Title
Ordinance amending the Lake County Temporary Public Nuisance Ordinance.
Staff Summary
• On June 9, 2021, the County Board amended the Temporary Public Nuisance Ordinance to extend restrictions on open burning of specified landscape waste until October 12, 2021 to allow additional time to explore options and alternatives for permanent restrictions on open burning and landscape waste disposal.
• This Temporary Public Nuisance Ordinance will continue to permit opening burning of specified landscape waste on unincorporated residential properties at specified times and on limited days, as well in those instances where the burning occurs at least 500’ to the nearest habitable structure. Exemptions for recreational fires, the use of self-contained outdoor burn devices under certain criteria, and prescribed habitat and ecological landscape burns have been retained.
• The amended extension will go into effect immediately upon Lake County Board adoption of Exhibit A and expire on January 1, 2022.
Body
ORDINANCE
WHEREAS, pursuant to 720 ILCS 5/47-5, counties have authority to declare what shall be public nuisances and to abate the same with respect to the territory within the county and outside the corporate limits of any city, village, or incorporated town; and
WHEREAS, based upon available information from the Centers for Disease Control (CDC), people of all ages, including those who have underlying respiratory medical conditions and those who do not, are at higher risk for developing more serious symptoms and/or complications if they contract COVID-19 when exposed to smoke from open burning; and
WHEREAS, the Lake County Temporary Public Nuisance Ordinance mitigates these and other public health risks; and
WHEREAS, the Lake County Board is also considering other options for disposal of specified landscape waste for residents of the unincorporated area and additional time is needed to gather data and input from residents related to possible alternatives; and
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT ORDAINED by this County Board of Lake County, Illinois, that the Lake County Temporary Public Nuisance Ordinance as attached in Exhibit A be amended to expire on January 1, 2022; and
BE IT FURTHER ORDAINED that the Clerk of the County Board shall keep a record of this action.
DATED At Waukegan, Lake County, Illinois, this 14th day of September, 2021.