A plant-loving West Chicago couple’s plans for a $7,000 backyard greenhouse have sprouted into something far more — a public battle with city officials saying the structure has spiraled into a $120,000 project that in no way resembles what was spelled out for a permit.
Dan and Jody Bovey took the dispute public weeks ago with lawn signs, an online petition and a crowd of supporters attending city council meetings. The city is fighting back, with officials taking the unusual step of devoting an entire page to the dispute on its website.
“We feel like we have poked the bear,” Jody Bovey said.
The dispute
At this point, the two sides agree on little more than the project started three years ago when the city granted the Boveys a building permit for a “noncommercial greenhouse,” defined by city code as “a building with transparent walls and roof, usually of glass, for the cultivation of plants under controlled conditions.”
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