Carpentersville adds business commission

In an effort to streamline the process for handling business-related issues and problems, the Carpentersville village board this week approved the creation of a business development commission.

Trustee voted 5-0 in favor of the commission, which will function in the same advisory manner as the village's audit & finance and planning & zoning commissions. The seven-member commission, which will focus on business attraction, retention and expansion, will provide recommendations to the village board.

The commission will include a trustee, five business members, one resident, plus two ex-officio members - the village president and economic development coordinator.

"I think it will give a voice to the village's business owners that may not be there now," Trustee Paul Humpfer said. "It will be a unified voice and should be louder than one individual business owner talking to one village board member or staff."

Existing and prospective business owners long have labeled the village as difficult to work with, criticizing expensive permit fees and lengthy review periods.

"Carpentersville has had a reputation of being unfriendly to developers," Village President Ed Ritter said. "Whether that criticism is true or untrue, we want to show our commitment to help and look at things that are business-friendly. That is the goal, and the commission is a step in that direction."

The commission members, whom Ritter expects to seat in early 2010, have their work cut out for them. A comprehensive study of the village's 417 businesses that considered factors such as the condition of the building, streets and sidewalks, outside appearance and availability of public transportation, underscored key areas in need of improvement and upgrade.

"The study was basically a way to get into the commission and focus the commission's work," said Ritter of the study funded through a $12,000 Chicago Metropolitan Planning Agency Full Circle Grant. "It is a good framework and we know what we need to do."

The survey analysis, conducted during the summer by Economic Development and Special Projects Coordinator Janice Murphy and a group of interns, found that about 12 percent of the village's 417 businesses are vacant.

"There are about 50 vacant businesses in the village from free-standing buildings to a small store in a strip mall," Murphy said. "That number is high compared to the number of businesses we have in the village. I would like to see a lower vacancy rate, and one of the programs the commission will look at will be how to bring new businesses into the village. We also want to make sure the businesses that are already here, stay."

Targeted businesses would include manufacturing and industrial uses, Murphy said.

"Those are the living-wage jobs and jobs that we want to see thriving," Murphy said. "So we want them to be able to retain employees and possibly grow."

Another potential project would provide tools for business owners to improve the exterior appearance of their property, including facades and landscaping.