Naperville food, beverage tax gets initial OK

People dining out in downtown Naperville may soon have to pay a little extra.

After months of discussion and revisions, the city council gave preliminary approval Tuesday to an additional 1.5 percent tax on food and beverages in that area to help pay for parking deck projects.

The new charge is on top of the existing 1 percent tax. It could go into effect later this spring and last for up to 25 years.

The draft ordinance the council approved specifies the boundaries for the tax as School Street/Douglas Avenue on the north, Ellsworth Street on the east, Aurora Avenue on the south and Eagle Street on the west. The tax will also apply to Naper Settlement and the new North Central College fine-arts center when for-profit entities rent the facilities.

Several councilmen suggested expanding these boundaries Tuesday.

Councilman Grant Wehrli asked why Rotary Hill wasn't included and Councilman Robert Fieseler said he would support going as far north as possible.

However City Attorney Margo Ely said the city can only impose the tax on entities that will benefit from it.

"I don't believe the properties beyond what we've drawn here will be benefited by parking facilities that will be constructed," she said.

Three area parking deck projects will add more than 1,000 parking spaces downtown.

Work is already under way on a 317-space Van Buren deck addition. In the fall, the city will start construction on a 557-space Water Street deck. A third parking structure with 520 spaces will be built at the Nichols Library in 2010.

Doug Krieger, director of finance, said the additional tax is expected to bring in just over $1 million annually at first, increasing by about 4 percent each year. The city and developers will also help fund the decks.

But resident Sheldon Hayer said the parking facilities should be run like a business, charging people who actually park there.

"Pay to park the cars. It's that simple," he said. "If a merchant wants to subsidize the cost of parking it's no problem."

But the council unanimously voted in favor of the additional tax. The proposal now requires the approval of 75 percent of the restaurant owners who will be affected. Jim Bergeron, chairman of the Downtown Naperville Alliance, has already held several meetings with the alliance and restaurant owners to discuss the issue and is confident they will support it.

"I was surprised by the things they didn't have a problem with," he said. "The (preliminary) votes were clearly taken and the assumption would be we have a majority in agreement."

Once they give their OK, the ordinance will be brought back to the council for a final vote.