Well that was fun...Not! But about 18 supporters came to the meeting (thank you!), but only 10 were allowed to stay because there were residents. Basically the HOA was like "why are you telling us about your small business" (thanks to the Village of Romeoville) now that you said "small business" we are going to 

• send a violation to you
• return it telling them I'm working on it
• The association attorney has to draw up official signature papers ($300/hr?)
• My closest 20 clients and others have to get 66% of the subdivision's signatures (about 600+) to agree but that's not all
• the residents also have to show up to the open meeting and vote (or vote by proxy) and this will be the most difficult step
• A notary also has to go around with us to ensure the signatures are valid
• Board votes if we have a quorum and it either succeeds or fails to change the declaration from 1999

IF that is successful then it's going back to the Village to "think about it" again and they could ultimately say no, and everything prior was a lot of wasted time!

I'm between a rock and hard place, the village made me discuss with the HOA to change something on their side, and even if they do, it might not change anything. The village gave me 3 months to change the HOA...Property Manager says this signature process could take as long as 6 months. 

I just want my business to survive (the demand is definitely there, but the housing is in question). This is not only my business, but my life. I don't want to have to uproot myself after 23 years. But time will tell...Thank you for the support. Stay positive for me, and please help where possible. Lisa