Hinsdale officials have declared invalid a petition signed by more than 700 residents opposed to the creation of a special service area to help finance a $5 million street improvement project south of 55th Street between Madison Street and County Line Road.
The action caps months of acrimonious hearings and debate, and Hinsdale officials said they expect to let bids for the project around March 1, with construction to begin in early spring.
The petition was seen as one of the last hurdles the project had to clear, and officials said it was insufficient. State statute requires that at least 51 percent of the registered voters and at least 51 percent of the property owners in the special service area slated for the improvements petition against the project within 60 days of the final adjournment of the public hearing on the issue, which was Oct. 12.
Although opponents of the project met that deadline by filing the petition Dec. 10, the village staff and legal counsel have determined that it does not have the required amount of valid signatures.
The petition required signatures from 670 of the 1,312 electors and 594 of the 1,163 property owners in the area, assistant village manager Bohdan Proczko told the Village Board Tuesday. The petition contained valid signatures from only 624 electors and 504 property owners, he said.
“I think we’ve all been impressed by the thoroughness of the review of the petition . . . and did our utmost to put it to an appropriate test,” Village President Joyce Skoog said. “We really hope to keep an open line of communication with the residents and keep them fully apprised as we continue with this project,” she said.
Craig Chapello, who led the petition drive, said, “With that much opposition (to the project), you’d think that maybe (the village) would rethink this.”
The project involves the installation of streets, curbs and sewers along nearly 3 miles of roadway, replacing some water mains and adding sidewalks in most neighborhoods. Opponents said that the proposal would be too expensive and that they do not want to disturb the rural feel of the area with sidewalks and wider streets. They said the village did not give them input on the project before the public hearing.
Residents in the special service area will pay for 40 percent of the work during a 10-year period starting June 1995. The village will pay the balance.
