CN placing tower away from downtown Lake Zurich

Lake Zurich village board members have approved a land swap that eliminates the possibility of a more than 200-foot communications tower rising in the downtown area.

Under the deal with a Canadian National Railroad subsidiary, the village will receive what officials say is a useful strip of property west of Old Rand Road near Route 22. In exchange, CN's Elgin, Joliet & Eastern offshoot will gain village-owned land for its planned tower near Oakwood and Ensell roads north of Route 22.

Public Works Director David Heyden said at a meeting Monday night the railroad originally was attempting to build a communications tower that would have risen more than 200 feet near the True Value Hardware store on Old Rand. Lake Zurich officials began negotiating with CN a couple of months ago once the tower work was noticed.

"When we saw that tower going up, it caused us concern," Heyden said.

If it had been built, Heyden said, the tower would have posed a problem for the appearance of the downtown area. CN entered talks with the village to shift the tower to another site after officials expressed their concerns.

CN needs the communications tower in Lake Zurich to assist in its rail line operations, Heyden said.

In a separate move this week, CN formally agreed to provide almost $2 million to Lake Zurich government for safety upgrades, noise reduction and other measures deemed necessary because of an expected increase in freight trains the company runs through the village.