Lisle officials plan to ask property owners along a strip of Illinois Highway 53 if they would give free easements to the village to extend water and sewer lines and encourage future development.
The Village Board has voted 5-1 to approach the owners of 56 properties along Illinois 53 between Kohley and South Roads in unincorporated DuPage County. The property owners would give up the easements in exchange for water and sewer service and eventual annexation into the village, officials said.
The village cost of extending the water and sewer lines is projected to be about $570,000, according to a study of the development potential of the area.
The land is now a mixture of single-family homes, vacant land and a few commercial properties, but village officials are hoping to capitalize on sales-tax revenue that would be generated by possible future development.
Properties north of Smith Road could be developed as retail with strip malls and several fast-food restaurants, while properties south of Smith Road are more conducive to smaller professional office buildings, said Iain Vasey, Lisle’s economic development director.
The small lots could limit retail potential in the area and would force consolidation of several lots to attract developers, Vasey said.
The study estimates the village could glean about $130,000 annually in sales and property taxes and more than $316,300 from one-time fees that would help offset the cost of extending the water and sewer lines into the area.
But some board members were hunting for reassurances that developers would come if the village invested the money to offer water and sewer service.
“I think you are looking through rose-colored glasses. This is going to take a long time to be developed,” Village Trustee Ed Young said.
No developers have come forward with proposals for the land, although several of the properties are for sale, Vasey said.
If officials agree to extend the water and sewer service to the area, the village can expect to see development in the area in two to five years, said Carl Doerr, village manager.
“There’s a lot of this that is ambitious. We admit this. It’s a snapshot scenario. But anything less than this would probably not pay for itself,” Doerr said.
But Trustee Ann Duker, who was the only board member to vote against the plan, said she was concerned that the funds allocated for the water and sewer extensions could be better spent.
Village officials are looking at a comprehensive master plan to redevelop the downtown district that could cost up to $15 million. The sweeping plan calls for redeveloping and beautifying much of downtown with new retail space, improved building facades and pedestrian walkways.
“Do you want to have a downtown here or a downtown in our downtown? Where are we going to put our money?” Duker said.
But the majority of the board did not want to risk losing out on the development potential of the properties along the small corridor of Illinois 53.
“What’s more important in my mind is control of development along that corridor. I’m really concerned about what could go in through the county,” Young said.
Mayor Ronald Ghilardi said the village could more easily attract developers to the area if it could offer water and sewer service. If not, the village would risk forgoing any control over the unincorporated land when it is developed in the county.
Trustee Judith Yuill agreed that development was inevitable.
“Within two years, you are going to see intense development. I really believe it’s going to be developed because that is all that is left. These are the only sites between us and Woodridge,” she said.
But the first step is discovering if area property owners are interested in what the village has to offer.
