Woodman's store in Lakemoor on hold as legal action continues
Editor's note: Woodman's Food Market is continuing engineering for the Lakemoor site and adjoining roads while court action continues regarding the village's designation of the southwest corner of routes 12 and 120 as a special financing district, village officials said.
An attempt to settle a lawsuit over a special financing district created to attract development to a long-idle corner in Lakemoor remains at an impasse.
In advance of a status hearing on the matter, Mayor Todd Weihofen last week contacted Wauconda Township, Wauconda Unit District 118 and Wauconda Area Library officials to restate the village's desire to settle the case that is also delaying a proposal to build a Woodman's Food Market there at routes 12 and 120. Weihofen noted legal costs are mounting.
"The Village of Lakemoor would always prefer to settle with its fellow taxing districts in lieu of spending taxpayer dollars to litigate a project that will benefit the entire region," he wrote.
Through an attorney, officials told Weihofen they needed more information.
"We are attempting to obtain the documents necessary to fully understand the circumstances surrounding efforts, past and present, to develop the southwest corner of Route 12 and Route 120 for commercial uses and the Village's creation of the TIF district," they responded.
The officials said they preferred to settle, but only on terms that are "fair and reasonable to all parties" and protect taxpayers.
Village officials say they have provided 5,000 pages of material.
"All they need to do is let us know exactly what they're looking for and we'll get if for them," Village Administrator David Alarcon said Monday. "The village is committed to making this project work; all we need is their cooperation."
The taxing bodies maintain the site will develop without the tax increment financing designation, which freezes the property value and subsequently the amount of property taxes received for 23 years. Lakemoor has maintained the long-vacant corner will not develop without a financial incentive.
"If the numbers work, they'll (Woodman's) will be there," Alarcon added. "The TIF is what's going to make the numbers work."
The village estimated the 240,000-square-foot Woodman's food store and associated operations as a $40 million investment. After Woodman's opens, the village has offered to share sales tax with the three entities. Eventually, in possibly eight to 10 years, they would get 80 percent of the added property taxes, Weihofen has said.
Opponents said they will evaluate the situation and respond to the village's settlement proposal once the documents are received.
"We are working to complete document discovery, which requires obtaining documents relating to the history of the subject property over a number of years from multiple parties and is taking a long time," said Dean Krone, an attorney representing the taxing bodies. "We hope to complete it over the next couple of months."
Another status hearing is scheduled for Sept. 29.