Ignored Village Codes

Why formulate Village codes if they are not enforced?  Why waste months, years debating rules on teardowns?  if sideyards should be 5 or 6 ft?  or homes capped at 33 ft or 35 ft?  or even site cleanup requirements during construction?  All the talking and meetings are good for nothing when final codes are ignored.

Even while local building rules are tentative, Village building codes must comply with national safety standards, Building Officials Code Administrators, BOCA.  All engineers must be proficient in BOCA, so it is baffling why blueprints for the new Community Bank on Warren Avenue were approved without anyone noticing that there were no entry steps, a serious omission that could cause injury, a violation of BOCA.  Village engineers should have rejected those blueprints.  Once constructed, the error should have been noticed at the final examination, before the occupancy permit was issued.  After the bank opened, I saw the unsafe bank entrance (no stairs) and I called it to the Village's attention.  Steps and railing were later installed - but it has yet to meet Village codes as of this date.

The bank is just one example of the Village ignoring codes.  BOCA confirmed that Georgian Courts has 90 violations; 5 of 7 exterior stairs at Station Crossing do not meet code, nor do the front entries at 1501 Warren, 1541-1561 Warren.  All of these locations were approved by Don Rosenthal, who has been promoted to be our Director of our Village Plan Commission.  I am certain Downers Grove can, and should, do better.

It can also do better in replying to concerned citizens.  I first wrote about my concerns to our new Village manager, Cara Pavlicek, on January 10, then again or March 7, with no reply.  I know she was busy before March 21 election explaining Home Rule, but it is now the middle of May and she still has not replied.

Maybe I will have better luck with Community Response.  I hope these Village employees take their jobs more seriously than have Cara Pavlicek and Don Rosenthal.

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