Libertyville discusses development proposal process

Developers need to be better prepared when they come to Libertyville with a proposal, village officials say.

Board and commissions that make recommendations to the village board also have to be aware of where they stand in the process.

"There's been a couple of issues lately where the (village) board has differed greatly," said Mayor Jeff Harger. "We're here to talk this out."

The comments came during a recent committee-of-the-whole meeting in which many of the members of the plan commission/zoning board of appeals and the appearance review and parking commissions were in attendance.

The village board's denial of a request for a storage facility on the former Solar Corp. property on Route 176 was noted as differing from the recommendation that had been forwarded.

"That area is one of the most important areas in the comprehensive plan and we didn't protect it," said Trustee Bob Peron, former chairman of the plan commission.

"You have to follow the comprehensive plan or decide how to change it."

Harger said inconsistency in the recommendations concerned the village board.

"It takes a couple of years to read between the lines when a sophisticated developer comes in. We have to understand some of the tools developers use," said Kurt Hezner, the current plan commission chairman.

Hezner recommended against the storage facility but said developers can be persuasive. They also can be unprepared, leaving commissioners no choice but to forward a recommendation with a list of conditions.

"One of the goals of our group is to improve the projects were getting in this town," Hezner added.

"Some of the projects are presented very poorly. We have made a lot of strides. People are getting more serious about what they're presenting."

Peron cautioned commissioners not to fall for developer pitches saying what is being presented is the best they can do.

"If you expect less, you get less," he said. "It's a working negotiation of how to get it better than it is."

Harger asked for suggestions from the commissioners on how requirements for submitting proposals could be tightened, particularly for the appearance review commission.

Village Trustee Luke Lukens, also a plan commission veteran, said commissioners shouldn't worry about philosophical considerations, such as being pro business or holding the line on development.

"You guys have to follow the rules as written. We interpret the rules," he said.