In another attempt to block a $12 million Meijer supercenter from going up in Lisle, a group of residents plans to file a petition with the village Thursday calling for a binding referendum question it says would delay Lisle’s annexation of the land parcel.
Residents in the group, which opposes the 215,000-square-foot superstore at 2665 Maple Ave., said they hope to take their fight to Lisle voters in April 2000.
CRADL, or Citizens for Responsible and Appropriate Development in Lisle, also has placed an advisory referendum question on the proposal on the ballot this spring.
“It will give the village trustees and Meijer a good indication of how the binding referendum would go,” said Ed Young, a candidate for village trustee and opponent of the Meijer store.
The push for the binding referendum is the latest attempt to get around a vote by the Village Board last month to annex the 60.5 acres for the combination grocery and general merchandising outlet.
The group also has a pending lawsuit alleging that the village has violated numerous procedures in the Meijer development proposal.
CRADL could not get the binding referendum on the April 13 ballot because the deadline has elapsed.
“You have to be creative when you are trying to stop something this large,” said Pat Podczerwinski, president of CRADL.
The group has collected more than 1,100 signatures on the petition that is to be presented to the village clerk Thursday, Podczerwinski said.
Attorneys advising the citizens group said a binding vote can be requested in land annexation cases if enough signatures are collected within 30 days of the annexation vote by the Village Board.
Residents hope the petition will stall the village’s annexation of the land until the referendum vote next spring. If the referendum proposal passes, the land would revert to DuPage County ownership, where it is zoned for residential use, they said.
But legal experts have questioned whether such a referendum proposal could succeed legally.
A similar scenario is unfolding in Naperville involving a mixed-use development known as Spring Green. Opponents are calling for a referendum to overturn the city’s annexation of the land, but city attorneys say the referendum would not be binding if all parties involved in the annexation are in agreement.
Lisle Village Atty. Robert Kay said he could not comment on the issue until he reviews the proposed referendum.
