Officials are developing a plan to bring homes that are converted for multifamily use into compliance with both zoning and life-safety code requirements.
“God forbid there is a fire and someone gets killed in it,” Lemont Mayor John Piazza said.
Village staff recently did a review of the dwellings, located mainly in the older section of town. The village so far has found 80 units not in compliance with their original zoning.
After consulting with a special counsel, the Village Board agreed to a series of measures.
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The village will require registering all non-conforming uses and also require absolute maintenance of the structure and remove any unit that does not meet the village’s life-safety codes. The village also will prohibit the use of any structure that is not accessible in case of fire or creates a hazard.
Each unit must be protected by fire walls and be protected in its own envelope, said Jim Dougherty, building commissioner.
“If you are going to go by the strict life-safety issues none of these buildings will be able to do that,” Dougherty said.
Each unit also would be required to have its own furnace and water heater.
The costs could be substantial, Trustee Jeannette Virgilio said.
“I’m not opposed to making the cost to convert it to a single family residential less than bringing it up to code for a multi-family,” Virgilio said.