Announcements

IMPORTANT NOTICE

Vernon Woods Owners Association

Parking Restrictions

At the Vernon Woods Owners Board meeting on June 29th, 2022, the Board passed a rule regarding parking on and alongside the private roads within the Association. This action was thoroughly discussed and not taken lightly. Because of the less than standard width of almost all our roads, parking on the roads or parking partially on the road and partially on the shoulder creates a public safety hazard. In most areas, this type of parking will not allow school buses and first responders, such as ambulances and fire trucks, to get by parked vehicles. Moving completely off the road to park on the shoulder stresses and degrades the edges of the pavement causing increased maintenance and decreased pavement life.

Because of these issues, the Board passed a rule stating that parking is not allowed anywhere within the association on or alongside the roads at any time. This includes all our roads: Thornmeadow, Juneberry, Orange Brace, Scotch, Blackthorn, Greenbriar, White Oak, and Treasure. Vehicles parked on or alongside of the roads can be ticketed by the Riverwoods Police Department.

The Board understands that there may be a special event such as a party, shiva, or some other type of gathering that may require residents to have guests park on or alongside the roads. There will also be one-time events, such as roadside tree trimming and driveway sealcoating, that may necessitate parking on or alongside the roads. In these cases, the resident should contact any Board member with a request that includes the location, date, and duration of the event. The Board member will then contact the police department with the information, and they will not ticket vehicles if they receive a report. It will be helpful to the police if the resident holding the event will inform their neighbors, so they don’t call the police. Landscaping trucks and trailers will not be granted temporary parking privileges. They will need to park in the resident’s driveway that they are servicing.

Please remember that there is a Village-wide ban on overnight street parking and if you are not able to park in your driveway overnight, you need to call the police non-emergency number and inform them so that they will not give you a ticket for violating the Village-wide overnight parking ban.

The Board realizes that this rule might be inconvenient for some of our residents. However, delaying an ambulance or fire truck because it’s convenient to park on the road can have deadly results. And, creating extra maintenance that we all must pay for is not respectful of each other.

This rule will be effective as of Monday, September 5, 2022. Please inform all companies servicing your property of this new rule. The contact information for the Board members is posted on the association website, www.vernonwoodsowners.com.

Thank you,

The Vernon Woods Owners Association Board

Announcements

The VWOA is looking for volunteers to help with various projects. We’re a “road association” so the primary missions are road maintenance and plowing, clearing culverts under roads, and maintenance of Lot 1. We also seek to foster cooperation and community pride among residents as we work to preserve the natural character of the Vernon Woods area. And we serve as an informal conduit for communicating with other residents and the Village Board about issues affecting this area.

You can volunteer for as little or as much as you’d like. It's up to you.  If you’d like to join the Board, which manages our work, please let us know. We meet 5 or 6 times each year at the Village Hall. If you’d like to focus on a particular project of interest, we’d welcome you.

No particular training or skill is required. The sole requirement is a desire to serve our wonderful community to make it an even better place to live. Any of our directors or officers would be happy to answer any of your questions.

Few Fee Schedules:  Construction and Assessments.  The VWOA adopted revised fee schedules for construction activity and for lower annual assessments applied to certain types of lots in Vernon Woods.  Those fee schedules are posted on this website.

Pandemic:  The VWOA has resumed in-person meetings.

By-laws:  At the May 16, 2019 annual meeting, the membership adopted revised by-laws, which can be viewed by clicking on the By-Laws button above.  At the Board meeting immediately following the annual meeting, two directors retired and two new directors were elected as replacements. 

Annual Assessment:  At the May 16, 2019 annual meeting, the Board discussed a proposed an increase in the annual assessment to the membership.  The purpose of the increase is to create a reserve for necessary road repairs.  At the Board meeting immediately following the 2019 annual meeting, the Board authorized an increase in annual assessment from $350 to $500 for the 2019-2020 year. 

The $500 assessment has been billed, and is due by May 31st.

Annual Meeting:  The Association's annual meeting occurs in May of each year, typically at 7:00pm at the Village Hall.  All residents of Vernon Woods are encouraged to attend.  See the Calendar for up-to-date information.  See Notice of Annual Meeting and the Annual Report 2021 on this website for more information.

