Neighbors' unpermitted, regraded yard regularly floods Roselle man's property, lawsuit alleges

ROSELLE, Ill. (WLS) -- One Roselle resident says he sees this water in his backyard on a regular basis.

In a lawsuit, he says the neighbors failed to get approval from the village to regrade their backyard, which some engineers say could be causing the problem.

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Joe Bellavia has lived in his home in northwest suburban Roselle since 1978. He says did not have a flooding issue during his first 40 years there.

"In the fall of 2019, I started experiencing flooding in the yard, and I couldn't figure out why there was flooding. So, I, of course, asked the village a little bit if they can give me some information," Bellavia said.

Bellavia said he eventually had to seek help from engineers.

He said four different engineers, even one from the village, studied the issue, and their reports indicated that the problem was due to his neighbor's yard being too high.

"It's just your neighbors raised lawn that is trapping the water on your side," he said, reading from one report.

Those engineers say the land was raised after his neighbor regraded their property. Bellavia said that happened after they removed a pool.

"As you see, there is a berm that's about 5 inches higher than the bottom of the fence line, and that shouldn't be there," Bellavia said.

Bellavia said that "berm" is pushing waterflow into his yard.

"It's ruined our lawn, and every time it rains, it just is flooded. So, you know if we have people over parties, we can't use the backyard. And the flood is so excessive that we even have ducks floating out there. They found a little pond!" Bellavia said.

In a lawsuit Bellavia filed in 2023, he is asking the neighbors to correct the problem. The lawsuit alleges that permits were never obtained before neighbors regraded their yard, and that the regrading "changed the previously existing topography thereby altering the flow of water across the property."

In an initial response to the lawsuit, the neighbors admitted to removing the pool in the spring of 2017, and when asked if they applied for any permits from the village, the defendants answered "none."

In the defendant's second answer to the amended complaint, they denied allegations. They also admitted that there is a municipal ordinance regarding excavation or grading "but deny any breach thereof."

Bellavia said he looked into putting in his own drain system, but it may not be a permanent solution, and he says it is too expensive.

"To put a drain system in that would handle that water was $45,000," Bellavia said.

And that would be a lot of money to fix someone else's problem.

"Well, that's what all the engineers are telling me, that it was someone else's problem," Bellavia said.

ABC7 reached out to the neighbors and their attorney, but they did not immediately respond to the I-Team's requests for comment.

"When something like that is on your mind every day, it affects your life. You know, you're wondering what's going to happen next. Is the village ever going to do anything?" Bellavia said.

ABC7 asked the village if they had anything to say about the allegation that permits were not taken out before that regrading or if they wanted to comment overall. A spokesperson told the I-Team, "the village of Roselle doesn't comment on active litigation." However, it is not the village being sued.