Oliver-Hoffmann Corp., a developer fighting the DuPage County Forest Preserve District’s move to condemn and preserve 203 acres in Wayne, has filed a lawsuit to stop the taking of the property. If the courts fail to intervene, the suit requests $110 million in damages from the district, the village and the Wayne Community Association.
The Naperville-based corporation, which owns the land, filed the lawsuit late Wednesday in DuPage County Circuit Court.
Developer Camille Hoffmann alleges that village and Forest Preserve District officials and association members conspired to violate a 1993 court order that details her company’s plans for building 390 homes on a total 401-acre tract in Wayne.
“They have this in their minds as fait accompli,” Hoffmann said of the Forest Preserve District commissioners who on Aug. 18 authorized condemnation of the land.
“The people who feel entitled to do this are not going to quit,” she said. “For that reason, we decided this is going to be a long, wearing, untidy battle.”
Dan Gooch, executive director of the Forest Preserve District, declined to comment, except to describe the lawsuit as unusual. The district is pursuing numerous land acquisitions with money approved in a $75 million bond referendum.
“We haven’t had very many countersuits in our land acquisitions,” Gooch said.
Wayne Village President Eileen Phipps could not be reached.
Carol “Noonie” Barton, president of the Wayne Community Association, declined to comment. Each of Wayne’s approximately 1,900 residents belongs to the association by virtue of residency.
The Forest Preserve District has offered Hoffmann Corp. $12,500 per acre for the land, a figure that Hoffmann described as “ludicrous.”
“It puts you on notice that you’re about to be robbed, if you hold still for it,” she said.
Hoffmann declined to say how much she believes the land is worth, but she said that an adjacent property in West Chicago recently sold for $116,000 per acre.
The lawsuit asks that the three defendants be forced to stop action on condemning or purchasing the land. The court document also seeks to stop the defendants from curtailing Hoffmann’s development and marketing of the property.
Hoffmann reached a settlement with Wayne detailing the proposed development, including requirements such as lot sizes, in 1993, her attorney said.
“In the event that some of those things do happen, and there is a taking of the land, it asks for money damages,” said the attorney, Keith “Chuck” Roberts Jr., in referenceing to the $110 million cited in the lawsuit.
The lawsuit could prompt district commissioners to reconsider their bid for the land, said Commissioner William Maio (R-Itasca), who heads the Finance and Land Acquisition Committee.
The move to condemn the land was hotly contested during the Aug. 18 meeting, with the final vote 13-7 in support of it.
“This acquisition passed (with) 13 votes, which is the bare minimum for it to succeed,” said Maio, who voted against the measure. “There certainly may be some second thoughts some commissioners might have regarding this suit.”
He does not expect action on it during next Tuesday’s regular commission meeting, but said an attorney would likely outline the district’s options.
Roger Kotecki (R-Glen Ellyn), one of four commissioners who represents the Wayne area in District 6, still strongly supports preserving the land.
As for the lawsuit, “Any allegation of conspiracy is groundless,” Kotecki said.
“The fact that District 6 members responded to the desires of our constituents is nothing more than doing our job, representing them.”
