Published May 31, 2007
Village goes to court to shut down
residents' appeal of Hinsdale Club
By
Pamela Lannom
plannom@thehinsdalean.com
Hinsdale officials are going
to court to protect the village board’s approval of The
Hinsdale Club planned unit development.
The village filed suit Tuesday asking a DuPage County court to
intervene after 60 residents filed an application May 23
to appeal the approval. The action asks the DuPage
County 18th Judicial Circuit Court to declare that the
board’s approval cannot be appealed to the zoning board
of appeals.
“You’re damn right it’s a bold move,” Village President Mike
Woerner said Wednesday. “We believe, in the state of
Illinois, PUDs are not appealable by the ZBA. We believe
this is not even a valid request,” he said of the
residents’ application.
The Hinsdale Zoning Code allows the village board to approve a
planned unit development after a public hearing before
the plan commission, as long as the PUD meets certain
standards. The plan commission held three public
hearings on The Hinsdale Club before officially
recommending approval in April. Trustees approved the
PUD April 17.
The residents contend in their appeal that the village board did
not have that authority.
“In adopting the rezoning ordinance, the Hinsdale Board of Trustees
violated Illinois law by usurping the power, function
and authority of the Hinsdale Zoning Board of Appeals
and by depriving the zoning board of appeals of its
statutory right and obligation to conduct a hearing on
the rezoning,” the application for appeal states.
Plan commission Chairwoman Laura La Placa said she was surprised by
the residents’ appeal.
“I will say I, on at least five occasions during the public
hearings, expressed that these are not variations
outside the code that would be appealable,” she said.
“This is not an appealable variation. We went through
this many times because people kept bringing this up.
“It’s unfortunate that we had three public hearings and this
happened,” she said.
Woerner said he wants a judge to rule on this matter and said he
hopes the village’s action sends a message about
frivolous lawsuits and appeals.
“I believe when those people are served by the sheriff, I think
they’ll be surprised,” he said. “From this day forward,
people really need to know what they’re signing, what
they’re getting into.”
