CLARENDON HILLS, IL – A couple of Clarendon Hinsdale trustees indicated Monday they support a controversial tax district that officials said would spur development.
Meanwhile, a lawyer for area schools accused the village of seeking the “exploitation” of a state law to make the district a reality.
The village is proposing the creation of a tax increment financing district, or TIF, in the area along 55th Street.
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For 23 years, such a district would divert any property taxes derived from growth in its tax base from schools and other public bodies. The money must be spent to benefit the district.
The village said it needs money for street, water and stormwater improvements. Part of the area, officials said, lacks water pressure, requiring fire trucks to haul in water for fires.
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The district includes the nearly 60-year-old Jewel grocery store complex and the old Tracy’s Tavern property, which was leveled last year because of code violations.
During Monday’s Village Board meeting, Trustee Omar Chaudhry said he worried about a major grocery store merger that could affect Jewel.
He said the local Jewel is vulnerable to closure because it’s one of the smallest and oldest in the area.
“Trying to develop that parcel will be very difficult without a TIF,” Chaudhry said. “We need to plan for that.”
He called for flexibility from other government bodies. The village has proposed several ways to share some of the growth in property taxes.
Last month, a committee of government bodies voted 4-3 against Clarendon Hills’ proposal. That means the tax district needs the support of three-fifths of the Village Board – five of the seven members.
Another trustee, Meredith Lannert, also seemed supportive of the district.
“This is one way to assist us,” she said.
Trustee Steve Tuttle suggested trustees step back and analyze the issue.
“I think we jumped ahead of ourselves with this TIF stuff a little bit,” he said.
At the same time, Tuttle bristled at the criticism of Clarendon Hills, mainly from out-of-towners, during the more than two hours of public comments.
Clarendon Hills residents, he said, have stepped up to back school tax hike referendums.
“I don’t need people coming from other communities to badmouth our town,” he said. “It’s very disturbing.”
During the meeting, Scott Ginsburg, a lawyer who represents schools, said area districts believe Clarendon Hills is relying on “exploitation” of the tax district law.
Ginsburg said the district must prove that development would not happen without the tax district.
“The village is asking us not to believe our own eyes about what is already taking place in the area,” said Ginsburg, whose firm Robbins Schwartz represents Hinsdale High School District 86. “Over the past few years, individual residential parcels within the proposed TIF have been purchased for $300,000 to $400,000 and redeveloped into properties worth $700,000 to $1 million. The TIF area is prosperous, and successful businesses are present.”
Scott Ginsburg, an attorney with the Robbins Schwartz law firm, spoke out Monday against a proposed special tax district in Clarendon Hills. He represents area schools. (David Giuliani/Patch)
The lawyer said the Tracy’s Tavern property could have had a Dunkin’ Donuts-anchored retail complex without any tax district incentives.
“But the Village Board yielded to a not-in-my-backyard faction and the Dunkin’ Donuts did not happen,” he said.
“I respectfully disagree,” said Trustee Lannert, who voted against the development.
Ginsburg continued by saying the tax base was not lagging or declining, but rather was increasing faster than the village as a whole.
He also touted the local Jewel store as high-performing, casting doubt it would close.
Catherine Greenspon, president of the Hinsdale High School District 86 board, said taxpayers elsewhere would have to offset diverted property taxes. She said that was why out-of-towners attended the meeting.
During the meeting, village officials said property values in the tax district have not caught up with the rate of inflation.
And they said one of the reasons for the TIF law was to prevent areas from falling into blight if they are not addressed. They argued that would happen locally without the tax district.
Officials acknowledged that a cluster of high-dollar homes were in the proposed tax district. They said they wanted to include them because they are at the low point of the water system. It is seen as a possible site for a water storage tank.
But the village has offered to remove that area from the proposed district.
Under state law, the village must wait 14 days after Monday’s public hearing to vote on the district.
But trustees seemed to agree more discussion was needed.
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