Just Ducky…

Ready for some fun in Woodstock? Attend the opening of “Jenny and Bean vs. The Plan Commission. “

First round…Thursday, September 13, 7:00PM, in the City Council chamber at City Hall.

Who are Jenny and Bean? The Savanna Grove ducks! Not only ducks, but “best friends.” Woodstock City Code prohibits farm animals in residential areas of town. Someone ratted them out. If they were small ducks (ducklings?), perhaps no one would care. But ducklings are like kittens; they grow up.

Perhaps the person complaining is like me. We have the laws; the laws should be followed. If you don’t like the law, then work hard to get it changed; but obey it in the meantime. Wow! If life were only so simple. OK, I confess. I didn’t do it. But I respect the person who did report them, and the City has an obligation to enforce its laws.

Do I hear any wagers on the outcome of the petition to allow the ducks in the City?

The initial hurdle of the Plan Commission is only a small speed bump along this road. If the P.C. gives a thumbs-up, the next step is the City Council. I’ll predict that vote right here: 7-0. The ducks will stay in Kane County.

But suppose the City Council also gives a thumbs-up. The real obstacle will be the Savanna Grove Homeowners Association. The SGHA probably doesn’t have just “rules”; the issue of pet types may be covered in its Restrictive Covenants. If this is the case, there is a huge and very expensive battle ahead. Getting Covenants changed would likely require a vote of the homeowners and a consent by a majority. Then, after all the expensive legal work has been done (and the dues of the SGHA have gone up for all), amended Covenants would need to be filed with the Secretary of State. Do you think the SGHA will incur that expense for a couple of ducks?

By the time all of this gets done, these two ducks will probably be feeding in that great pond in the sky.

Did the owner not ask for the Restrictive Covenants prior to contracting to purchase the house or closing on it? Did the lawyers at the closing see that the purchaser received the Covenants? I’ll venture a guess that the documents were just in the pile of papers put in front of her. When someone said, “Sign here and here and here”, that’s what she did. And one of those pieces of paper said she had received the Covenants, had read and understood them, and agreed to abide by them. So she knew about the restriction…. or she should have.

This raises the importance of never signing anything you haven’t read. Just let the lawyers and closers and real estate agents sit there until you have read everything, asked all your questions and have decided to agree. Better yet, make sure you get all the closing documents before the closing, and I don’t mean just an hour before. This, of course, is a problem because the closing papers are always done at the last minute. But, before you sign on the dotted line and assume a huge liability, be sure you understand what you are signing.