Privacy concerns regarding the homes that border the two new bike paths being built by the village of Lincolnwood this year have prompted officials to consider new fencing regulations that would allow residents to better shield their yards from the view of passersby.
The Village Board on Tuesday passed a recommendation for the Plan Commission to host a public hearing where residents and local officials will discuss the proposed zoning code change, which would allow residents near the two paths to construct solid eight-foot-tall fences at their rear property lines.
Currently fences are limited to six-feet in height and the village prohibits solid materials like wood, causing some concern that the fences that border the trail aren’t tall enough to block out the eyes of the public and the view of the industrial areas the paths are being paved on, according to village manager Tim Wiberg.
“We’ve had a couple of complaints about the unsightliness of the rusted out poles and transmission lines that ComEd has no plans to change,” Wiberg said. “(The residents) now have a view of these areas that perhaps they didn’t have a direct view of before, and the eight-foot idea was an attempt to eliminate some of the more unsightly views.”
The first path, which is expected to open by July 12, will connect Lincolnwood’s borders with Chicago and Skokie through a utility corridor the village recently started leasing from ComEd.
The 12-foot-wide path, named the Valley Line Trail, is about a mile long and starts at Lincolnwood’s southern border it shares with Chicago at Devon Avenue. The trail will lead to the northern end of town where Skokie’s village limits begin at Jarvis Avenue, according to the village.
Another new trail, the Union Pacific Bicycle Path, will be constructed this fall on the east side of Lincolnwood along the former Union Pacific Railroad Corridor stretching between Devon and Touhy avenues.
According to the Public Works Department, the 12-foot-wide, mile-long trail will be finished within a month when construction starts this fall. The Illinois Department of Transportation is scheduled to go out to bid for the project during their June meeting.
The approximate $2.03 million in construction costs are being offset by two Congestion Mitigation and Air Quality grants, which are funding 80 percent of the construction costs. That leaves the village’s portion at about $407,000.
Trustee Jesal Patel said only about seven or eight homes along the 6700 block of Lawndale Avenue have rear yards facing the Union Pacific Bike Path.
“Both trails are very different in terms of orientation and geography,” Patel said. “On the west side of (the Valley Line Trail) the homes are relatively adjacent to the trail, so I’d argue that they have a substantial buffer as it exists.”
Trustee Craig Klatzco said an eight-foot fence was just too high.
“I have a real concern because (the fence height) could make it feel like a prison,” Klatzco said.
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The village is also building a parking lot this fall near the Union Pacific Bicycle Path and a pedestrian bridge is scheduled to be constructed over Touhy Avenue next year,
The Plan Commission will review the fencing regulations at an upcoming meeting. The date of that public hearing has not yet been announced.
Natalie Hayes is a freelance reporter for Pioneer Press.