Hartland trustees amend residency restriction ordinance to 1,500 feet and approve on second reading

The Village of Hartland Board of Trustees amended and approved ordinance 11 24 20 25 on its second reading, changing the residency-restriction distance in section 66-12 from 1,250 feet to 1,500 feet for covered offenders.

The board first suspended the usual rules to allow the change to be considered immediately. During debate, a trustee said, “I think 1,500 to me looks like a safe number,” framing the amendment as a balance between community concern and practical limitations. Village staff cautioned that the village’s attorneys view any numerical restriction as carrying legal risk: “Our attorneys believe that at any number we're at risk,” a staff member told the board.

Trustees discussed how the loss of a nearby school property increased available housing locations and influenced the choice of buffer distance. After a motion to amend the ordinance to specify 1,500 feet passed, the board then voted to approve the amended ordinance under suspended rules.

Ordinance 11 24 20 25 amends section 66-12 of the Village of Hartland Code of Ordinances, the board said; staff noted the ordinance can be reprinted and brought back with the new figure for the record. Board members acknowledged that changing the numeric distance across readings is allowed and that public input remains available at future readings.

The board did not provide a detailed implementation timetable during the meeting. The ordinance passed by voice vote; no individual roll-call votes were recorded in the open minutes.

Next steps: staff said the ordinance text will be reprinted with the 1,500-foot figure and returned to the board in final form.