Dispute With Village Over Trees Keeps Family From Moving Into Barrington Hills Mansion

Najamul and Nausheen Hasan and their four children are all ready to move into the house of their dreams but a dispute with the village of Barrington Hills could relegate them to a hotel for the time-being, according to media reports.

The Hasans spent three years building the 9,200-square-foot home at 223 Westfield Way but the village is not allowing the family to occupy it until they comply with a plan to replace “heritage trees” on the lot, the Daily Herald reports.

A Barrington Hills ordinance regulates how many of these ”heritage trees” -- trees that are native to the area and have “significant historical value to the village of Barrington Hills“ -- can be torn down and replaced during construction, according to the newspaper.

The village contends the family needs to plant 110, 4-inch heritage trees. But a lawsuit, filed against the village of Barrington Hills, states there is not enough room for that many trees, according to the article.

The Hasans, in the lawsuit, claim the village’s tree ordinance is unconstitutional, according to the Chicago Tribune. The lawsuit also claims their civil rights are being violated.

The Chicago Tribune also reports the Hasans were told they would be granted a temporary occupancy permit by the village’s building officer but that temporary permit was later denied. This made matters worse for the family since they have leased their current home in Hoffman Esates.

They are supposed to be out of the home by June 1, according to the article. The Daily Herald reports the Hasons plan to move into a hotel with their four children, ages 5 to 19 years old, for an unknown period of time.

In December, the village’s plan commission denied a request by Najamul Hasan to instead replace 21 heritage trees. The plan commission also rejected his plan to instead install 140 six-foot Colorado Spruce trees that the village’s arborist said would not likely survive in this climate, according to online minutes from the December meeting.

The village contends that if the Hasans had not planted all the Colorado Spruce trees, they would have had room for the heritage trees.

The village of Barrington Hills list Shagbark Hickory, Bitternut Hickory, Ironwood, Wild Black Cherry, Hackberry and Black Walnut trees among the trees on its heritage list.