Clarks adopts tree-removal ordinance, delays floodplain update pending new study

The Clarks Village Board of Trustees voted on Dec. 18 to adopt Ordinance #758, adding Code sections §96.01 and §96.02 addressing tree removal, after suspending the three-reading rule and passing the ordinance by a 4-0 roll-call vote.

The measure was introduced and the procedural motion to suspend the three-reading requirement was made by Trustee James Parsons and seconded by Dyrek Zoucha; Parsons moved and Zoucha seconded adoption. Trustees Parsons, Zoucha, Chris Langley and Chairman Donn Glynn voted aye; Trustee Dylan Drummond was absent. The clerk recorded the motions and roll call. The minutes do not specify an effective date for the ordinance.

Why it matters: the new code language formalizes the village’s authority and procedures for tree removal on properties under the ordinance’s scope. The action was taken the same night the board suspended the three-reading rule, a procedural step boards can use to expedite adoption when permitted by local rules.

At the same meeting the board postponed action on Ordinance #759, which would create floodplain districts. Trustees questioned a study dated Jan. 6, 2010 referenced in the draft ordinance that predates the village’s removal from the floodplain. The board directed staff to obtain a current study and asked the state and the village attorney to review the revised documentation before the ordinance returns for consideration. No vote was taken on Ordinance #759; it was deferred pending those reviews.

The clerk and village attorney will be the next points of contact to provide the updated study and legal guidance; the board did not set a return date for Ordinance #759 in the minutes.