Northfield Family Receives Credit to Rebuild Home Flooded with Raw Sewage

When the sky unleashed a deluge in the July 23 storm, a flood of human waste forced one family to evacuate its home.

"Raw sewage was flowing in our home for 11 hours," said Patrick McCarthy, who appeared last Tuesday with his wife, Jeanine, to ask the to waive the $3,000 demolition fee for the permit the city requires to raze their now unlivable home in the 300 block of Wagner Road.

"Ultimately, we had to be rescued from the house. The sewage had reached a point where there was a risk of electrocution."

McCarthy said that part of the problem is that, downstream, Evanston dumps its sewage into a general sanitation system, which backs up when there's a heavy rain.

Village Manager Stacey Sigman said that she did not think Northfield was at fault in this particular case. "I don't think this was an issue of negligence on the village's part," she said. "We're part of larger sewer system, and even that became overloaded. There was no blockage or breakage of the system; it was simply an overwhelming of the system based on a large amount of rain in a short period of time."

The board expressed its sympathy to the McCarthys, but debated the precedent it would set by waiving the fee outright.

"I feel horrible for you two," said Trustee Brian Kozminski. "It's a terrible story. Over the years we've seen Northfield endure no shortage of horrible flooding. I'm just a little concerned about where we draw the line."

Trustee John Chapin motioned to waive the fee, which the board approved unanimously. However, there was a brief hiccup during which members became confused about what they had approved. Just before the vote, Trustee Allan Kaplin wondered aloud if it would be better to have the McCarthys pay the $3,000 demolition fee but receive it back as a credit against their rebuilding permits. That way, there would be the incentive for them to build a new house instead of potentially leaving a vacant lot.

Some board members thought they were voting for Kaplan's idea. However, because no one moved to amend Chapin's original motion, it was passed as a simple waiver. Some members were dismayed when they realized what had happened.

"I think we've done a nice thing, but I don't think we've done good law," Trustee Terry Gottlieb said. "In the future instead of doing this piece by piece, I think we should clarify exactly what we're doing and make a commitment to examine this issue as a whole."

After a brief but spirited debate about how they wanted to apply the "waiver," the board consulted the village attorney, who indicated that the previous motion could be amended after the fact.

The board unanimously amended the motion to favor Kaplan's idea of enforcing the demolition fee but applying the $3,000 cost as a credit toward the rebuilding fees.

In other business, as part of the consent agenda, the board approved an ordinance declaring six Kustom Signal in-car police video cameras obsolete and authorizing their disposal. They also voted to delete Chapter 6, Article 1, "Cable Communications System Franchise" from the village code.

Upcoming events

• Nov. 7: Planning and Zoning Commission Meeting, 7 p.m.
• Nov. 14: Architectural Commission Meeting, 7 p.m.
• Nov. 17: Final IDOT CAG meeting about Willow Road, 6 p.m. at New Trier West
• Dec. 5: Committee of the Whole meeting, 5:30 p.m.
• Dec. 5: Village Board meeting, 7 p.m.
• Dec. 6: Zoning Board of Appeals meeting, 7 p.m.
• Dec. 12: Architectural Commission meeting, 7 p.m.

No Village Board meeting is scheduled for November.

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