The Homer Glen Village Board on Wednesday approved an updated tree preservation ordinance designed to protect mature trees on private property on the same day it celebrated its Big Tree Champion contest winners.
The village’s Environment Committee has been working since February 2025 on revisions to the ordinance, which hadn’t been updated in 20 years and is considered outdated.
The Village Board tabled the plan last month with trustees saying they had too many concerns. The Environment Committee held a special meeting Aug. 20 to incorporate some of the board’s feedback into the proposed ordinance, which was further fine-tuned before the board’s approval.
“Protecting trees adds real value to our community,” said Environment Committee member Andy Panelli, who is also president of the DeBoer Woods Homeowners Association. “The revision to the current tree ordinance should provide some very important tools, updated tools, to help maintain Homer Glen’s character.”
The new regulations would apply to residential properties that are 3 acres in size starting Jan. 1 and will gradually apply to small lots. By 2031, the board agreed that the regulations would apply to one-acre lots.
The goal is to prevent property from being clear-cut for development and to preserve as many healthy trees as possible.
Permits would be required to remove trees.
When new homes are under construction, the board voted that any tree removed within the home and driveway’s footprint, along with a 40-foot buffer, would be exempt from tree mitigation. The buffer size was increased from 20 feet with trustees noting that some homeowners may want to build swimming pools or play sets on their property.
Trees would be divided into categories based on how large they are, and removing a tree requires the homeowner to either replace it or donate to the village’s tree fund, which goes towards new tree plantings and arborist services.
There’s no changes to the existing regulations for commercial and industrial properties.
Trustee Mike Lepore said he was pleased that restrictions on businesses were removed, but was concerned that the ordinance pits neighbor versus neighbor. He said he didn’t like that neighbors could report someone for violations to the ordinance.
Trustees said they appreciated the work the Environment Committee did to protect the village’s natural resources.
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The tree preservation ordinance was approved after the Village Board recognized the winners of its Big Tree Champion contest winners, a tradition since 2018 to recognize trees because of their size, age or rarity.
The village added a new kids category this year and honored Bryce Hansen, 3, who found two eastern cottonwood trees in his backyard with a trunk circumference of 156 inches, surpassing the village’s previous eastern cottonwood record of 138 inches. The board also recognized Jesse Synoga, 2, who helped find a silver maple with a circumference of 145 inches.
Other winners included Parnell O’Brien, for identifying a pagoda dogwood with a 14.5 inch circumference and Jason Arrigo, who identified a Swamp White Oak with a 160 inch circumference.
Flock license plate reader cameras
As expected, the Homer Glen Village Board on Wednesday formally suspended its Flock camera license plate reader program a week after reports that a Will County sheriff’s deputy was placed on administrative leave for alleged policy violations.
After the report came to light, Mayor Christina Neitzke-Troike said she wanted the village’s program stopped while the sheriff’s department completed its investigation of the unnamed officer and reviewed its license plate reader protocols. Homer Glen contracts with the Will County sheriff for its police services.
The board approved the suspension of the program, which had been approved last December, by a 6-0 vote.
Trustee Nick Muller, a police sergeant, said Flock cameras have helped solve several recent crimes throughout the nation.
“Any technology that is available is an asset, and the parameters are put in place to weed out those that use it not in the manner intended are doing their job right now,” he said.
Technology can keep up with changing crime trends, he said.
Trustee Robert Schaller, a former police chief, said pausing the village’s use of Flock cameras is “the prudent thing to do.”
Homer Glen officials voted in December to install 12 license plate readers on access points in the village, but only four have been installed so far. In addition to suspending operations on the four existing cameras, the village is delaying installation of the other eight until concerns are addressed.
The village has one of the strictest memos of understanding with the sheriff’s department regarding the use of Flock cameras, Schaller said. The Village Board voted to limit information collected from the cameras to be shared within Illinois only and retain data for only seven days.
Other business
The Village Board also authorized an additional mosquito abatement treatment for a cost of nearly $11,000 after a significant rainfall this summer created potential mosquito breeding areas. Mosquito surveillance has confirmed the presence of West Nile virus in Will County, including positive findings within Homer Glen, village officials said. The Will County Health Department reported its first human case of West Nile virus on Thursday.
There have also been an increasing number of resident complaints on mosquito activity.
The board also entered into a three-year contract with Twinkle Lights Installation for nearly $49,000 to install and maintain Halloween and Christmas lights and decorations in Heritage Park behind Village Hall.
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Michelle Mullins is a freelance reporter for the Daily Southtown.