Residents Claiming Park District Property for Themselves

Starting in the early 1970s, the Palatine residents who live on the west side of David Drive in the Winston Park neighborhood began laying claim upon publicly-owned Park District property by constructing fences, building play structures & gardens, and mowing the natural vegetation that had been growing along the North Branch of the Salt Creek.

The amount of land encroached upon varies between each property, but a 40 foot wide encroachment is typical. One parcel is encroaching a full 150 feet into Palatine Park District property.

To put it bluntly, these adjacent property owners want a part of our beloved Maple & Chestnut Parks for themselves, at the expense of the enjoyment of the parkland by others. The stolen property contains prime greenspace along a creek that is teeming with wildlife. Walking along the creek corridor is a syrene experience that, due to illegally installed fences, few residents get to enjoy.

This unauthorized use of publicly owned land by private land owners must stop. We are asking that the adjacent property owners immediately remove all manmade objects from the Palatine Park District property, as well as to stop mowing grass past their rear property lines.

Public Land Encroachment Enforcement System

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Use the slider to see compare the 1977—2023 Maple Park theft vs. originally recorded greenway.

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Advocacy Status

• 2020-1-1: Created this web page to help organize my efforts.
• Winter & Spring of 2020: I emailed the Village of Palatine Department of Building Permits & Inspections regarding Encroaching Property #1, which was one of the most blatant encroachment upon Park District property. I received an initial email response from the Building department stating that they do not show a recent permit for a fence. I followed up the Building Department 2 photos showing nails sticking out of of the encroaching fence. In response, I was told that the issue had been assigned to an inspector and that they would be in contact with me. I personally discussed with, and emailed the Mayor encouraging the Village to resolve the encroachment issue prior to the sale of the home. The assigned Building Inspector called and informed me that the homeowner will be sent a Notice of Violation which will instruct them to seek a permit for the new fence. During that process, the homeowner would need to remedy the enroachment on Park District property in order to avoid being fined. The building inspector responded to my email letting me know that the fence behind Encroaching Property #1 is still in the permit review process. The property owner will be removing whatever objects are encroaching on Park District property. On May 20, the real estate sale of Encroaching Property #1 closed and the owners that constructed the illegal fence vacated the property. After an in-person followup, I received an email stating that a 6 month permit was issued for the existing fence on 5/11/20. As part of the conditions, any encroachments would have to be removed by November 11, 2020. I responded by asking whether the new property owner is aware of the permit and its conditions. On July 2th, 2020, I personally verified that the fence behind Encroaching Property #1 has been removed from Park District property. The result is that a 25 x 115 foot swath of land has been returned to the public after almost 50 years of being squandered by an adjacent residential property.

• Spring of 2020: I alerted multiple Palatine Park District managing staff members about the 12-property encroachment issue and provided them with a detailed map of the fence encroachments. The Executive Director informed me that the Park District Board has indicated that they would like to reclaim the encroached property and have directed staff to investigate and come up with a plan. They recognize the need to remove barriers from the floodway and the possible opportuity to construct a trail within the corridor. The Park District sent out letters to the 12 resident/property owners placing them on notice that if and when the Park District had a recreational need of the property in question, they would need to remove the fence or relocate it on their own private property.

• Fall of 2021: I emailed the Mayor requesting that the Village investigate an unpermitted fence behind Encroaching Property #10 that was constructed within Chestnut Park and the Winston Park Greenway. The mayor kindly forwarded the email to several Village officials, as well as the Park District, to investigate the encroachment. After a followup phone call, the Village responded that the Park District has placed the resident/property owner on notice that if and when the Park District had a recreational need of the property in question, they would need to remove the fence or relocate it on their own private property. As none of the properties in question are owned by the Village of Palatine, there is no role for the Village to play in this issue.

  From my perspective, this was a or maintaining the status quo type response, one that does not identify the problem or seek solutions. The Park District and Village are essenially complacent on private property owners claming adjacent parkland for themselves at the exclusion of others.

