October 29, 2007
By Pat Harper special to the herald news
HOMER GLEN -- A parks and recreation master plan that calls for more than doubling recreational green space in Homer Glen is now official.
Trustees voted Tuesday to adopt the plan drawn up by the village's parks and recreation committee with help from a team of professional consultants.
Trustee Russell Knaack, who served on the committee, called the plan "one of the most important tools Homer Glen has ... an insurance policy against becoming just another urban-sprawl suburb."
Knaack said the town should "start moving immediately" to acquire some large tracts of land suitable for community parks. Available parcels of the right size "are very scarce," he said.
Land and cash donations from developers and grant funding from state and federal sources are envisioned as means of acquiring land for parks both large and small, athletic fields, and recreational trails.
In a related matter, trustees awarded a $606,447 contract to Denler, Inc. for the construction of a 5-acre park in the Stonebridge subdivision.
The design and development of the park will be funded by a $750,000 state Open Space and Land Acquisition and Development grant.
Another possible source of funding for park development is a proposed 1 percent sales tax expected to appear on a referendum ballot next year.
Mayor Jim Daley noted that Homer Glen, like other towns, has seen its revenues affected by a nationwide slowdown in the housing market.
The village has managed its finances and remained in good financial shape despite the slowdown, Daley said.
But unlike other towns, Homer Glen cannot fall back on real estate tax revenue because the village doesn't impose a real estate tax, he said.
A 1 percent sales tax would provide another revenue stream and could be expected to bring in $2 million a year.
"We need to find funding that will not burden our residents," the mayor said.
In addition to parks, the tax could be used to pay for transportation and stormwater projects, protection of natural resources and establishing a town center, according to village officials, who said half the taxes would be paid by out-of-town shoppers.
Resident Julie Stoklosa took issue with the arguments in favor of the proposed tax.
Stoklosa said the tax would deter new businesses and burden existing ones. She said all Homer Glen residents shopping locally would pay and called for a "more creative" revenue source, such as getting more projects done "on the developers' dime."
9 comments on Trustees Approve Community Parks
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Preserving even more Open Space is just another message to developers that we are not serious about bringing in the developments they would like to propose.
I wouldn't doubt it if the word in the development community is to bypass Homer Glen for greener patures in New Lenox, Lockport and Lemont.
Why is our Village government so afraid to welcome this development? What are they waiting for?[SAD]
You may be right in my rush to judgment on the current administration. I guess that I would like to see something with regard to our plans for the 159th Street corridor and other areas that we can use for commercial development. I just see a lack of vision right now except for the preservation of more and more land. I'm not against green space, I just think there needs to be a balance[SMILE].
Prior to Petrizzo's decision not to run for re-election, there was all sorts of prospective projects being discussed and ALOT of interest from developers about our community. When Daley announced his candidacy, all of a sudden developers took a "wait and see" approach. The town center plans fell apart, reportedly because developers don't want to spend money on potential projects that Daley allegedly vowed to reject if elected. The housing market tanked, not just here. This affected developers' decisions on where to build. His slate won; development stopped here and relocated to the other towns. Think about it: a new administration takes office practically promising it's constituents that development would slow or stop; promising "NO Variances" which developers almost always want, essentially saying “we don't need to compromise with you, we are protecting Homer Glen’s rural character”. Housing developments in Homer for the next 4 years are highly unlikely. Developers want density. It's just a fact. Where is the density? New Lenox...and Lockport. Lockport's been building up for awhile, that's why they are seeing the commercial growth now. So why WOULD developers come to Homer Glen, especially when the Village isn't exactly courting them to come? Especially when they are practically shouting STAY AWAY!... And Just Wondering is right, with everything in Orland Park and now Lockport and New Lenox rapidly developing commercial projects, there will be nothing left to come to Homer. Why would they? Homer Glen officials should be doing everything it can to attract commercial development. They just aren’t. And a sales tax isn’t going to do it. Wasting time on which seeds to plant... That’s funny! I like that. ..That’s why they are obsessing about Lockport’s proposed projects; because Homer doesn’t have any to discuss, so they’ll discuss the neighbor’s. Excuse the pun[WINK][ROLLEYES]