Study of proposed TIF for Buiffalo Grove's Lake-Cook corridor expected this week
With a feasibility study expected complete by the end of the week, Buffalo Grove officials may soon decide their next steps on a proposed tax increment financing district aimed at boosting redevelopment efforts in the Lake-Cook Road Corridor.
The proposed TIF district would encompass an area bounded by Arlington Heights Road on the west, McHenry Road (Route 83) on the east, Lake-Cook Road on the south and Old Checker Road on the north. The area includes two struggling shopping centers, Town Center and Chase Plaza.
Deputy Village Manager Christopher Stilling told the village board Monday that the study should be filed with the village clerk by Friday and posted online shortly thereafter. The board would then decide whether to continue with the process when it meets March 16.
A TIF district works by freezing property taxes paid to local governments at their current levels for 23 years. Any additional property tax revenues generated by development in the TIF is placed in a special village-controlled fund and used to pay for improvements within the district.
Stilling said the village staff plans to meet with each of the affected taxing bodies once the study is available and prior to a required meeting of the Joint Review Board. The board, which consists of the taxing bodies impacted by the TIF, is expected to discuss and issue a recommendation on the proposal in April.
The next step would be a public hearing in May, when consultant SB Friedman would formally present findings of the TIF study. The village board then would consider approving the TIF in May or June.
Trustee David Weidenfeld expressed some concern about the board being prepared to make a recommendation March 16.
"I'm not looking for the final answer. But more that we actually can sit here on March 16 and have a reasonable sense of why we would want to do this, understanding that it can change and morph," he said. "But more that there is enough basis for us to make at least the preliminary decision."