In a decision that has incensed federal and state open-space advocates, Army officials said Wednesday that they may consider selling portions of 290 acres of lush open space at Ft. Sheridan for development.
Preservationists and numerous elected officials want the open space-which includes an 18-hole golf course and ecologically valuable ravines and bluffs-transferred to the Lake County Forest Preserve District for protection.
But the Army is fearful that, unless the open space is available for possible sale to a developer, it will be difficult to find a buyer for the 110-acre historic district, largely considered to be a risky investment because of the high cost of renovating its 94 landmark buildings.
The Army will not relinquish its control over the base’s undeveloped expanse, officials said, until a deal has been struck for the historic district, a time-consuming process that is expected to take several months.
Open-space advocates on Wednesday accused Army officials of flying in the face of federal policy that directs that the wishes of local communities be heeded when deciding what to do with abandoned military property.
Furthermore, they accuse the Army of intending to sell off open space to the highest bidder-regardless of how it may damage quality of life-and of reneging on an earlier agreement supporting the transfer of the open space to the forest preserve district.
Any attempt to sell the open space for development would be “just another example of bad faith on the part of the Army,” said Tom Ross of the National Parks Service, a division of the U.S. Department of the Interior.
“The highest and best use of that land is for recreational purposes,” Ross said. The Interior Department wants the Army to give the 290 acres of open space to the Lake County Forest Preserve District under terms of the federal Lands to Parks Program designed by Congress to allow communities to acquire unused federally owned recreational lands at no cost. However, the Army is not required to follow that recommendation.
Barely two months ago, the Army angered open space advocates and Interior officials by announcing its refusal to donate the open space, including the golf course, to the forest preserve district. The Army said it supported the forest preserve district owning the land-but at a price that would have to be negotiated. The Army did say it would give away the relatively worthless ravines and bluffs.
Preservation of open space at Ft. Sheridan is considered a priority because there is little public access to Lake Michigan between Chicago and Illinois Beach State Park and because the ravines and bluffs contain a number of endangered species.
The Army moved off the base two years ago and the U.S. Army Reserves and U.S. Navy took over about 300 acres of the 700-acre base. But the Army is required to find new owners for the open space and the historic district.
“This has gone on long enough,” said U.S. Rep. John Porter (R-Ill.), who has been working on plans to re-use the historic base since December 1988, when it was first listed for closure.
“We’ve been more than patient with the Army,” he said, “and now we have to bring pressure to bear on them . . . and see if we can’t get this thing moving.”
An Army spokesman Wednesday denied that the Army is backing off its support of the forest preserve district acquiring the land and that it simply intends to “keep its options open.”
“Instead of getting rid of the property piecemeal . . . we’re saying let’s coordinate things so that they are done as advantageously as possible,” said spokesman Martha Rudd.
“Yes, selling (a portion of the open space) to a developer could be one of many options, but it is not part of a definite plan,” Rudd said.
In a letter to Gov. Jim Edgar and open-space advocates received this week, the Army justified its latest decision to hang on to the open space as a hedge against the historic district becoming a white elephant.
“There is some concern that no one will find the . . . 100 acres of the historic district a financially viable undertaking once it is separated from the open space,” wrote Paul W. Johnson, assistant secretary of the Army, in a letter to the Chicago-based Openlands Project.
Selling open space to a developer goes against the wishes of a local planning committee of elected officials that has crafted a re-use plan for some 400 acres at the former base. The Army agreed several months ago to follow that plan.
“The Army is simply looking to realize as much revenue as they can at the possible expense of the open space, I’m afraid,” said Joyce O’Keefe, policy director of Openlands, a non-profit preservation organization.
The re-use plan created by the Ft. Sheridan Joint Planning Committee calls for an upscale housing development in a renovated historic district and for the Lake County Forest Preserve District to own the open space and golf course.
“We’re not about to give up on this issue,” said Peter Koukos, a Highland Park City councilman and member of the planning committee that includes representatives of Highwood, Highland Park, Lake Forest and Lake County. Koukos added that the committee might consider seeking congressional legislation that would force the Army to transfer the open space to the forest preserve district.
Meanwhile, forest preserve president James LaBelle (R-Zion) said Wednesday the forest preserve would continue to work with the Army in good faith until the Army officially notifies the district that it is no longer interested.
“At this point,” LaBelle said, “I am not taking this as the Army’s official statement to us.”
