Pins And Needles
This charming cross-stitch work, done by CWK in 1995, came home with me from a thrift store outing. It reminded me of our town, with all the quaint old buildings lining a busy main street. The work is remarkably detailed, but what made me laugh is that every storefront on this lively street is selling needle work: lace making, quilting, smocking, weaving, knitting, embroidery and millinery! Living in a charming turn of the century community is not without its challenges, however, even ones selling pins and needles.
“Libertyville” was an official town in 1837, and incorporated in 1882. The community was a sleepy farming town, and Quaker Oats arrived in 1922 to create a research farm. The 30-acre property on Lake Street QA acquired had a large barn and two houses, with water provided by a well. The village installed water service on Lake Street, though we do not know when nor when the QA farm was connected since no documentation is available
Oh that it was! We have learned that modern building code and charming 100-year-old houses are not particularly compatible. For those of you unaware, Quaker Oats sold the property in 1965, and the buildings were rented to a myriad of tenants - German consulate, Montessori school, laser manufacturer, turkey breeder, and, apparently, lion owning hippies! Families rented the houses, as well as one infamous group of college-aged boys (we have heard about ruckus parties). The large barn, used by QA for its research business, was transformed into 2 apartments which is a bit cringe worthy.
While the water lines to the houses are below ground, the one attached to the barn was run outside the structure; not a particularly wise idea. It burst in the 1980s, and the village disconnected the water, rendering the barn uninhabitable. The farm was subdivided by a local developer in the early 1980s, and we purchased the remains of the farm in 1999. Thus began a labor of love. We rented out the small cottage and started extensive renovations.
When a long legal tangle with the prior owner was finally resolved, we promptly received a “cease and desist” letter from the village regarding the rental. It seems the prior owner learned the village wouldn’t allow rental of the cottage, and she wanted to cause us trouble. At this point I called the village administrator who was apparently moved by weeping new moms (my baby was 8 months old, and the boys aged 6 and 8).
A meeting was called with the powers that be to inform us of the zoning issues. The cottage, they felt, did not qualify for “grandfathering” because the prior owner had stopped renting it to families and used it for her decorating business. Essentially, the zoning rules now applied and we could not have multifamily on our property. Why was it okay, I asked, for a business to be run in a residential area? One rather pompous administrator literally turned to a page in the zoning manual and read the code – you may run one commercial business out of your single-family dwelling place. Well, I said, if you can only run a business in a residential area if it is in a single-family dwelling place, then our cottage had to be a single-family dwelling place for the prior owner’s business to be allowed, and thus it remained a single-family dwelling place. And so it did NOT lose its grandfathering and we can rent it.
Turns out, their attorney grudgingly agreed with me. Now, however, neither the cottage nor our house have water since the water line sprung a leak and the water was turned off . On Friday at 3:00. When my children were arriving home, including an infant and 3-year-old. All plans were ditched, and the weekend was enjoyed sans water. Come Monday morning, however, we began the journey to resolve the water crisis.
There is currently one water line for the property, but code now requires each house to have a separate metered waterline. Since our old system was broken, we were told we had to comply with the code and excavate two new water lines, one for each house. Mind you, I could buy a nice new car for what installing ONE waterline would cost.
Into the village I went. Turns out, senior engineers are moved by weeping grannies. He was sympathetic to our plight, and started researching solutions. After he consulted with the village attorney, we were advised to request a variance to the code – which could take weeks. The village would issue a temporary permit to allow a new watermain to be installed, but if the variance was not approved by the Village Board, we would comply with the code requirements. This did not strike me as an attractive gamble.
While hubby was undergoing surgery, I reviewed the engineer’s emailed request. Due to the Village Board schedule, we only had a day to decide to start the variance process, and then to decide about digging or waiting for the board’s decision. Without water. I was to write an email requesting the variance and explain why.
Instead I read the ordinance: “Single family detached, single family attached and two-family dwellings…shall have a separate water service pipe…for each dwelling…Water service design for all other structures shall be as approved by the director.” After a bit of online definition research, I called the engineer. Well, I said, according to common definitions, a single family detached dwelling has its own property while our cottage does not. The two houses are not “attached” nor are they a single 2-family dwelling. Therefore, the property does not meet the code’s specifications and thus can be “approved by the director”. After a day to consult with the village attorney, the engineer called back. It seems the same attorney who proposed the variance requirement now agreed the wording was vague and thus no variance was needed.
That was the high point of the week. We are on day 10 sans water, and are struggling with unknown pipes. If the underground pipes are copper, we can excavate and have them repaired, roughly for the cost of an engagement ring. However, repairs can’t be done on lead or old galvanized pipes. If the excavation reveals those, we just flushed that “diamond ring” down the drain. At that point we would be facing “brand spanking new car” level excavation expenses. Single Family Dwelling Places are highly overrated. I think I will walk up to town and look for more pins and needles. Can never have enough.