The Forest Preserve District of DuPage County is either a greedy, land-grabbing empire or an environmental knight in shining armor, depending on which side of the property line you stand on.
The district, enriched with $75 million in voter-approved bonds to acquire open space, is aiming a pointer at desired land parcels throughout the county, only to find some property owners less willing to bargain than others.
The scramble for open space has pitted the district against the Village of Bartlett, the City of Darien and property owners who envisioned more lucrative deals with developers down the line. Meanwhile, the district has gained the support of residents who oppose any more commercial development surrounding them, and who don’t mind that a hardwood forest will not balance the municipal budget.
The tensions highlight the economic forces at play in a county where open land is dwindling and property values are rising.
“The development pressures are such that if you don’t do it now, it’s going to be gone,” said Wim Wiewel, dean of the College of Urban Planning and Public Affairs at the University of Illinois at Chicago. “That’s why the Forest Preserve District is having to be more aggressive, and why land is getting so expensive.”
Wiewel, who heard a presentation on the issue when touring DuPage County recently with other regional planners, added: “It’s kind of funny that open space can become a locally undesirable land use just like a noxious factory would be because of the income (in taxes) lost from it.”
In 1995, only 26,349 acres–or 12 percent–of DuPage County land remained undeveloped, compared with 85,202 acres–or 40 percent–in 1976, the county’s development planner said. The land was developed at a rate of 3,000 acres per year between 1990 and 1995, he said.
In Bartlett, village lawyers recently beat the Forest Preserve District by 30 minutes in filing paperwork to condemn portions of land within an 88-acre parcel earmarked by the district.
Mayor Catherine Melchert said that some of the land, which is known as Wendt Farm and sits next to Wayne Grove Forest Preserve, is needed for future road connections and sewer and water main improvements. The land’s private, California-based owner, Loren Brown, had contracted to sell the land to Dartmoor Homes, which wants to build 74 houses in the $400,000 price range, she said.
The road connections are necessary for Bartlett’s future growth, Melchert argued. “It’s been in our comprehensive plan for 15 years,” she said.
Bartlett moved to condemn the parcels before the Forest Preserve District “because once they did, there would be no way to get access to it,” Melchert said. “What we did is leave our options open.”
Melchert said she supports preserving open land, but that Dartmoor’s development could reap an estimated $650,000 in school district taxes and $90,000 in village taxes annually. The developer would have paid the estimated $1.7 million for the road connections and infrastructure work, rather than taxpayers, she said.
Meanwhile, forest preserve officials say they will continue their attempts to acquire the land through condemnation, but fear Bartlett will build roads that bisect the property and harm valuable wetlands.
“It’s a high-quality piece of property,” said forest preserve Commissioner Linda Kurzawa (R-Winfield), whose district includes the Wendt Farm. “This piece of property is screaming for protection.”
Most nearby residents are wildly opposed to village plans, having begged the Forest Preserve District to buy the land.
“People are really upset about this,” said Judy Piszczek, who lives near the property. “They just can’t believe the village went completely against their wishes on this.”
In Darien, city officials did not act quickly enough to thwart the Forest Preserve District’s move to obtain 80 acres in an area referred to as Oldfield Triangle. City officials had hoped to attract development of an upscale hotel on the land, which is privately owned.
In July, the City Council, resigned to the loss of the land, passed a resolution that requests the Forest Preserve District to stop buying Darien property.
“It is to say, `Enough is enough,’ ” City Administrator Rick Curneal said of the resolution. ” `You took our property, and don’t take any more.’ The city and school district are losing tax money.”
The forest district also is clashing with private owners Helen and Vincent Bolger, who say they merely want to keep their home.
The Bolgers and their attorney attended a forest preserve committee meeting to consider negotiating a compromise. The Bolgers own 35 acres in unincorporated Wheaton that connects the Danada Forest Preserve with Morton Arboretum. They have raised six children there and run a horse-boarding operation for up to 50 horses, said Helen Bolger, 75.
The couple have rejected a Forest Preserve District offer of $4.5 million for the property, she said.
“They are so greedy,” Bolger said. “All they want is prime property. I am so tired of having these idiots insult my intelligence.”
Yet the forest district has its supporters, and it did receive voter approval last fall for $75 million in land acquisitions to complete a long-term master plan to link trails and green ways.
“People approved it because they had so much respect for how the forest preserve has been good stewards of taxpayer money, and the good things they’ve done and the beauty of the forest preserves,” said Kaaren Oldfield, campaign manager for referendum supporters.
“I do think everyone will benefit from this open space in the county,” she said.
