Naperville to discuss rules for landscaping upkeep of foreclosed homes

Naperville has not been immune to the difficult housing market in recent years and the foreclosures that have come along with it.

But Naperville City Councilman Steve Chirico could do without the visual evidence.

Chirico hopes, in future meetings, to get his fellow council members talking about ways to minimize the negative affects foreclosures have on neighborhoods, especially the aesthetics.

“One of (the negative affects) is the exterior landscaping of bank-owned or tenant-occupied residential homes,” Chirico said. “We ought to have some sort of system in place, like a three strikes and you're out system, that would make it mandatory for absentee landlords and bank-owned properties to have a professional landscape company take care of their yards.”

Chirico said he's concerned that some neighborhoods have already been bit by the foreclosure bug and are now occupied by renters.

“The neighborhoods start as owner-occupied and then renters move in to fill the foreclosed homes and there are landlords who just don't care,” Chirico said. “So the remaining homeowners flee and that's how neighborhoods fall apart. We need to prevent that.”

City Manager Doug Krieger did not have the city's current foreclosure numbers available and said the city relies on local realtors for that information. Neighbors also aren't shy about reporting neglect.

“Let's just say Naperville residents don't hesitate to make a phone call if their neighbor hasn't cut their lawn in two months,” he said.

While calling for landscapers to maintain the yards of blighted, foreclosed property, Chirico also would like to dictate when that work is done.

“These companies, because most people don't wan their landscaping done on Saturday or Sunday but banks and landlords don't care so the landscapers come into these neighborhoods on Saturdays and Sundays,” Chirico said. “That's very disruptive to the neighborhoods.

The services are coming in and hitting all of these properties and it really changes the comfort of people who are going out on the back deck to read a book, do some gardening or have a glass of wine. I think it's something we need to talk about.”

Both issues will be put on a future city council agenda.