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Yu Darvish just wants some privacy in his Evanston home, so after moving in last year he and his wife wanted to put up a fence. At first the request was denied, but then after a meeting with his neighbors there was an agreement reached.
Via the Chicago Tribune.
The seeds of the dispute were planted in mid-2018, when the Darvishes first sought to erect a fence around their property, including in the front yard — which is not permitted in many places in Evanston under Evanston’s zoning code. Evanston’s zoning administrator initially denied the Darvishes’ proposal for a 6-foot tall fence in the front yard. After a private, two-hour meeting with Seiko Darvish and the family’s representatives in July 2018, however, the Eylers agreed not to object to the Darvishes’ appeal to Evanston’s Zoning Board of Appeals of the denial of their application for a fence.
With support from Evanston Ald. Melissa Wynne and the Eylers, Evanston’s Zoning Board of Appeals then granted the Darvishes permission for a lower, 42-inch-high, wrought iron fence in the front yard.
OK, so the Darvishes got their fence approval, but they still wanted a six-foot fence on the side and back yards of their house. And guess what, they got that approved too.
Three months later, however, the Darvishes approached Evanston’s Preservation Commission, seeking permission to erect a 6-foot-tall, solid cedar wood fence around the side and rear yards of the property. The Eylers contend that they were never made aware of that Oct. 9 meeting, and without them in attendance to register their objections, the commission gave the Darvishes the go-ahead for a solid cedar wood fence.
Now, Darvish and his wife are getting sued, all because their neighbors can’t see Lake Michigan from the first floor of their house.
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The Darvishes’ fence violates that easement, Alexis Eyler said, because it impedes views of Lake Michigan. So while the Eylers still can see the lake from the second floor of their home, from their first floor, “what you see is a fence.”
The next court date is on July 26. The Eylers want the Darvishes to get rid of their fence along with “unspecified damages to be determined at trial.”
Check out this quote.
“This was a hard decision for my husband and me to do this (to sue), but obviously our quality of life has been impacted, and our property values have been impacted.”
Really gotta feel bad for them. Everyone, please give them a round of applause for their courage and strength to be able to survive without a view of the lake from the first floor of their home.
You can read the entire article here.
