Residents in Addison, Illinois face a sweltering problem. No more window unit air conditioners. Well... no more air conditioners in the front windows of any home. Ok, not in any window on any wall within 12 feet of any surface facing a street.
The Village officials in the western suburb have deemed window unit air conditioners to be unsightly. Claiming that they reduce property values and are eye sores to the public. Well... just the ones that you can see from the street. And the ones that have boards and styrofoam jammed into the sides to stop the cool air from escaping. Also the ones that have a bracing system built out of boards to help distribute the weight of the unit so as not to damage the windows they are in. They're just plain ugly.
Village officials deem this ordinance to be very important. With property values decreasing in the summer months and returning to the bland levels of value in the winter months. Jim "Bob" Horthtoe had this to say, "Well, it's got to be all these air conditioners in the windows that makes people not want to live here. It all correlates together. Air conditioners go in the windows and property values go out the door. It has to stop."
Addison residents are upset. Thomas McInglytosk says that his concerns rise from his family's well being. "What will happen when it's warmer inside our home than it is outside? Are we expected to move our television and game consoles outside for our children?" McInglytosk's concerns revolve around his children's sedentary lifestyle that will now face a dramatic change that will include sweating, weight loss, mass consumption of liquids and exercise. "My children (2 boys, ages 9 and 11, daughter age 8) will have to leave the house now to be comfortable. They might even go somewhere that has a pool."
John Berly, assistant village manager, had this to say, "I do daily battle with these landlords, most of them are absentee landlords who don't care that much. To us, [compliance with the ordinance] is a part of general maintenance and upkeep."
Standing in front of a local residence, clad in medieval armor and with his sword in hand ready to battle with a landlord, Berly continued, "The front yard is what the public sees. The condition of the front is a major factor in determining property values, and it reflects the community norms of acceptable maintenance."
I pondered what Mr. Berly said. I didn't dare say it aloud since his overall hit points more than tripled mine and I had forgotten my 20 sided die at home. Are the air conditioning units what actually determine the property value or the lack of central air? Could it be the overall appearance of the entire village or the employment rate? Crime rate or lack of quality housing?
The city will be able to find some of the perpetrators of this ordinance at least one day out of the year. When they do their annual building inspections. The only people that might get by with it would be the people that live in buildings that the village has deemed in good condition. These buildings do not receive the annual inspection. "The village inspects apartment buildings annually and charges an inspection fee of $50 per building plus $50 per apartment, though inspections are waived in some years for buildings considered to be in good condition," Berly said.
Berly, now in a heated battle with a Level 40 Landlord, noted that contractors have advised the council that costs could fall between $600 to $1,000 to retrofit buildings for air conditioners placed in walls. Cost will depend on the building structures and the amount of siestas needed on extra warm days.
Rising costs for heat, taxes, insurance, water, garbage removal and rent prices staying affordable,could make the costs too high to retrofit all the apartments. Consider a 14 unit apartment building could cost between $8,400 to $14,000.
With complaints coming in from all over the community Addison's mayor, Larry Hartwig had this to say, "We may have to look at fine-tuning it." The city has decided to only give out warnings this summer for any in window air conditioning units that don't comply with the ordinance. However, next summer the fine spree will begin at a cost of $500 per occurrence.
Ralph Johnson owns several apartment buildings. In order to abide by the city's new ordinance Ralph has had to have his residents sign an agreement not to use window air conditioners. "No one's happy about it but anyone higher than the 4th floor is visible from a street. I'm not paying the fines. If the city wants them to be miserable then let the city make them miserable. I have central air at home."
When asked if Ralph thinks his tenants will get upset and move to a neighboring town without such an ordinance he replied, "Yea, screw it. Let them move. Maybe then I can get Section 8 approved and get all that extra cash from the government."
Find the original article here: Chicago Tribune
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