Parks overlooked subdivision annex in ‘99, too

Editor’s note: This story, about a similar annexation oversight by the Carol Stream Park District, appeared in 1999.

By Carmen Greco Jr.

Daily Herald Staff Writer

The Carol Stream park district could become a little larger as park officials move to bring one of the village’s newest housing developments into the district.

Park Director Arnie Biondo said the 140-home Autumn Ridge subdivision on Lies Road near Hampe Park - though a couple years old now - was never annexed into the park district.

“We were under the assumption that they were already annexed to the district in their annexation agreement with the village,” Biondo said.

That, however, was not the case.

The issue was brought to park officials’ attention after some Autumn Ridge residents tried to vote on a proposed park district tax referendum in April but were turned away from the polls after being told they were not district residents, Biondo said.

Historically, the park district has taken separate actions to annex a new development to the district, said Village Manager Greg Bielawski.

“We’ve never annexed a parcel for them,” Bielawski said.

The first homes in the Autumn Ridge subdivision, some of them valued in excess of $300,000, went up almost three years ago.

Bielawski said the subdivision is about 98 percent complete.

Biondo and other park officials say an oversight was made in not making sure the subdivision, which is being constructed by Pasquinelli, Inc., was annexed to the district before construction started.

Biondo estimates the park district could realize between $20,000 and $25,000 in additional property tax revenue once the subdivision comes onto the park district’s tax rolls.

He said park officials also are seeking to annex a smaller eight-home subdivision nearby.

Biondo said he did not know the procedure to annex a subdivision but a park district attorney is researching the issue.

Jim Tamm, a spokesman for the DuPage County Election Commission, said residents in the subdivisions could fight the annexation by signing petitions to force a vote on the issue.

But Biondo believes sentiment is leaning toward seeing both neighborhoods annexed.

“We’ve had people from both of those developments coming to us and saying, ‘How can we annex to the park district?’“ Biondo said.