Frequently Asked Questions
about Germantown Hills, Illinois
We've prepared this information to answer questions that you might have about
Village services and regulations. These questions are grouped into categories,
and the questions are listed together at the top. If you see a question of
interest, scroll down the document until you get to that category where the
question and answer are both listed.
Zoning Ordinances
--What should I do if I am planning new construction in the Village?
--What do I need to know about paving my driveway?
--How do I get approval for an Advertising Sign
--Can I advertise my car along Rte 116?
--Can I conduct a business from within my home?
--Are there Regulations on Lighting and Noise in the Village?
Animal Control
--Is there a leash law in Germantown Hills?
Village Streets
--What regulations apply during a snowstorm?
--Why does it sometimes take longer to exit from Whispering Oaks subdivision onto
westbound Rte 116?
--Why does the Village apply tar and gravel to otherwise good roads?
--Why doesn't the Village put new asphalt on my road?
--What is the Village's plan for road maintenance?
Wastewater Treatment (sewer)
--Where do I pay my sewer bill?
--What do I need to know if my house has a pressure sewer system?
--Is it illegal to connect a sump pump to the sewer system?
Miscellaneous
--Where do I pay my water bill?
--How do I know whether or not I'm in the Village?
Zoning Ordinances
--New Construction
Question: What should I do if I am planning new construction in the Village?
Answer: Contact the Village Hall to determine if you planned construction is regulated by the Zoning Ordinance. Some examples of types of construction that are regulated are homes and businesses, fences, pools, garages, sheds, or a roadside underdrain (culvert). Calling first will allow the Zoning Officer to work with you, and it will avoid confusion, and the possibility that your new construction might have to be moved or torn down. Also remember to contact JULIE (Joint Utility Locating Info for Excavators) at 1-800-892-0123, prior to doing any digging. Otherwise you could be held responsible by any of the utility companies for damage done to their underground utilities.
Question: What do I need to know about paving my driveway?
Answer: If you decide to construct a paved driveway all the way to the street, there are a couple of things to keep in mind.
First, you should be sure that the end of the driveway is at least a little lower than the edge of the street. If your driveway is higher at this point, it will be struck by one of the Village snowplows in the winter. Not only is this hard on your Village equipment, it will almost certainly damage the end of your new driveway.
Secondly, we do not discourage completion of paved driveways to the street. We agree that it improves the appearance of homes in the Village. But we do want people to know that their property line usually ends 10-15 feet from the edge of the street, and that portion of the driveway is on Village property. While we have no current plans to do so, in the event that the Village has to do road or ditch maintenance at some future time that would damage or destroy this section of your driveway, the Village is not obligated to replace it. (This is not true just of our Village. This has to do with state law).
Question: How do I get approval for an Advertising Sign
Answer: The Village zoning ordinance regulates advertising and identification signs. A permit is required for any sign, in both residential and commercial zones. Contact the Village Hall for details.
Question: Can I advertise my car along Rte 116?
Answer: The zoning ordinance prohibits the advertising of automobiles or any other material parked or displayed on Village roads and road shoulders along Rte. 116. If you see other cars advertised there, it is either because we have not yet cited them for violation of the ordinance, or it could be that they are outside of the Village limits where we have no jurisdication.
Question: Can I conduct a business from within my home?
Answer: If you wish to conduct a business from your home, you must apply to the Village for a home occupation permit. That permit explains how you can legally conduct your business, and avoid complaints by neighbors.
Question: Are there Regulations on Lighting and Noise in the Village?
Answer: All businesses in commercially zoned areas should contact the Village before installing new lighting systems, as they are now regulated. There are also regulations controlling the amount of noise emitted as measured at your property line. Certain restrictions on noise and lighting also apply to residential districts. Contact the Village for more details.
Animal Control
Question: Is there a leash law in Germantown Hills?
Answer: It is illegal within the Village to allow your pets to run loose. The Village has an ordinance prohibiting stray animals and severe cases of barking dogs. We have a contract with Woodford County Animal Control Department to impound strays. If you have a problem with a stray animal, call the Village Hall, and we'll try to capture it so that it can be turned over to the County.
Village Streets
Question: What regulations apply during a snowstorm?
Answer: If there is a snowfall of 2 inches or more, there is an ordinance that requires that residents remove their cars from the city streets. This allows the snowplow to do a better job for everyone.
Question: Why does it sometimes take longer to exit from Whispering Oaks
subdivision onto westbound Rte 116?
Answer: Most intersections that have two traffic lanes approaching from one
side are designed so that straight ahead and left turn traffic is collected in
the left lane, and the right turn traffic is collected in the right lane. This
allows people wanting to turn right on a red traffic light to do so.
Unfortunately at this particular intersection, Arbor Vitae Drive on the north
is not aligned with Schmidt Lane on the south. If the traffic exiting
Whispering Oaks and intending to go straight across the highway to Schmidt Lane
or the Middle School came from the left lane on Arbor Vitae, it would be aimed
directly at the cars that are turning left out of Schmidt Lane, leading to
confusion at least, accidents at worst.
So when the Illinois Department of Transportation widened this intersection and
added traffic lights, it put arrows on the lanes so that the straight ahead
traffic leaving Whispering Oaks is collected in the right lane. What this
means is that if someone is going straight ahead and the light is red, people
behind them cannot turn right on red, and must wait for the light to turn
green. This is mostly a problem in the mornings during rush hour.
