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Resident tells Salem Lakes board a neighbor’s third garage and driveway may violate permit rules and drain easement
Summary
A nearby resident said a property owner is building a two-story 2,200 sq ft garage and adding 4,500 sq ft of driveway, storing heavy equipment, and may be operating a prohibited home construction business while filling a drainage easement; the board said the matter is with attorneys and could not be discussed in detail at the meeting.
During public comment at the Salem Lakes Village Board meeting, resident Mia Souders said she and other neighbors have filed formal complaints alleging permitting and ordinance violations by a property owner building a third garage and adding a large driveway.
Souders, who gave her address for the record, said the structure under construction is a two-story, approximately 2,200-square-foot garage with a bay door facing the street and submitted architectural plans that show a 40-by-45-foot construction trailer fitting inside the garage. She said the property owner has a history of storing construction machinery in the front yard, including a dump truck and skid steer, and that contractors’ equipment has been moved to and from the site.
Souders said the permit application indicated no fill would be required, but she has observed many dump-truck loads added to the property and said the drainage easement appears to have been filled. She said the owner signed an agreement with the village to provide a drainage plan and restore the easement but that residents have not received the drainage plan despite multiple formal requests.
Souders said the combination of the 2,200-square-foot garage and a 4,500-square-foot driveway expansion would create nearly 7,000 square feet of new impermeable surface and that neighbors want to know where runoff will go. She asked the board to take action to determine why a structure that appears to enable a construction business was permitted in a residential subdivision when the village ordinance lists construction and contractor services as prohibited home businesses.
President Buecher replied that the village is not answering questions about the matter at the meeting because it is "with attorneys," and she invited any board member willing to help sort the issue to contact the resident. No formal board action was taken during the meeting on the complaint.
