Trustees table proposed tree-preservation ordinance after hours of debate

Trustee Sheller, co-chair of Homer Glen’s environment committee, urged the board to adopt text amendments to Chapter 138 to bring the village’s tree code up to modern standards and address repeated instances of large-scale clear‑cutting. He said the 2006 regulations left the village powerless to stop wholesale canopy loss and cited Morton Arboretum and Chicago Region Tree Initiative data showing regional canopy decline. “This is not a revenue measure,” Trustee Sheller said, “Any restitution paid to the village goes into the tree fund and that fund is restricted. It can only be spent planting new trees or paying arborist fees.”

The proposed ordinance would apply first to properties 1.5 acres and larger (Jan. 1, 2027), then phase downward to a 0.5‑acre threshold by 2031, require mitigation for removal of healthy mature trees (replant on site or contribute to a restricted tree fund), and set graduated penalties by trunk diameter. The village attorney described the ordinance as crafted to be proportional and within home‑rule authority, emphasizing public-health and stormwater benefits attributed to urban canopy.

Several trustees pushed back. Trustee Mason said he understood the canopy concerns but called the permit and mitigation structure “government overreach” when applied to private land, noting property owners who use acreage for detached garages or pools could face substantial costs. Trustee Leaport warned the penalties and appraisal-based restitution left too much uncertainty for homeowners and businesses and predicted many variance requests. Trustee Leapor and others asked for a slower phase-in (suggesting 2.5 acres as a first step) and to exempt or retain prior thresholds for commercial lots.

Environment‑committee members and residents who own wooded lots defended the proposal as protection of community character and long-term infrastructure value. After extended discussion, trustees agreed to revert the commercial threshold to the prior 75% disturbance rule for now and then voted to table the ordinance so the environment committee could incorporate trustees’ requested adjustments and return with a revised draft. The motion to table carried.