Glen Ellyn loosens rules for selling village-owned land

In a bid to make Glen Ellyn more developer-friendly, trustees have relaxed rules about the number of votes needed to approve the sale of village-owned properties.

Under an ordinance adopted in February 2015, some real estate deals previously required a supermajority vote, or the support of six of the seven village board members.

Trustees agreed this week to lower that threshold.

“We want to remain economically, developmentally competitive with other communities,” Planning and Development Director Staci Hulseberg said when she introduced the changes. “And there's been some concerns that have been raised with us about the process in place.”

Now, only five votes will be needed to approve a contract to sell village land outside of a tax increment financing district.

In a TIF district, the board would need only four of seven votes to sell village-owned property if the prospective buyer complies with the provisions of the Illinois TIF Act.

But that also means the village would have to give public notice offering the property for sale and inviting alternative proposals, a lengthier process that could pose risk to the developer, Hulseberg said. That's because another buyer could step forward with a better offer or a proposal that the village deems more advantageous.

Also in a TIF district, a developer could seek to avoid that competition and enter into a contract to acquire village property with the OK of five of the seven board members.

Glen Ellyn has two TIF districts, where, as redevelopment boosts property values, the extra tax revenue that otherwise would go to taxing bodies is used to pay for improvements to the area for up to 23 years.

One TIF district roughly encompasses the downtown central business district. The other includes a commercial area around Roosevelt Road from Route 53 to just east of Main Street.

One of the developers that raised concerns about the previous voting threshold is the Opus Group, but village officials say the new rules aren't driven by one firm.

Opus stepped forward more than a year ago with a conceptual plan to demolish the vacant Giesche store on the northwest corner of Main Street and Hillside Avenue and build an apartment building with space for retailers on the ground floor. The proposal also calls for incorporating a village-owned parking lot along Main into the development.

Opus is expected to make a decision about how it will proceed in the “near future,” Hulseberg said Thursday.

The Minneapolis-based firm recently revised a draft version of its plans, nixed a three-level parking garage and reduced the height of the apartment building to less than 55 feet. The latter would require an exemption under village code, which allows a maximum height of 45 feet.

Trustee Mark Senak said earlier this month the voting changes may “make it easier for the proposal that they currently have on the table to pass the board.”

“I'm not saying that's good or bad,” he said. “I'm just saying that it seems one of the motivating features of this is the desire for that particular development to be approved.”

But Village Manager Mark Franz said “Glen Ellyn is not alone” in re-evaluating how the sale of municipal land is approved.

“There are communities around us that are looking at this same issue,” he said. “And given the changing times, economic times in particular, that it's taking longer to get financing and move forward projects, a lot of municipalities are taking a closer look at this.”