From the Thursday, Sept. 11, 2008 edition of the Northwest Herald:

Waste facility permit disputed
By DIANA SROKA - dsroka@nwherald.com

VOLO – Village officials blame a misunderstanding for a dispute between Lakemoor and Volo over a permit request from a local landscaping business.

Since mid-July, the Volo Plan Commission has been mulling whether to grant Perricone Brothers Landscaping in Volo a permit for a landscape waste transfer facility. The commission hadn’t been able to make a decision because of an uproar from neighboring Lakemoor residents, who allege that the facility would negatively impact a nearby subdivision.

“There seems to be a lot of rumors going around, things that aren’t true,” said Betty Wertke, commission chairwoman.

Lakemoor residents in the Pines of Lakemoor subdivision think that granting the permit to the landscaping company will cause “excessive noise, noxious odors, [and] potential ground water pollution” and also harm property values, according to a statement from residents who oppose granting the permit.

But Perricone Brothers owners insist that’s not what the permit is seeking.

“We’re not looking to build anything,” Mario Perricone said. “[It’s] mostly just recycling of grass clippings. We’re going green.”

Perricone said his landscaping business had been recycling grass clippings for 13 years without a permit and wasn’t aware that a permit was required until Lake County officials notified the company of a complaint. So the company sought the permit from Volo to continue doing what they had been doing.

But even Lakemoor village officials insisted that granting the permit would harm Lakemoor residents and have zero impact on Volo residents.

“Its surrounded by and near [Lakemoor] residents,” Lakemoor Village Clerk Phyllis Odarczenko said. “None of the Volo residents are close to it.”

The Lakemoor Village Board unanimously passed a resolution against the permit in July. Residents opposed to the permit even sent letters to the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency. Volo officials said the reaction was overblown and hypocritical.

“I don’t know how they can voice complaints when they put an asphalt plant blowing right into Volo,” Wertke said.