The village council approved the leasing of a property at Hannah Avenue and the Eisenhower Expressway at their Feb. 28 meeting.

The deal, worth over $600,000 over the next 20 years would allow Clear Channel to post a billboard overlooking the Expressway.

According to the agreement, the village will receive $30,000 per year from Clear Channel for the next ten years and $36,900 per year for the following ten years.

Clear Channel also has the option of continuing the lease for $45,387 per year for ten more years after that.

Clear Channel will not begin payments until the billboard is built.

At the meeting, and without further discussion, the council also unanimously approved the collective bargaining agreement with the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME) Council 31, Local 3026.

In addition, commisioners  dealt with zoning issues at the meeting.

Commissioner Theresa Steinbach raised a request to change twelve angle parking spots at York and Desplaines to parallel parking.

She told members the residents of the new condo complained that car headlights shine in their windows and claimed the developer promised the parking would be changed.

Nancy Hill, community development director,  remembered the village receiving the request to change the parking and discussing it, but stated it was not approved.

Following some discussions, the council rejected the request because it would diminish the parking available at the site.

Commissioner Patrick Doolin suggested the residents seek compensation from the developer if there was misrepresentation of the facts.

Calderone appeared to rebuke Steinbach by saying, “I don’t bring every request to the council.”

The other zoning issue decided upon pertains to the non-conforming use request at 304-306 Marengo, which was approved.

Doolin expressed concern that the alteration was really an expansion. When he asked Hill, who was presenting the case as recommended from the Zoning Board Authority, she did not know how much the interior was being expanded.

Doolin said he was concerned that expanding the interior would increase the number of people that could live there.

Steinbach raised two aesthetic issues. She amended the ordinance so that the exterior materials would be uniform. She also sought to remove the request to create two new tandem parking spaces next to what is now the garage. She had looked at the neighborhood and disliked this parking lot appearance at other properties.

Commissioner Mark Hosty supported her on this point, but Calderone, Doolin and Tim Gillian voted in favor of increasing the number of parking spaces.

The overall non-conforming use passed on a 3-2 vote with Steinbach and Doolin dissenting.