Still no deal on Hobson West

The Naperville park board took no action Thursday on purchasing the land between the ponds at Hobson West, despite it being the last scheduled meeting before its Dec. 31 deadline.

But when asked about the impending date before the locked-in price on the land expires, President Kristen Jungles said, "We are working with the developer."

The park district already owns the 9 acres that make up the two ponds at the site, between Plainfield-Naperville Road and West Street in the Hobson West neighborhood.

For several years, residents have been fighting to keep 6 acres of farmland between those ponds as open space and have been urging the park board to purchase it from a developer to create a 15-acre park. The value of the farm parcel is estimated at about $3.3 million.

A year ago, the city council rezoned the land to be used for a townhouse development. But it locked in the price for a year and forbade the developer from building on it during that time. That deadline expires Dec. 31.

Resident Doug Dallmer, who lives near the property, said he is concerned about the status of negotiations and asked the board Thursday to join with the city to make the details public.

"I was hoping we would have a Christmas present, but I'm thinking maybe the package we're seeing has got a piece of coal in it," he said.

Resident Rod Randall asked the park board to use eminent domain powers if necessary to acquire the land.

Jungles said the board has not discussed that possibility.

"We would really lean toward working cooperatively with people," she said. "We're trying to do that right now."

If the district purchases the property it would likely do so through the Conservation Foundation's Buy-and-Hold program. The Naperville-based foundation would purchase the property and the park district would have two years to pay it back while still being able to use the land.

The next regularly scheduled board meeting is Jan. 10. Jungles said the board will reconvene before that date if necessary but does not plan to meet before the new year.