Home addition foiled by line restrictions

Q. My husband and I wish to put an addition onto our home. We had someone draw up some plans and we submitted them to the village so we could get our building permit. We were told we could not get a permit because the addition went over a side building line. We asked if there was anything else we could do and we were told to reduce the size of the addition to stay within the building line.

The addition is complicated and for various reasons, we cannot accomplish what we want with the addition and stay within the building line. We have looked around our neighborhood and it appears that other homes have put on additions that get closer to the side lot line than us.

Any ideas on how we could get the village to approve our plans?

A. At the beginning of your question, you indicated you had a building line issue, then you talked about other additions that were closer to the lot line. The lot line and the building line are two separate issues.

Most villages have code provisions that prevent building within so many feet of the lot lines. You might have a 25-foot building-line restriction for the front and back lot lines and maybe a 10-foot restriction for side lot lines.

From subdivision to subdivision, you will almost universally have a front building-line restriction (which must be at least the size of the village restriction) and you may or may not have side building-line restrictions. These restrictions would be in addition to the village's building-line restrictions.

Most subdivisions do not have a separate side building-line restriction. Most villages rely upon the village side lot-line restriction to prevent owners from building right up against a side lot line. I sometimes do see side building-line restrictions in larger lot subdivisions.

So, back to your problem. First, I would investigate the homes in your subdivision and determine which homes you believe violate the side building-line restriction. If possible (without getting shot), measure the distance from the building to the side lot line. Then, go to the county recorders office and ask to look at the plat of subdivision for your area. Make sure the homes that you believe violate the restriction are actually subject to a side building-line restriction.

If you determine other homes exist in your subdivision that violate the restriction, I would file a petition for a variance. This is a petition filed with the village or controlling entity (sometimes the county) requesting the village allow you to build your addition although it does not conform to the building-line restriction. The best argument a homeowner has in arguing for a variance is that other homeowners have either been granted a variance or have violated the restriction and have not been cited. The village then rules on whether or not a variance will be granted. In the event the village rules against you and you believe you have a strong case, the matter could be pursued in the circuit court.

Regardless of whether or not you locate other properties that violate the restriction, you could file the petition for a variance. Most villages are reluctant to grant variances, however, generally citing the principal that if we let you do it, we must let everyone do it. I would suggest speaking to a real estate attorney familiar with this area of real estate law to determine whether or not filing the petition is worth the time and expense.

• Attorney Tom Resnick's column appears in Homes Plus. Send your questions to Tom Resnick, 345 N. Quentin Road, Palatine IL 60067, by e-mail to tdr100@hotmail.com or call (847) 359-8983.