Chicago Suburb Demands Family Tear Down Their 'Nuisance' Ice Rink

If you ever lived in the Upper Midwest like I did, you probably were exposed at one point to the homemade ice rink. You know what I'm talking about: the cool dad in the neighborhood would put down large plastic tarps, flood the back yard, and then voila!

Well, that's what the Lund family in suburban Chicago did -- and now they're being told it's a "nuisance" and they must take it down, even though they maintain they're breaking no laws.

“It has been red-flagged,” Kim Lund of Gurnee told CBS Chicago. “To me, it’s the principle. We are not violating any ordinances. We have consulted with an attorney.”

The ice rink in the yard. (Photo: CBS Chicago)

Barry Burton, the local Lake County administrator, disagrees.

“It became a nuisance. And again, they’ll be asked to remove it.” He issued them a notice saying the family is violating zoning laws against ice rinks:

The letter informing the Lunds they're violating zoning ordinances. (Photo: CBS Chicago)

When asked what rules the rink violates, Burton said “no ice rinks in your yard.”

“We don’t want to be a Scrooge,” he said, adding “This is in fact too large for that type of area.” He also said neighbors have complained about the noise associated with the kids playing on it in the past, making the Lunds repeat offenders.

The family faces fines if they don't remove it -- which doesn't look like will happen anytime soon. For now, it's an icy showdown.