Barrington can save itself, if it wants to

Looking out as I pass through parts of downtown Barrington I am reminded of scenes from Detroit. The southwest corner of Main and Hough is vacant. The former Barrington Realty is run down. These two properties bookend the area purchased by the Village of Barrington using $13 million in borrowed TIF funds.

East on Main the old Starck Realty is vacant along with adjacent properties. Small businesses come and go with few finding it profitable to remain. Yet we are told by Barrington officials that everything possible is being done and the villain is the economy.

I believe the true villain is antiquated zoning and a need to strive for some picturesque dream of a small town that only exists in fairy tales. While we should honor and learn from the past we cannot let it inhibit us from moving into the future!

I have talked to hundreds of Barrington residents, all of which want our town to be successful and understand that densities will need to increase for our town to be successful. The model for successful commuter towns has been demonstrated all over Chicagoland and Barrington needs to follow and improve upon these.

Buildings of 5 and 6 stories will attract development to Barrington. This will put people in place to use Barrington’s retail shops. This is green as it places people on transit lines and cuts back on energy uses. This saves farmland and woodlands by keeping people in areas of infill. This will allow for a sustainable business climate with shops that can generate sales taxes.

We will never redevelop until this happens; we will remain a failure, or a town subsidizing weak enterprises.

The current elected officials have borrowed and spent $25 million dollars on downtown redevelopment. Holding on to the past has led to failure.

Michael Kozel

Barrington