Schaumburg may drop permit requirement for portable storage units
Last month, Schaumburg officials freed village residents from the obligation of getting permits for their garage sales. Now they may do the same this month for the use of portable storage units.
Even if village trustees approve that staff recommendation, all the other rules established in 2012 for the use of temporary storage units - including a 45-day time limit - will remain in effect. The time limit would be monitored on either a complaint basis or whenever village inspectors become aware of a portable storage unit on a property.
The village board's planning, building and development committee will review and possibly recommend the proposal at 7 p.m. Thursday, while the full village board could make a final decision on Thursday, March 24.
Trustee Jack Sullivan, who chairs the committee, said he's confident sufficient enforcement of the rules would continue without a permit.
"When all this was new years ago, no one knew where it was going to go," he said.
As with the end of garage sale permits, Sullivan cited the toll on staff time as the chief reason for doing away with storage unit permits.
Each permit incurred two inspections - one to determine the unit had been placed correctly, and another to ensure it was gone 45 days later.
Since the rules were established eight years ago, there have been 316 permits issued by the village. In recent years there were 39 in 2017, 53 in 2018 and 39 in 2019. Over the entire period, only 22 households requested an extension beyond 45 days.
The village surveyed the 42 members of the Northwest Municipal Conference and found only nine required permits. Among the 33 that don't require permits, eight have rules for the use of temporary storage units.
The regulations remaining in effect include: units cannot exceed a maximum size of 16 feet by 8 feet; they must be placed on a paved surface; they cannot encroach on other public or private property; and the unit's user must have written permission from everyone it would affect in a common parking lot.
Also remaining the same are the rules for storage units on nonresidential property. They are allowed only for construction projects and must be removed within 30 days of completing such projects.