Des Plaines debating front-yard pools

Carlos Burton and Toby Gilbert love how their homes sit so far removed from the bustle of their Des Plaines streets.

Unlike most houses here, their back yards are only around 3 feet deep. The front yards, conversely, are around 100 feet deep. For them, the front yard vista creates a piece of country in the middle of the suburbs.

But the city's zoning rules have quickly thrust these residents back to the realities of suburban life.

Burton, who has erected a gazebo and an above-ground pool in his yard, is requesting a variance from the city in order to keep them.

Gilbert also wants to put a swimming pool above ground in his front yard.

Both men live near Oakton and Lee streets in the 2nd Ward, which has about 15 homes with large setbacks.

Des Plaines, like other suburbs, bans swimming pools and other permanent structures from front yards. So, Burton and Gilbert will present their cases before the city's zoning board in July.

Des Plaines officials are considering the issue now since more owners of homes with large setbacks have asked for variances, said Michael Conlan, community and economic development director.

Second Ward Alderman Marty Moylan is one of the staunchest opponents of pools and things in the front yard. It can ruin the character of these neighborhoods to have clutter, he said.

"Those homes have a natural beauty to them and they're taking away a natural beauty," Moylan said.

Burton and his wife, Marie, have lived on Cora Street for about 20 years. The couple has had the pool for about two years, and put up the gazebo last year. They also have a fence along the front. City officials recently ticketed the Burton for the code violation.

Burton accuses the city of infringing on his property rights as an American, and invokes the Revolutionary War in his argument.

"Our land rights are the very essence of what caused us to pick up guns and shoot British soldiers," Burton said. "We'd die for the right to put up a pedestal in our front yard."

Gilbert, meanwhile, wants a pool to help him with his rehabilitation from a 2006 liver transplant. He used a temporary pool last year but wants something more permanent.

In the seven years he and his wife have lived on Wicke Avenue, he has won a variance to build a fence in his front yard. He already has a hot tub on his front patio.

A pool would make his front yard complete, so he questions why the city would block his plans since he already has the fence.

"If it's concealed, I don't understand the concern," Gilbert said, pointing toward his front yard. "It's not our fault it (his house) was built (near) the turn of the century. I'm just sort of baffled by it all."

Besides, Gilbert said he questions the idea an aboveground pool is a permanent structure as defined by Des Plaines code.

Gilbert illustrates his dilemma by showing the sliver of land at the rear of his home: A 3-foot-wide strip covered in gravel.

"Here's my back yard," he says sarcastically with a laugh.

Some city officials believe the houses were set back -- nearly 100 feet -- to provide housing for migrant workers when farms still existed in the area. But city historians on Friday couldn't immediately verify that.

While some of these large lots were subdivided in the 1940s, plenty remain.

Both Conlan and 3rd Ward Alderman Laura Murphy, who chairs the community development committee, are willing to look at making exceptions for some of these homes depending on the case.

As a matter of practicality, the city must deal with the issue, Murphy said.

"We're willing to take a look at it. I don't think that willingness existed in the past," Conlan said.

A zoning board meeting is set for July 9 to consider allowing the pools and gazebo. Any final decision ultimately falls with the city council.