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Trustees grant individual relief to lift fence restriction on Lansdowne lot; broader HOA decision set for two weeks
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Summary
The board approved lifting a restrictive covenant for a single Lansdowne property to allow fences while agreeing to notify adjacent owners and return in two weeks to consider subdivision‑wide relief; the homeowner said he had unanimous homeowner‑association support and has invested in extensive replanting.
The Village of Lake Bluff Board of Trustees approved a measure to lift a restrictive covenant for one property in the Lansdowne Subdivision that prohibited accessory structures within the subdivision’s landscape buffer yards, permitting the homeowner to install fences; the board directed staff to provide courtesy notice to adjacent property owners and set a broader HOA‑wide decision for the next meeting.
Owner Jonathan (or Jonathan Bach/Rasch as identified in the record) asked the board to remove the covenant so he could install fences along the south and west sides of his property. He told the board he had cleared invasive buckthorn, invested in extensive native plantings and received letters of support from all Lansdowne property owners in the homeowners association. “We would like to continue to invest in beautification of the property and invest in more trees and more native species,” he said, explaining that he could not complete landscaping work until the covenant was lifted.
Neighbors and residents raised procedural and substantive questions. Resident George Russell asked whether immediate neighbors had been notified of the change because the original subdivision approval had included the landscaped buffer, and he urged the board to give adjacent property owners an opportunity to comment. The village attorney and staff described options: the board could refer the request to PCZBA for a public hearing or provide courtesy notice and proceed.
Trustees balanced the homeowner’s claim—he described hundreds of thousands of dollars in recent planting and removal of buckthorn and said he had HOA signatures in favor—with neighbors’ procedural concerns. To allow the homeowner to continue time‑sensitive landscape work but also give adjacent owners notice and a forum to comment, the board amended the motion: it approved relief for the subject property only, effective immediately for that parcel, and set a return at the next meeting (approximately two weeks) to consider broader relief for the entire subdivision after notice to adjacent property owners.
The motion carried on a voice vote. Staff and trustees noted that if the board later reversed course based on compelling evidence from neighbors, there could be legal and reliance considerations; trustees asked staff to expedite courtesy notice so neighbors could be heard at the next meeting. The homeowner said his planting program had already begun and that a delay would impose additional cost and scheduling burdens.
