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How Schaumburg, developer hope to keep Motorola project from affecting schools

While endorsing the direction of plans for redeveloping the former Motorola Solutions campus, Schaumburg trustees Tuesday also told concerned residents they were sensitive to potential impacts on local school districts from families with children moving there.

Though the concept plan shows the general location of possible multifamily housing and row houses along Algonquin Road west of Meacham Road, the developer has yet to determine whether the market would sustain condominium and apartment buildings of three stories or 10 to 12.

But whatever it turns out to be, both the village and developer said the plan is to attract young executives and empty-nesters, not families with children.

Len Green, a leader of a residents group in Palatine Township Elementary District 15, said one of its concerns is that the development is in a tax-increment finance district, which reserves a portion of its increasing property taxes for public improvements at the expense of school districts and other local governments.

Green added that many District 15 schools are at capacity and having to build a new one would cost taxpayers.

Village Manager Brian Townsend said Schaumburg charges all developers an impact fee of $250 per housing unit.

And for any residential development supported by a TIF district, the village must also set an annual amount of money aside to address the impact of new residents on school and library districts.

Trustees pointed out that District 15 has been getting property taxes from the site for decades without any children living there and suggested some of it could still be saved up before anything is built.

Green said his intent was to keep a dialogue open between Palatine residents and the village of Schaumburg, not to suggest the planned development was undesirable.

Bob Burk, managing partner of developer UrbanStreet Group LLC, told trustees that negotiations on contracts for both the commercial and residential aspects of the project began in May.

“Now we have concrete interest and we're working with your staff to make this a reality,” Burk said. “We're excited about it.”

A new zoning code for the redevelopment is being prepared for review by the zoning board of appeals on Feb. 21 and by the village board possibly as soon as March 13.

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