A preliminary draft of a Lake Forest City Ordinance called for charging $200 for a Class 1 Landscaper License, $300 for Class 2 and $600 for Class 3. Each class is based on the weight of vehicles used.

In addition, landscapers would be required to pay $1,000 per vehicle for a Class I Vehicle License, $2,000 for Class II and $3,000 for Class III.

One landscaper calls the proposed terms “outrageous”.

“We work all over the North Shore,” Kinnucan said. “There is not a municipal license ordinance (anywhere else) that requires the level of fees the city of Lake Forest” is considering.

Some 50 landscapers attended an informational meeting held Tuesday morning in City Hall to gauge feedback on the rough draft of the ordinance, officials said.

“We want to work hand-in-hand with our landscapers,” Carina Walters, management analyst, said. The council may not consider the ordinance before April, she said.