Lakewood has turned to neighboring Huntley in hopes of brokering a boundary agreement near the intersection of Illinois Highways 47 and 176 after a court ruling this summer blocked the village from annexing a parcel of land near that intersection for a commercial development.
Preliminary talks between the municipalities could result in a agreement that would allow Lakewood to develop land slightly west of Illinois 47, roughly between Conley Road and Illinois 176.
A subdivision, Andover Acres, would not be included in the agreement, village leaders said.
The village hopes eventually to develop land near the intersection of Illinois 47 and 176 because it lacks a commercial tax base, which results in higher tax bills for property owners.
“We believe that Routes 47 and 176, by virtue of the fact that they are regional arterials, are going to have commercial development at that intersection,” said Mike Friesen, Lakewood village manager. “This is our last opportunity to develop a commercial tax base.”
Talks between the towns are just starting, but Lakewood trustees who heard about the proposed boundary agreement at a board meeting last week said they liked it. Officials from both towns would need to approve any deal.
“We were very favorable to what they had proposed,” Lakewood Trustee Julie Richardson said. “The end result is, 10 or 15 years from now, if commercial development comes to that corner, we would benefit.”
Huntley Village Administrator Carl Tomaso said he was directed by the board to present the boundary agreement idea to Lakewood officials.
Huntley has more commercial development within its borders than Lakewood, he said.
“There was significant development activity occurring along Route 47 throughout the village, so it was reasonable to negotiate with Lakewood,” he said.
An agreement between Huntley and Lakewood would outline which pieces of land each town can develop.
It only comes into use when a developer proposes building on property included in the agreement.
Lakewood has a boundary agreement with Lake in the Hills, its neighbor to the south and the town that separates the current borders of Lakewood and Huntley.
“It’s best to have boundary agreements worked out so you can avoid situations with having one developer pit a municipality against another municipality,” Lakewood Trustee John Schrauf said.
A boundary agreement does not mean that a town will automatically annex land. But when a developer asks to build on land covered by the agreement, they might also ask to have the property annexed to the town to receive services such as sewer and water, Lakewood officials said.
This summer, a developer tried to have more than 450 acres annexed to Lakewood but was stopped when a McHenry County judge rejected the request because of technicalities. Two landowners involved in that annexation opposed the developer’s request. They asked that their land be annexed instead to Crystal Lake, east of Lakewood. After the judge denied the developer’s request to annex to Lakewood, Crystal Lake annexed the land belonging to the two dissenters as well as several other parcels in the area.
That annexation brought Crystal Lake’s border close to the area that Lakewood and Huntley are talking about in their border agreement. Therefore, a developer who proposes building near the intersection of Illinois 47 and 176 could also ask to have his land annexed to Crystal Lake if the land touches the city’s borders, Lakewood officials said.
To prevent that, Lakewood officials said they have tried talking with Crystal Lake administrators about a boundary agreement between the municipalities. They have not had formal discussions but Crystal Lake Mayor Aaron Shepley said he is willing to meet.
“When the dust settles, we’ll probably be open to sitting down with Lakewood and discussing a boundary line agreement or some other plan,” he said.
