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In one Cook County suburb, a university wants to take down forest preserve trees for a driveway. In another, municipal officials won approval to put up a welcome sign on preserve property. In a third, a ball field encroached on forest preserve land. Cook County's forest preserves are being nibbled away at the edges, environmentalists fear, but they say they also have a solution to offer. "The forest preserve is not a land bank for others. That has always been clear from 1913 on," said Erma Tranter, president of Friends of the Parks. Tranter and other environmentalists are calling on the Forest Preserve District to recommit to its rigid, 58-year-old land-use policy to preserve natural land for the public. Proposed code amendments and a new ordinance that would govern how the district handles requests for the use and the sale of its lands are expected to be announced Wednesday. "The requests for our land are only going to increase," said County Commissioner Mike Quigley, who is spearheading the effort. "We need to reaffirm what is basically a zero-tolerance policy." In recent months, commissioners have faced a growing number of requests, ranging from Westchester wanting to put up a village sign at a busy intersection to a non-profit's quest to continue operating tennis courts in River Forest. More requests are expected, including a proposal by Dominican University, which wants to extend a driveway through a sliver of Thatcher Woods, also in west suburban River Forest. Aside from land requests, the district's administration is researching instances where public and private entities have encroached upon the forest preserves. Commissioners recently approved an agreement with River Grove after discovering that part of a ball diamond sits on forest preserve land. In cases of encroachments, the proposed changes would require payment for the use of the land plus donation of a parcel of similar size and quality. Other proposed changes include mandating a two-thirds vote of the board when approving the sale of surplus property. In addition, no parcel larger than 1 acre could be sold. The guidelines will make the job for commissioners easier when dealing with land requests and more fair for outside entities who will know the ground rules when approaching the district, said Doug Chien, a spokesman for the Sierra Club's Illinois chapter. "It's really a way of providing a simple, clear-cut kind of refresher course on what it means to be a forest preserve commissioner when it comes to land policy," Chien said. Several commissioners said they support the idea of addressing the district's policy. Commissioner Peter Silvestri (R-Elmwood Park), whose district includes River Forest and River Grove, called the proposals "a wonderful beginning." "I think there still has to be some discussion on how it affects existing easements and existing licenses for use of the property," said Silvestri, who also wants language included that acknowledges active recreational uses such as golf and tennis. Commissioners last reaffirmed the land-use policy in 1962.