Libertyville to lift ban on non-downtown office space
A ban on offices in commercial areas outside downtown isn't necessary, Libertyville officials have determined.
The village board agreed with an assessment that showed offices made up a small part of the businesses in those areas and that keeping a moratorium in place could do more harm than good.
Because of a continuing drop in sales tax revenue, the village last March imposed the ban on office uses in commercial zoning districts beyond downtown. The move affected about 218 tenant spaces in nine shopping areas north and south along Milwaukee Avenue.
Vernon Hills earlier had imposed a similar ban after developers showed interest in converting the vacant Circuit City store to a medical office building.
The thinking was that replacing vacant spaces with those that didn't generate sales tax wasn't a good idea in a tough economy. Vernon Hills' ban is still in effect and a commercial use now is planned for the Circuit City space.
Libertyville did the same thing after a developer made an informal presentation for an office building with some retail uses at the former Frank's Nursery & Crafts site on the village's southern entry.
"That was an issue that could go office and was that the appropriate use for that space," said Mayor Terry Weppler. The moratorium gave the village a chance to study the matter, he said.
"We wanted to look at what the situation was and make sure we didn't lose retail development."
A staff review showed that about 16 percent of the total tenant spaces in the non-prime retail areas were considered office uses.
The village's plan commission found that downtown worked best with a mix of retailers and service businesses to create a pedestrian-oriented flow of customers. The advisory group said office and financial institutions users should continue to be regulated there.
But areas farther out, many of them auto-oriented, do not require the same level of regulation, and the plan commission unanimously recommended against extending the moratorium as it might hurt smaller shopping centers.
During the discussion, for example, Joan Boden, owner of the Adler Square shopping center, said she has had a vacant space for three years despite lowering the rent from $22 per square foot to $16 per square foot. She said she would welcome an office user.
"It seems OK now. The question is what happens in the future," Trustee Rich Moras asked Tuesday during a discussion of the issue.
The concern was that continued anti-office regulation would make it more difficult for some property owners to rent space, replied John Spoden, director of community development.
"We did not see that the market will substantially change," he said.
The village board agreed with the assessment and is expected to officially end the ban on Sept. 14.