permit ordinances and establishes these as exceptions.
The state board's Chief Financial Officer Ellen Andres said Thursday that any change would first have to be approved by the board before heading to a committee in the General Assembly that oversees administrative rules. The board meets every two months, which means if things go as planned for the College of DuPage, the soonest the board could vote to push the request to the committee would be January.
Andres said board members will weigh the request's effect on the state's 49 community colleges before they decide on a course of action.
"That's the question the board has to answer: Are we doing it for one college or are all colleges affected?" she said. "We tend to not get involved in one-college disputes. We tend to be neutral unless they affect everybody."
Glen Ellyn Village President Mark Pfefferman would not comment on COD's motives. He said talks with the school have gone well but that he would monitor what happens in Springfield on today. However, he said his main focus remains to reach a deal.
"We're excited about the progress we've made so far," he said. "I'm not going to let the distractions get in the way of real progress. I'm remaining positive."