VILLAGE PROPOSES CHANGES TO PREPARE FOR ADDITIONAL FUTURE DEVELOPMENT
Public Hearing Regarding Proposed Changes to the 2035 Comprehensive Plan Scheduled for Monday, February 10 at 6:00 p.m.
PUBLIC HEARING SCHEDULED
On Monday, February 10 at 6:00 p.m., the Plan Commission will hold a Public Hearing regarding an amendment to the Village’s 2035 Comprehensive Plan as a result of proposed changes to the LakeView West and River Woods Neighborhood Plans. The hearing will be held in the Village Hall Auditorium (9915 39th Avenue).
NEIGHBORHOOD LOCATION
LakeView West and River Woods are located immediately east of I-94, south of County Highway C (near Premium Outlets). The area has been designated for future development for freeway commercial, office, or industrial uses. Properties within the neighborhoods are owned by private individuals or companies, and existing land uses will remain in effect until the time that the individual property owners decide to develop their own land.
PURPOSE OF THE PROPOSED CHANGES
The Village is proposing changes to the two neighborhoods in order to prepare the area for future private development. “Today’s planning for LakeView West and River Woods is kind of akin to the planning we did for LakeView Corporate Park many years ago,” explained Mike Pollocoff, Village Administrator. “It’s helping us set the table for more high quality economic development to further strengthen and balance the community.”
In June of 2013, the Plan Commission and Village Board approved the creation of a new M-5 Production Manufacturing District that encompasses several properties within the two neighborhoods. The new M-5 district will accommodate production, manufacturing, assembly, office and research and development uses. The intention is to help promote the creation of more intensive land uses with the ultimate goal of encouraging more high quality job growth and increasing the number of new jobs per acre in the area. This new classification of development is intended to compliment the existing development in LakeView Corporate Park and further diversify economic development in the area, making it more balanced and sustainable and less susceptible to a larger industry’s decline or exodus.
PLANNING PROCESS
The Village approaches the process of planning for growth in an incremental and deliberate manner and has followed a similar process since the 1990’s. Following are only a few of the factors being considered during the planning process for the LakeView West and River Woods Neighborhoods:
• types of land uses
• environmental evaluations
• traffic studies
• road, curb and gutter layouts
• sewer and water service layouts
• storm water management
• intergovernmental and public/private coordination
• financial planning for the public infrastructure through amending the existing Tax Incremental District No. 2
The Neighborhood Plans will identify potential land uses, road layouts, traffic signal locations, and access points for future commercial and industrial development within the two neighborhoods. “As we continue to plan for further growth, the groundwork that was laid in the past really begins to pay off,” explained Mike Pollocoff, Village Administrator. “It enables the Village to prepare a prime area near I-94 to quickly accommodate more well planned growth.”
CHANGES PROPOSED
As part of the process, the Village is proposing to align land use designations for existing privately owned properties in the neighborhoods with the uses allowed in the new M-5 district on the 2035 Land Use Plan Map and the Neighborhood Plans. A private real estate developer plans to purchase property that straddles the boundary of two neighborhoods (LakeView West and River Woods) and wishes to develop a new corporate park (currently known as Riverview Corporate Park).
TAX INCREMENTAL FINANCING
Financial planning will help the Village determine the safest way to finance the public improvements that will make growth possible. The Village successfully used Tax Incremental Financing (TIF) for the creation and growth of LakeView Corporate Park. TIF is a tool available to the Village to help lay the groundwork for future economic development.
With TIF, property tax payments made by businesses within the geographical boundaries of an established Tax Incremental District (TID) are used to pay down debt incurred to install public infrastructure within the TID. Once TIF debt is paid off, the TID is retired, and the tax payments from the businesses within the TID revert back to the taxing entities for the area.
“When considering the use of TIF to help fund improvements that facilitate economic development, the Village takes a cautious approach,” explained Mike Pollocoff, Village Administrator. “We aim to protect the Village’s financial position and tax base both today and into the future. This is absolutely necessary for a community of our size, of only 20,000 people.”
While the Village will use TIF to facilitate future economic growth in this area, it will only invest in infrastructure once presented with plans by companies expressing a strong interest in locating in the neighborhoods.
ADDITIONAL PLANNING
Following the consideration of proposed updates to the Comprehensive and Neighborhood Plans, Village staff will complete TID planning and rezoning, utility planning, and further steps. Doing so will enable developers to submit more detailed development plans for their property.