Westmont resident complains neighbor’s fence encroaches on 39 E. Quincy St.; requests village help

A Westmont resident raised a property dispute at the Village Board meeting on Sept. 4, saying a newly installed fence between two garages encroaches on her lot at 39 E. Quincy St. and that village staff told her to pursue the matter as a civil case.

The resident told trustees the neighbor obtained a permit but installed part of the fence over the property line; she said the permit application did not show the fence going between the garages. The resident said the village code, as she understood it, prohibits placing fence posts or excavation on a neighbor’s plat without permission. She said she consulted an attorney who requested a $10,000 retainer to begin litigation.

At the meeting Trustee Barker and the mayor’s designee suggested the resident speak with Community Development Director Joel Hennerfein in the lobby after the meeting to explore administrative options. The resident’s remarks were made during open forum, where no board action was taken; the board did not announce any formal enforcement action during the meeting.

The resident said she was concerned about the effect on a future sale — that a title company could block a closing because the fence encroaches — and said she did not have the money to litigate. Village staff offered a staff referral rather than an immediate administrative enforcement action at the public meeting.

The transcript records the resident’s account as her statement of events and her understanding of the permit and the code; village staff presence and the referral to Director Hennerfein were recorded in the meeting minutes. The village did not provide a contrary statement during the meeting and no formal code-enforcement outcome was announced at the Sept. 4 meeting.