Legal Question in Construction Law in Illinois

village won't enforce building code

There is commercial construction on the property behind my home. Parking lights have been installed that are violating the village building code and flooding my yard with unwanted light (reflecting into house windows). I contacted the village and the Head of Comm. Dev. Dept acknowledged the code violation and told me he would order the lights off until the violation has been corrected. Three weeks later there is no change to the lights and Head of Comm. Dev. will not return calls. Do I have any legal recourse to get the village to enforce their building code?

Thanks!


Asked on 2/02/08, 11:58 pm

1 Answer from Attorneys
Thomas Westgard Illinois Mechanics Liens

Re: village won't enforce building code

Your question doesn't mention any phone call to the contractor and/or the property owner. The most effective way to get a solution is to approach your neighbor and try to work something out. You also don't mention making a second call to the Village to follow up. If this is a temporary light installation, the Village may simply be waiting it out. Village building inspectors don't like being used for dispute resolution by people who won't talk with their own neighbors, so if you didn't go in with copies of letters offering to find a way to work it out, you probably are being ignored on purpose, and it will probably stay that way until you talk with your neighbor.

If this is a permanent situation, you can sue your neighbor who owns the commercial property, but it's much better to try to find a way to work it out by agreement. Call your neighbor!

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Answered on 2/03/08, 11:41 am


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