Next up in proposed Schaumburg trucking HQ: Zoning code change, tax incentive
Schaumburg officials are proposing both a zoning code change and a tax incentive that would enable a trucking company to relocate its headquarters to a 55-acre site at the southwest corner of Irving Park and Rodenburg roads.
The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers is also in the middle of its review of the wetland mitigation plan for Alsip-based Experior Transport's proposed new headquarters, which has become a focus of some residential neighbors' opposition to the project.
All these efforts must come before the village of Schaumburg's formal review of the land-use plan itself.
In 2018, Experior entered a contract to buy the land from Schaumburg for $5 million, but last year it increased the offer to $7 million if the village could also help make the development more cost-effective.
The Illinois Environmental Protection Agency, Army Corps of Engineers and Metropolitan Water Reclamation District had found that $15 million to $20 million of wetland mitigation beyond what Experior had planned would be needed for the facility.
Officials are considering creating a tax increment financing district that could generate the necessary funding for the wetland mitigation within about 10 to 12 years, rather than the allowable 23 years, Schaumburg Economic Development Director Matt Frank said.
A TIF district works by freezing the amount of property taxes all local governments receive at the level of the first year. After that, as property values increase, the additional taxes go to a municipally held fund until either all public improvements are paid for or the time limit expires.
Representatives of the affected taxing bodies will vote on the proposed TIF district at a joint review board meeting Feb. 19. But even if they reject the TIF, a supermajority of Schaumburg trustees could still approve it, possibly as early as March 23.
On Thursday, Feb. 4, trustees on the planning, building and development committee will consider a zoning code change that would allow gas stations and semitruck and trailer sales in manufacturing districts on properties with a special-use permit. The change is necessary for Experior's plans to even be considered by the village board later.
With a committee recommendation, the proposed code change would be forwarded to the zoning board of appeals for a public hearing in March, Frank said.
While there might be at least one other manufacturing site along Algonquin Road where a gas station could be considered, the intention remains to keep them out of existing industrial parks, he said.
Though there are no Schaumburg homes adjacent to the proposed Experior site, some nearby neighbors in Roselle and unincorporated Schaumburg Township recently oppose the project.