Dear Homer Glen Residents:

We hope that all the environment committee members as well as some residents will speak at the January 14th, 2026, Village Board Meeting.  

Progress had been made in late 2024 and early 2025 towards protecting our properties from unnecessary clear-cutting along our BP easements. 

First, a BP Pipeline Subcommittee was formed; info from: CitizenPortal.ai - Homer Glen board creates pipeline subcommittee to monitor tree clearing and maintenance, “The Village of Homer Glen on Nov. 18 voted to create a pipeline subcommittee of the Environment Committee to examine pipeline maintenance and tree clearing activity across the village.”

Then, March 27, 2025, a Workshop was held to consider how an amendment to the existing Tree Preservation Ordinance could protect residence, while also improving general protection from village deforestation. Both the Environmental Committee and the Subcommittee worked very hard to bring this proposal to our Mayor and the Board, with detailed information. The Village was given enough time to review this proposal and Mayor Neitzke-Troike promised the Environmental Committee that the Board would be ready for the March 2025 Workshop. 

Info from link: CitizenPortal.ai - Homer Glen trustees hold lengthy workshop on proposed tree-preservation rules as residents press for stronger protections:

“Trustees and committee members praised the environment committee’s work but asked staff to produce clearer, shorter materials for future meetings: a clean, single draft ordinance (no redlines), a small set of pictorial examples and a spreadsheet showing how alternative ratios and restitution values change the total cost for representative parcels. The board agreed to continue discussion at a future meeting after staff provides the requested examples and cost scenarios.”

info from: CitizenPortal.ai - Homer Glen trustees hold lengthy workshop on proposed tree-preservation rules as residents press for stronger protections:

Since the workshop in March 2025, Mayor Neitzke-Troike has appointed Taylor (Village Planner) as Chair of the EC. The subcommittee was dismissed. 

No trustee currently is seated on the EC (Environmental Committee). There is no co-chair.

Hence:

Here are the requested items to make progress and give the EC members and Homer Glen Residents a voice with continued support towards Tree Preservation Ordinance Amendment:

1: the environment committee has known far too many properties within Homer that Glen have been clear cut. On several attempts over the years the Environment Committee has written a revised Tree Preservation Ordinance only to have the Mayor and Village Trustee's reject it. The Tree Ordinance has not had a revision since 2006. Therefore, the solution was to have a joint meeting of the Mayor and Trustee's with the Environment Committee in order to reach an agreeable Tree Preservation Ordinance. Unfortunately, after the March of 2025 meeting of the whole, no further meetings or progress has been made. 

2: In the past years the Environment Committee has enjoyed having two Village Trustee's on the committee. Then in the last two years there was only one Trustee Chairperson and no co-chairperson. 

That Trustee often couldn't attend the regular schedule EC meetings, and thus the meetings were canceled and no progress made. A co-chairperson is needed to ensure that the regular scheduled meeting takes place. Currently a staff member is the Chairperson of the Environment Committee. They cannot speak to the Board as equal to the concerns of the Environment Committee. We formerly request that a Village Trustee be appointed as Chairperson. 

3: many of our residents have a utility easement on their property.  Just recently the British Petroleum pipeline within our Village boundary installed in 1946 wanted to remove and cut down the old heritage tree's. These residents want language in the revised Tree Preservation Ordinance to help them protect these very old trees. 

Please attend the Village Meeting on Wednesday January 14th, 2025, 6:30pm at 14240 W 151st Street, Homer Glen, to voice your opinion on the Environment Committees importance in Homer Glen.