  Status: UNPERMITTED, UNMAINTAINED & DANGEROUS WIRE FENCE ALLOWED TO REMAIN

  It is my hope that we can eventually restore the dedicated public parkland behind David Drive to how it was originally platted and recorded. Based on the Village's conclusion, this will only be accomplished if and when the Park District moves forward with their idea of building a paved asphalt trail along the creek between Maple Park and Palatine Road.

• Winter of 2023: I visited the Village's Permitting department to ask about a new fire pit that I saw constructed with Chestnut Park and located very close the east bank of the Salt Creek. The Village's Customer Service Supervisor referred the matter to the Palatine Park District's Superintendent of Parks & Planning. A few weeks later, I received a response from the superintendent stating that he is in the process of drafting an encroachment letter stating that the fire pit along with any other permanent structure/s must be removed from Chestnut Park within an acceptable time frame.
  

  Status: PENDING REMOVAL

  I hope to provide further updates on this encroachment removal in the coming months.

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Friends of the Winston Park Greenway

Resolved Encroachments

The following encroachments have been resolved through the efforts of the Friends of the Winston Park Greenway

Encroaching Property #1 - RESOLVED!

July 25, 2020 - The fence behind "Encroaching Property #1" has been removed from Park District property. This 25 x 115 foot swath of flat, dry land (pictured below) has been returned to the public after nearly 50 years of squandering by an adjacent residential property.
The result is that Maple Park, a cherished asset to the community, now has even more green space to enjoy!

Currently Encroaching

The following properties are currently encroaching on Palatine Park District-owned property

