Your Backyard, Their Business: When Village Ordinances Get Personal in the NW Suburbs

Two stories dropped this week that every property owner in McHenry County should read. One involves a treehouse. The other involves ice cream. Both involve the question of who actually gets to decide what happens on private property — and the answer is more complicated than you'd like.

Treehouse drama in Lake in the Hills

A Lake in the Hills homeowner built a treehouse in their backyard. A neighbor noticed. The neighbor contacted the village. And now everybody's asking whether treehouses are actually allowed within village limits.

According to Shaw Local, this seemingly wholesome backyard project has kicked off a legitimate inquiry about the village's ordinances — because, as it turns out, most municipal codes weren't exactly written with treehouse architecture in mind. The question isn't whether the structure is charming (it probably is). The question is whether it meets zoning definitions for accessory structures, setback requirements, and whatever else your particular village code has to say about things built in trees.

This is not a rare situation. I've seen clients surprised to discover that their planned shed, pergola, pool, privacy fence, or backyard ADU ran into local code walls they didn't know existed. Before you build anything on your property — and I do mean anything more substantial than a garden gnome — call your village's building department and ask. It takes fifteen minutes and it saves you from the much less pleasant conversation later.

The Cary ice cream shop that got squeezed out

Meanwhile, in Cary, a popular ice cream shop has shut its doors after what the owners are calling a years-long ordinance battle with the village. Randy and Meredith Scott, who ran the business for five years and by all accounts were beloved by their community, cited what they described as "harassment" by village officials following repeated ordinance-related disputes.

The Scotts noted it was their pleasure serving the community — a gracious exit note considering the circumstances — but the underlying story here is a cautionary one for anyone who owns a small business, runs a home-based operation, or is considering mixed-use property in an NW suburb. Village relationships matter. Code compliance matters. And when those two things go sideways, even a thriving, community-loved business can find itself ground down by paperwork and process.

What both stories mean for you as a property owner

Neither of these situations is a reason to panic about buying in McHenry County. The NW suburbs are full of villages with reasonable, responsive codes and staff who genuinely want to help residents navigate the rules. But these stories are a reminder of something I tell clients all the time: before you buy, look up the zoning. Before you renovate, pull the permit. Before you build anything in your backyard, make one phone call.

The difference between a treehouse that becomes a neighborhood landmark and a treehouse that becomes a code violation is usually just whether someone checked first. Same goes for a fence, a detached garage, a short-term rental, or any other home improvement that seems obvious until suddenly it isn't.

The good news? Most village codes are public record, most building departments are more helpful than they get credit for, and most of this stuff gets sorted out without drama. You just have to ask before you swing a hammer.

If you're looking at property in any NW suburb and want to know what the local ordinances look like before you commit — that's a thing I help with. Consider it part of the service.