VWOA Board Meetings take place as specified on the Calendar page, usually at 7pm on the last Wednesday of the month  They are open to all Vernon Woods residents.  We will endeavor to post any changes to the meeting schedule on the Calendar page of this website. 

Howard Patterson:  We note with sadness the passing on December 2, 2020 of Howard Patterson, a long-time Riverwoods resident who was active in Village affairs and in the Vernon Woods Owners Association.  Howard was 96 years old.  The VWOA's 17 acre property along the Des Plaines River, acquired in 1957 and deeded to be kept in a "wild and wooded condition" in perpetuity, was named the Patterson Nature Preserve in 2005 to honor Howard's many contributions to the Village and to the VWOA.  

IF YOU WANT TO HIRE A CONTRACTOR for buckthorn removal, we are pleased to announce that two local companies have the expertise to remove buckthorn in high quality natural areas such as yours have agreed to offer Riverwoods residents a discounted rate this winter of $35/hour of labor. That’s a savings of $10/hour off their standard rates.  The discount is for a limited time, so please verify with the contractor.

• Native Restoration Services, Larry McCotter, 847.347.4686,  www.nativerestorationservices.com

• Liberty Prairie Restorations, Al Moody, 847.367.6311,  www.libprairierestore.com

Cost Sharing.  Don't forget that the Village of Riverwoods offers a variety of excellent cost-sharing programs to improve the ecology of our area.  Here is a Link to the Village's website explaining the programs.

IF YOU WANT TO DO-IT-YOURSELF, we invite you to our Riverwoods buckthorn workshops, the November 5th date on Lot #1, where you can learn and practice techniques. You’ll learn how to approach your project for maximum impact, use loppers and hand saws, and safely work with herbicide. Please wear layers of durable clothes that can get dirty and protect you from scratches, including boots, work gloves and hats. We’ll supply snacks, tools, goggles and herbicide.

IF YOU WANT TO TEAM UP WITH NEIGHBORS, the above workshops will help you connect with kindred spirits, and we seek your permission to reveal your email address in a group message to your neighbors, so you can all support and communicate with each other. If interested, please reply ‘yes’ to this email.   

USEFUL NOTES

        As a reminder, the Village of Riverwoods offers cost-share programs for these projects. Learn more. 

        The Forest Preserve District has been clearing buckthorn south of Ryerson Woods as part of their impressive Woodland Habitat Restoration Project. As you know, to support this project, their charitable partner, the Preservation Foundation of the Lake County Forest Preserves, is making it possible for us to help you out so much this year.

        Your Riverwoods Preservation Council is an important partner in this work. 

        No matter who cuts your buckthorn this winter – spouse, friend, contractor – this handy checklist can help:

_____1. Communicate clearly about which plants to remove. Make sure targeted areas are marked with flagging or ribbon and the person has good plant-identification skills. Mark and discuss areas of your property that are off-limits for access or for disposal of cut brush. Limit the amount of traffic beneath oak trees or other sensitive areas as much as possible. 

_____2. Be specific about what will happen to the cut brush. Will the material be chipped and removed, burned on site, left where they drop it, or something else? 

­­­_____3. Demand exceptional handling of chemicals. When arranging work for our own properties, we require that every cut stem and stump promptly be treated with proper herbicides. If hiring help, we also require operators to be state-licensed and follow label requirements for everything ranging from weather conditions to clean-up. And we require the addition of a non-toxic dye so it’s easy to see what’s been treated.

_____4. Standard details. Expected dates of completion and payment, and whether or not you want to be on site when work takes place. 

        Buckthorn is not native and reproduces aggressively, forming dense thickets where our native plants, songbirds, butterflies and other beneficial wildlife can no longer survive. It degrades soil and even releases a chemical that harms the frogs, toads and salamanders that eat mosquitoes.

The Riverwoods community is a special place, not only because of its ecological treasures: mostly because of the delightful people we have met there. Please don’t hesitate to reach out for help as you continue to steward your property.

The Photo on this page was by Greg Mancuso