In City of Harvard v. Nevitt, the Illinois Appellate Court ruled in
favor of the City in a code enforcement case against a resident, rejecting
the resident's argument that the City should have provided a reasonable
accommodation for his wife's disability under the Americans' with Disabilities
Act (ADA) or the Fair Housing Amendments Act (FHAA).
In December 2018, a resident of the
City of Harvard applied for a permit requesting the City allow him to place
a two-yard-long dumpster on his property, which otherwise violated a city
ordinance. The resident had met with a City code enforcement officer to
request a dumpster permit, but did not submit a formal written application.
The City officer denied the resident's dumpster permit request.
In January 2019, the City discovered
a two-yard dumpster on the resident's property prompting the City to issue
a notice of violation. By May 2019, the City issued a “notice to abate
nuisance” letter to the resident about the dumpster. And between May and July
2019, the City issued seven citations to the resident for violating the
City ordinance. In June 2019, the City filed a complaint in court to
enforce its ordinance, alleging the resident maintained a private nuisance
on his property—the two-yard-long dumpster.
At trial, the resident stated that
he was denied the dumpster permit after discussing the issue with the City.
They said they requested the dumpster because the resident's wife is
disabled. The City code enforcement officer, however, testified that Nevitt
and his wife never mentioned the wife's disability during their meeting.
Instead, Nevitt's wife referenced the need for the dumpster for a home
business, which she acknowledged on cross-examination. The court found the
defendant guilty of violating the ordinance and imposed a $1,250 fine, plus
costs. The court also found that the defendant did not notify the City of
the wife's disability.
On appeal, the court upheld the
trial court's ruling. The appellate court did not find evidence in the
record showing proper written notice was provided to the City regarding
Nevitt's wife's disability. Further, neither Nevitt nor his wife could
produce copies of documentation showing they notified the City. The record
indicated, however, that after the defendant placed the non-compliant
dumpster on the property, the Nevitt’s standard-issued garbage cans were
still being rolled to the curb for garbage collection. In sum, the
appellate court agreed with the trial court's ruling in favor of the City.
Post Authored by Mike Halpin &
Julie Tappendorf, Ancel Glink
Municipal Minute is authored
by Julie Tappendorf, a partner at the Ancel Glink law firm in Chicago, to
provide timely legal updates on topics of interest to local governments.
 
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