For well over 10 years now (if not 20), the first impression of Naperville for many is the mass mountain of junk ever increasing in scale along the Naper Blvd/Ogden intersection.
The pile of tents and debris keeps getting bigger and bigger.
The occupant who is buried amongst the refuse does not pretend to be homeless. Many charities have offered him shelter. He claims to be a “protestor” raising awareness to poor zoning decisions made by Naperville as well as other broader political concerns and complaints.
He has no permit to protest there.
DuPage County and the City point fingers at one another as to who has jurisdiction over this junk pile.
Even if he is on private property, private property owners don’t get to turn their lots into junkyards.
Simply put, this eye sore needs to be dealt with. Naperville officials will claim that no one is complaining about the junk heap. This is a curious excuse as Naperville regularly comes down on businesses and enforce code infractions that no one is complaining about.
This debris field is a terrible look for our City. The jurisdictional issues sound like cop outs. The City should get this mess removed even if it has to get a court order to do it.
The first impression one gets when coming into a top American suburb should not be a pile of junk. Council do your jobs and deal with this.
Gotta disagree with you on this one. At minimum, let’s wait until the Supreme Court decides on the limits of “urban camping” so whatever action Council takes can be well-advised. Action now could be more expensive than it has to be.
Personally, I find vacant and poorly maintained commercial properties to be worse because they suggest economic weakness as opposed to one man’s unique perspective. Just proceed West on Ogden a couple blocks (corner of N. Charles) for one example.
Finally!
I’ve been saying the same for years…
It appears to grow larger every time I see it.
It’s unsightly.
Something needs to be done.
It takes about a 5 second property search on the DuPage County website to see this property is in unincorporated Naperville, which mean the city has no jurisdiction over this property.
So, yes it is a DuPage County issue (i.e. DuPage County Sheriff) or possible Lisle Township issue, but not a City of Naperville issue. Basically the city passed several ordinances a few years back that made it impossible for this person to continue to occupy public land in Naperville (he use to be setup outside the parking Garage on Chicago Ave where he could use the downtown WiFi).
If you are so concerned you need to bring the matter up during the Public Speaking Agenda item at the next DuPage County Commissioners Meeting.
County says it’s in city right of way and not their jurisdiction.
Haselhorst gets schooled again.
If you actually look at the county maps it is clear this site is located in unincorporated Lisle township make it as much a county jurisdiction as a city jurisdiction. In short this is a classic he said she said situation.
The city has actively perused restricting this person’s access to land clearly under city jurisdiction, which is how he ended up moving for the downtown central parking garage (as shown in the picture posted with this story) to this location. If the city had clear jurisdiction they would not hesitate to act as they have clearly done in the past.
The county is only making this claim to avoid the considerable legal expenses it would incur if it acted to remove this person and his encampment. Putting the city in the position of having to undergo the legal expenses that would be involved in clearing up this ambiguous jurisdiction issue, before it could act to remove this encampment.
This would be a waste of city funds that could take years for the courts to resolve, just to remove this one man. This person is not a young man. One has to wonder if the nature of human existence won’t solve this problem faster then our legal system.
Since this person has relocated to this site I have had many guests to our city visit me that when driving by this site, fail to notice it. It truly is a problem that exist more in the minds of some Naperville residents then it does in the eyes of our city’s visitors.
I like how they mention the first impression one gets when coming into a top American suburb shouldn’t be a junk pile .
But they want to flood this town with immigrants from the city that will bring junk piles with them as well but they want to do it for money .
And as one mentioned they let poorly maintained commercial lots go and make a top American suburb look like a poor economic area .
Doesn’t the council have bigger issues? Just let the guy protest. The Naperville council is “liberal” enough to hear out fringe causes.
But I guess he brought the wrong flag (?? /??/??)…
Scott Huber has been protesting for way longer than 20 years. Those of us who have lived here for 40+ years have watched as they’ve relocated Scott from the downtown area all the way to the edge of town. He’s not in everyone’s face or business. And, quite honestly, residents are not bothered by him. If the owner of the gas station wants to allow him a place to camp, then so be it. Clearly his protesting isn’t working. But he’s not disturbing anyone. Let him be.
Not disturbing anyone? What if you were the property owner and that was your gas station? I know I wouldn’t be too happy. What message is he getting across all these years?
The property owner and gas station owner has not complained. Doesn’t matter if they are happy or unhappy, who cares about their feelings?! Their feelings have no legal precedence here. Scott is a wise person to pick the spot he did…and y’all are still talking about him so I think his protest os working.
Any property owner that has a issue with this encampment, under state law, can take legal action against this man to get a court order for his removal. If any property owner were truly concerned about this man and his encampment they would have taken legal action against him decades ago.
Hey Now!!! Let’s check ourselves here Naperville… Ambassador Huber is the single most important economic engine driving the renaissance of Little Wisconsin in North Naperville. Before his unexpected arrival, with his mountain of pre-owned tarpage, this was a morass of empty buildings, closed restaurants and health code violations. Since Scotty’s smiling face arrived on the scene- a New Costco!! Rotating Sushi!! Breakfast Dining in 5 locations that haven’t burned down!! And the fairest prices on gasoline in the ‘Ville. Don’t look for problems where we have none up here in the Northern Latitudes, focus on your own depravity in the center of downtown.
Hilarious!! And true.
To build on this theme, Ambassador Huber’s remit is only with Northeast Naperville. Lest you think he’s past his prime, he recently enticed Chik-fil-A to locate within his zone of influence.
Northwest Naperville, without the benefit of Ambassador Huber, has not fared nearly as well.
Waste of time as this has already been addressed by council. Next topic.
In fairness- it would be a challenge to include the vast wasteland that is the North Of North Aurora Metro Economic (NO-NAME) Co-Prosperity Sphere without engaging an army of neighborhood activists to spread the doctrine of Ambassador Scott. That’s a lot of tarpage to move around town, and somebody stole his wagon last year. Naperville knows what it has done to their Favorite Red-Headed Step-Son Huber. In denying his First Amendment right to protest directly on the doorstep of power, they have forced this humble servant of growth in our community to abandon the gentle care that supported the many bars in town where everybody knew the owner, (Jimmy & Louie) the ONLY multi-story bookstore in the western suburbs and a Starbucks with adult drinks. Wanna know where Peet’s is now? Find Ambassador Huber, get a coffee. Jimmy & Louie? Can’t see them for all the glare from the Corporate Lightshow that has overtaken our once-genuine and charming downtown. We call for all True Napervillians to support the good Ambassador. Watch for the announcement coming soon for the Habitats Against Humanity initiative starting in Morrison’s Addition.
I delight in being outdone, oh wise and witty NNLF!
I agree with an earlier post about waiting until the SCOTUS makes a decision on this; however, this is not about homelessness, it’s a first amendment issue that will not likely be decided by SCOTUS in this upcoming ruling. That said, the ruling may provide some guidance on how municipalities can control encampments that clearly violate city codes established for the health and safety of residents.