Board must think about plan's impact

I attended the board meeting last week and am very concerned with the proposed development at Nestlerest. First, I believe that the developer's proposed prices are unrealistic and the resulting impact on tax revenues is misleading.

The price the developer is suggesting is between $250 and $300 per square foot. There are very few properties in Lake Zurich that have garnered that level of price and most that did had the right to put a motor boat on the lake. The last town home sold downtown for only $151 per square foot.

The increased tax revenue also does not account for the impact to the value of the surrounding properties. Placing high density housing near single-family homes at best does not impact their value and at worst could cause them to revert to low-value rentals. At a minimum, the tax revenue during construction years will decline.

The developer also did not adjust his numbers for risk or time. Because of the delay in tax billing, the time required to build, and other possible delays, the village will not realize the tax revenue for about four to five years. As we have seen with downtown, a lot can change in the time it takes to build a development and there are many things that need to happen before the real estate market stabilizes.

Second, I think spot-zoning our neighborhood will have a negative impact to the entire real estate market in Lake Zurich. Zoning was created to stabilize real estate markets by reducing the risk of a developer without long-term ties to the community building a development that was not consistent with or in the best interest of other homeowners (Fischel, 2001). That tenant is also a focus of the Lake Zurich village code. Between seizing properties downtown and spot-zoning our neighborhood, you are sending the message to individual investors that the village will not protect those investments.

Third, the developer has made promises that the development will help reinvigorate the downtown projects by creating foot traffic and supporting downtown business. I would strongly encourage the board to look at Barrington. With only a few exceptions, business after business fails or relocates out of their downtown unless it caters to the commuters or has historic appeal. Unfortunately, we do not have a Metra station and I fear we will just be increasing vehicle traffic.

Fourth, on the non-financial front, the village government's public image has taken some hits over the past year, most likely because of the troubles with the downtown revitalization. It was very apparent from the last meeting and the results of the last election that many people do not trust or have lost faith in our local government. Seizing more property in favor of developers and going through more litigation is not what this community needs. The village has spent its political chips and rejecting this proposal or relocating it to a more appropriate area would help start the process of restoring the community's faith in the board.

Chad Dau

Lake Zurich