No.	PIN	Link to Detail Page	Encroachment Status	Last Checked	Actions
2	02-13-409-007	###-N-David-Dr-###7#	Owner is Encroaching MLS Status: Not For Sale	Wednesday, Mar 1, 2023	Check MLS Status!
	The ### N David Dr property is currently encroaching on publicly owned property. Encroachment status: The homeowner owns .2 acres, but are encroaching on 1/4 acre of Palatine Park District-owned property. Current encroachments: Chain link fence The combination of these 2 encroachments make it appear that the encroached land is part of the 138 N David Dr parcel, and thus offers no benefit to the tax payers of the Palatine Park District.
3	02-13-409-008	###-N-David-Dr-###7#	Owner is Encroaching MLS Status: Not For Sale	Wednesday, Mar 1, 2023	Check MLS Status!
	The ### N David Dr property is currently encroaching on publicly owned property. Encroachment status: The homeowner owns .2 acres, but are encroaching on 1/4 acre of Palatine Park District-owned property. Current encroachments: Chain link fence Large swing set The combination of these 2 encroachments make it appear that the encroached land is part of the 130 N David Dr parcel, and thus offers no benefit to the tax payers of the Palatine Park District.
4	02-13-409-009	###-N-David-Dr-###7#	Owner is Encroaching MLS Status: Not For Sale	Wednesday, Mar 1, 2023	Check MLS Status!
	The ### N David Dr property is currently encroaching on publicly owned property. Encroachment status: The homeowner owns .2 acres, but are encroaching on 1/4 acre of Palatine Park District-owned property. Current encroachments: Chain link fence Large pile of logs Wooden shed The combination of these 4 encroachments make it appear that the encroached land is part of the 122 N David Dr parcel, and thus offers no benefit to the tax payers of the Palatine Park District.
5	02-13-409-010	###-N-David-Dr-###7#	Owner is Encroaching MLS Status: Not For Sale	Wednesday, Mar 1, 2023	Check MLS Status!
	The ### N David Dr property is currently encroaching on publicly owned property. Encroachment status: The homeowner owns .2 acres, but are encroaching on 1/4 acre of Palatine Park District-owned property. Current encroachments: Chain link fence Large trampoline Large play structure The combination of these 4 encroachments make it appear that the encroached land is part of the 114 N David Dr parcel, and thus offers no benefit to the tax payers of the Palatine Park District.
6	02-13-409-011	###-N-David-Dr-###7#	Owner is Encroaching MLS Status: Not For Sale	Wednesday, Mar 1, 2023	Check MLS Status!
	The ### N David Dr property is currently encroaching on publicly owned property. Encroachment status: The homeowner owns .2 acres, but are encroaching on 1/4 acre of Palatine Park District-owned property. Current encroachments: Fencing Large play structure The combination of these 2 encroachments make it appear that the encroached land is part of the 106 N David Dr parcel, and thus offers no benefit to the tax payers of the Palatine Park District.
7	02-13-409-012	##-N-David-Dr-###7#	Owner is Encroaching MLS Status: Not For Sale	Wednesday, Mar 1, 2023	Check MLS Status!
	The ## N David Dr property is currently encroaching on publicly owned property. Encroachment status: The homeowner owns .2 acres, but are encroaching on 1/4 acre of Palatine Park District-owned property. Current encroachments: Large play structure The combination of these 2 encroachments make it appear that the encroached land is part of the 58 N David Dr parcel, and thus offers no benefit to the tax payers of the Palatine Park District.
8	02-13-409-013	##-N-David-Dr-###7#	Owner is Encroaching MLS Status: Not For Sale	Wednesday, Mar 1, 2023	Check MLS Status!
	The ## N David Dr property is currently encroaching on publicly owned property. Encroachment status: The homeowner owns .2 acres, but are encroaching on 1/4 acre of Palatine Park District-owned property. Current encroachments: Structured landscaping Electric lighting This encroachment make it appear that the encroached land is part of the 50 N David Dr parcel, and thus offers no benefit to the tax payers of the Palatine Park District.
9	02-13-409-014	##-N-David-Dr-###7#	Owner is Encroaching MLS Status: Not For Sale	Wednesday, Mar 1, 2023	Check MLS Status!
	The ## N David Dr property is currently encroaching on publicly owned property. Encroachment status: The homeowner owns .2 acres, but are encroaching on 1/2 acre of Palatine Park District-owned property. Current encroachments: Steel shed Decorations The combination of these 2 encroachments make it appear that the encroached land is part of the 42 N David Dr parcel, and thus offers no benefit to the tax payers of the Palatine Park District..
10	02-13-409-015	##-N-David-Dr-###7#	Owner is Encroaching MLS Status: Not For Sale	Wednesday, Mar 1, 2023	Check MLS Status!
	The ## N David Dr property is currently encroaching on publicly owned property. Encroachment status: The homeowner owns .2 acres, but are encroaching on 1/4 acre of Palatine Park District-owned property. Current encroachments: Large wooden shed Wheel barrel Wire fencing The combination of these 2 encroachments make it appear that the encroached land is part of the 34 N David Dr parcel, and thus offers no benefit to the tax payers of the Palatine Park District..
11	02-13-409-016	##-N-David-Dr-###7#	Owner is Encroaching MLS Status: Not For Sale	Wednesday, Mar 1, 2023	Check MLS Status!
	The ## N David Dr property is currently encroaching on publicly owned property. Encroachment status: The homeowner owns .2 acres, but are encroaching on 1/4 acre of Palatine Park District-owned property. Current encroachments: large cinderblock & metal fire pit large trampolene The combination of these 2 encroachments make it appear that the encroached land is part of the 30 N David Dr parcel, and thus offers no benefit to the tax payers of the Palatine Park District.
12	02-13-409-018	##-N-Winston-Dr-###7#	Owner is Encroaching MLS Status: Not For Sale	Wednesday, Mar 1, 2023	Check MLS Status!
	The ## N Winston Dr property is currently encroaching on publicly owned property. Encroachment status: The homeowner owns .2 acres, but are encroaching on 1/2 acre of Palatine Park District-owned property. Current encroachments: Row boat on a trailer Structured Garden The combination of these 3 encroachments make it appear that the encroached land is part of the 12 N. Winston Dr parcel, and thus offers no benefit to the tax payers of the Palatine Park District..

Please submit a message on the Contact form if the status of these encroachments have changed. Nothing would please me more than to remove parcels from the Currently Encroaching list which are no longer squandering public land from the Winston Park Greenway.