Issues of mutual economic interest

Kildeer and Lake Zurich deserve praise for heading back to the table over thorny development issues at Route 12 and Cuba Road. Keeping that discussion going is essential for making the best decisions for residents of both towns.

We'd like to suggest a few conversation topics when representatives of both villages meet again Wednesday, including how to prevent any possibility of a 260,000-square-foot white elephant a few years down the line. On the table is a proposal for a shopping center including a Lowe's Home Improvement Warehouse, a JC Penney, two restaurants and a pharmacy at the northeast corner of the intersection. The site is in Kildeer, but access is difficult without going through Lake Zurich via Old Rand Road. Divvying up the dollar is a big point of discussion, with the two towns now renegotiating a boundary agreement set to expire in 2013 that would split sales tax revenue from the shopping center evenly between the two towns.

Many other issues deserve attention, from the residents of both towns who suddenly would have views of big-box loading docks to the number of cars a new shopping center would add to congested Route 12 and Old Rand Road -- an investigation Lake Zurich already has launched by requesting a traffic impact study. The two towns need to go even further, requiring an independent economic review to see whether the proposed shopping center would attract new shoppers or siphon business from similar existing stores, such as a nearby Home Depot, Kohl's and Stein Mart, plus a Walgreens on the opposite corner from the proposed development.

And while this shopping center could prove to be a boon to economic development and consumers, the towns also need to consider the potential for vacant stores down the line -- a story Lake Zurich knows from experience with its empty K-Mart and a long-vacant Frank's Nursery and Crafts, set to be demolished soon for a Holiday Inn.

A look at older suburbs shows how such eyesores can proliferate. Actions taken now could prevent more of that down the road. Among the options in use around the nation:

• Ordinances requiring developers to set aside money, held in escrow, that could be used to demolish a retail building if it remained vacant for a certain amount of time.

• Planning so that big buildings could someday be reused, with several entrances and potential for easily adding interior walls, for instance.

• Requirements that owners or landlords put property on the market once it's vacant. Sometimes, store operators hold onto a vacant property to keep a competitor from moving in.

Groups like the American Planning Association and the Institute for Local Self-Reliance, an advocacy and consulting group, offer more ideas that Kildeer and Lake Zurich can consider together, not only for this proposed shopping center development, but for others on their shared border.