Mowing hours to remain the same in Naperville
By David Sharos For The Sun July 19, 2012 1:02PM
Updated: August 21, 2012 6:29AM
A proposal to limit the hours landscapers could mow and do other work in Naperville has been killed.
On June 5, City Council members directed staff to begin drafting an ordinance that would limit the hours of operation for landscapers. Currently, landscapers can operate from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. daily.
The rationale for the measure was that landscapers should adhere to the same restrictions as contractors doing additions or teardowns in a residential neighborhood. Those hours are 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday through Saturday.
The matter was scheduled to come before the Naperville Planning and Zoning Commission for discussion Wednesday, but Thursday morning City Manager Doug Krieger told The Sun that the matter has been dropped liked the proverbial hot potato.
“We went to the Naperville Chamber of Commerce at their meeting on July 9 and we had a good discussion about the matter,” Krieger said. “Based on the discussions we had, we no longer intend to have any restrictions or make any changes in the ordinance. The Chamber weighed in on it and felt it would be detrimental to the business community since it would be too restrictive.”
Krieger said the matter was not discussed Wednesday night at the Planning and Zoning Commission meeting either.
Mayor A George Pradel said he was “never really in favor of the measure until all the research was completed.”
“When we have a proposal like this, we always like to go to the business people in town first before we make a final decision and consider the impact,” Pradel said. “This issue really hasn’t aroused the City Council. It was a program brought up by one or two Council members, and we decided to take a look at it. We did our research. Some ideas work out, and some don’t.”
Local landscape services like O’Donovan Landscaping here in Naperville are relieved the issue never took flight. Lisa O’Donovan said she realizes both the city and the Chamber “look out for the best interests of people living here in town.”
“There are people that try to do things themselves when they aren’t equipped to or they hire contractors that work without insurance and put themselves at a huge risk,” she said. “I respect the city for maintaining its standards. But when it comes to the right to work, that is another matter.”
O’Donovan added that the recent rain “would likely force some homeowners to have to cut their grass this weekend” and that when it comes to home maintenance, others have few choices than to work on weekends.
“There are people working two to three jobs and Sunday may be the only time they can catch up,” she said. “I salute those people that work on the weekend. It’s better to see a well-kept lawn than to have someone’s property look bad.”
Krieger noted that concerns from the community came from sources like City Councilman Steve Chirico, who Krieger said had received feedback from the Naperville Area Homeowners Confederation about limiting work hours.
“That group has also dropped their request,” Krieger said.
