advertisement

Bartlett may annex land it hopes to sell for development

Bartlett trustees Tuesday will consider annexing a village-owned 3.6 acres near the intersection of Route 59 and West Lake Street to better market a combined 10.8-acre site there for sale and development.

The land lies on the south side of Lake Street west of the Route 59 interchange and east of Horizon Drive. The eastern portion is what remains unincorporated.

Community Development Director Jim Plonczynski said the village bought the site about 10 years ago and created a tax increment finance district there as an incentive for future development.

A TIF district works by freezing the amount of property taxes local governments at the level of its first year. As the land value increases, any additional property tax revenue goes to a fund reserved for public improvements on the site.

TIF districts expire after 23 years or when all the improvements are paid off.

Plonczynski said the possibility of a mixed-use development - combining residential and commercial buildings - is being considered.

Resident Brian Thomas, who lives near the site, asked village board members not to turn the open space there today "into concrete and an auto dealership."

He also expressed concern for the safety of children if even more traffic were added to Lake Street.

Trustee Aaron Reinke said he understood Thomas' concerns, but added that development could be managed sensibly and sensitively.

Village Attorney Bryan Mraz explained that when the village's TIF district was created, the owner of the 3.6-acre parcel wasn't interested in selling to or being annexed by the village. When Bartlett ultimately acquired the site, annexation was not immediately done.

Though officials initially considered rezoning the site from its current Estate Residence classification to a Community Shopping district at the same time as the annexation, they now plan to hold off until they know what a potential developer would hope to do with the land.

As such, only a vote and not a public hearing will be required to annex the site Tuesday.

Bartlett recently hired a broker to market the land, Plonczynski said.

Article Comments
Guidelines: Keep it civil and on topic; no profanity, vulgarity, slurs or personal attacks. People who harass others or joke about tragedies will be blocked. If a comment violates these standards or our terms of service, click the "flag" link in the lower-right corner of the comment box. To find our more, read our FAQ.