Man tells court his yard 'trash' is heating supply

One man's trash is another man's ... heating supply?

That was the argument in a McHenry County courtroom Monday as a Barrington Hills attorney tried to fend off county authorities' efforts to make him clean up what they described as piles of garbage, rubbish and landscaping waste littering his property near the Algonquin border.

The piles, Assistant McHenry County State's Attorney Lynn Criscione said, are an eyesore to neighbors, a threat to flood plains and wetlands on the property and could bring about animal and insect infestations.

But property owner Philip Maksymonko said the material on his land in the 3200 block of Spring Creek Road - mostly wood from fallen trees, by his estimation - is what he uses to stay warm in winter months.

"I keep it because that's what I use to heat my home," he said during a hearing before McHenry County Judge Michael Caldwell.

"What we have here is a clash of cultures," Maksymonko added. "The county looks at wood as waste. I look at it as a valuable resource."

During about three hours of testimony Monday, Caldwell heard from neighbors who said Maksymonko's wood is spilling onto their land. One pile of wood was described as being about 20 feet tall and larger than a neighbor's 3,400-square-foot home.

The hearing recessed Monday with several more witnesses left to testify. A date for its resumption will be scheduled Friday.

The county sued Maksymonko in September, after what court documents describe as a nearly two-year effort to make him clean up his land. In January 2008, the county charged Maksymonko with maintaining a public nuisance on the lot. The case went to trial two months later, Maksymonko lost and was ordered to pay a $250 fine and clean up his land.

By December 2008, the county said, nothing had changed. According to the suit, inspectors that month viewed the property filled with landscaping waste, broken concrete, a dump truck and about 1,000 cubic yards of waste.

Maksymonko blames the concrete on someone who trespassed on his property and dumped it there. It has since been removed, he said. As for the rest, he said there is no evidence he harmed a wetland or floodplain, and blames the whole thing on his neighbors.

"What this boils down to is my neighbor doesn't like my woodpile," he said.