Question: Why does the Village apply tar and gravel to otherwise good roads?
Question: Why doesn't the Village put new asphalt on my road?
Question: What is the Village's plan for road maintenance?
Answer: People have asked us why we use sealcoat on our roads (tar and
gravel), when the roads would look nicer if they were just left as plain
asphalt. To understand why we maintain the roads in the manner that we do, we
need to explain a little bit about the types of roads that we have, and what
causes those roads to wear out.
Most of the residential streets in the Village are of asphalt construction.
A significant cause of asphalt road deterioration is weathering of the surface
from the sun and the air, causing it to oxidize. Several years after a new
street is put in, the surface will start to crack and weaken from the
oxidation. Left alone, the street will soon form potholes and break up.
Highway engineers have learned that by applying a process called "sealcoating,"
which is the application of tar or a water binder emulsion to the surface, and
then covering that with a thin layer of gravel, the oxidizing effects of
sun and air can be slowed down. On a lightly traveled residential street,
this process will allow the street to live much longer than it otherwise would
live.
Usually the first sealcoat is applied 5-10 years after the street is
originally constructed, and if we are fortunate, additional seal coats at 5-10
year intervals can be applied to further extend the life of the road. Other
factors such as amount of traffic, how strong the base for the road is, and the
actual winter conditions of prior years affect this timetable. Eventually the
sealcoating is not sufficient to prevent road failure, and the surface must be
overlayed with a thick coating of asphalt, or torn up and reconstructed.
One thing that has baffled some of our citizens is why we would apply sealcoat
to a road that appears to still be in good shape. While this may look like it
is happening, it really isn't. Even though a relatively new paved road may
still look good to the general public at a time when the first sealcoat is
applied, we don't do that until the road is really starting to fail. The
sealcoat is being applied because close inspection by our engineer at the
beginning of that year showed signs of weakening and breakup of the surface.
If nothing is done after this weaking is observed, the road will break up
completely within a couple of years, costing many times more to rebuild
completely.
A few of our citizens have suggested that we should not use sealcoating at all,
and should instead apply a new thick asphalt overlay to the streets when they
start to deteriorate. We could do this, but it would be much more costly than
the strategy we use now. First, the thick application of asphalt is much more
expensive than the sealcoat. Secondly, regular applications of thick asphalt
will build up the road height rapidly, requiring periodic roto-milling of the
surface to keep it aligned with driveways, which is a VERY expensive process.
So following this strategy would increase the cost of road maintenance
substantially.
The State of Illinois distributes a portion of the taxes collected on gasoline
and diesel fuel sales to individual communities, based on their population.
The Village currently spends all of its available Motor Fuel Tax revenue on
road maintenance, and even with that funding, we usually have to add some of
our own property tax funds to keep the streets repaired as they are now.
If we were to follow a more expensive strategy to maintain the roads, it would
definitely result in higher local property taxes. Since many of our citizens
have asked us to do whatever we can to control property taxes, we have tried to
spend the road maintenance dollars as efficiently as possible, and sealcoating
has been part of that strategy.
One other point should be mentioned. In 1998, while sealcoating several
streets, the contractor deposited an excess amount of gravel which got into
people's yards and piled up in low areas. That had never happened to us
before, so we were unprepared for it. But in the future we will sweep the
streets if this happens again.
Wastewater Treatment (sewer)
Question: Where do I pay my sewer bill?
Answer: You can mail or drop off you payment at the Village Hall
Question: What do I need to know if my house has a pressure sewer system?
Answer: Because of the rolling terrain, certain homes on the Village Sewer System are connected with a pressure pump, sometimes called a grinder pump. A large holding tank is located outside of your house, and it contains a pump that transfers the wastewater to the sewer system for treatment at the sewer plant. Maintenance of the pump is done by the Village. Electrical power is supplied by you.
If you have such a pump, there are a number of things that you should know to keep it working properly. Click here to learn more.
Question: Is it illegal to connect a sump pump to the sewer system?
Answer: It can be tempting for a homeowner to connect the output from sump pumps or downspouts directly into the sanitary sewer system. Unfortunately, this results in severe problems at the sewer plant because of the excess flow this causes. At times of heavy rainfall, it not only increases the cost of plant operation, it can result in costly damage to the sewer plant.
It is because of this that such hookups are clearly illegal. Those of you who know that you have an illegal hookup should disconnect it immediately. If you are unsure of a possible illegal connection, contact the Village Hall, and we will help you identify if you have an illegal hookup, and will not impose any fine if you cooperate to get it disconnected.
Occasionally our employees will come door-to-door to perform inspections. Please understand and cooperate, as this is important part of controlling the sewer costs.
Miscellaneous
Question: Where do I pay my water bill?
Answer: The Village does not provide the drinking water for our community. Water for Village residents is generally provided by the Caterpillar Trail Public Water District. Residents sometimes drop off their payments for water bills at the Village Hall. They should be sent instead to the Water District, or left in the Water District's drop box at the Jubilee supermarket. If you leave a payment for your water bill at the Village Hall, it will just delay getting your payment to the Water District, and might result in penalties charged by their district.
Question: How do I know whether or not I'm in the Village?
Answer: Everyone in the Village is served by the sewer system. If you have a septic system, you are not in the Village.