Village Postpones Fence Vote

Buffalo Grove officials continued to discuss last week proposed changes to the village’s fence code, but stopped just shy of voting on the matter.

Trustees reviewed a draft of an ordinance that would allow residents to install six-foot fences without special approval.

Trustee Steve Trilling that the village should maintain its existing code and consider six-foot fences on a case-by-case basis, while Trustee Beverly Sussman said she thinks residents should have the right to install higher fences.

“In a perfect world, no one would put up a fence, but this isn’t a perfect world,” Trustee Jeff Berman agreed. “I think the time has come to change the ordinance.”

Buffalo Grove Police Chief Steve Balinski said he’s spoken with representatives from other villages that allow six-foot fences, and he was told the higher fences do not cause problems from a law enforcement standpoint.

“The days of jumping over a five or six foot fence to apprehend a felon is relatively nonexistent,” he wrote in an email to village administrators.

Still, he said, board-on-board or shadow box style fences would give officers more visibility.

Trustees also discussed whether to place a limit on the height of fence post caps.

Officials asked that staff clarify some of the language in the drafted ordinance, which will be voted on a later date.