The Wheaton City Council recently got its first look at a new policy to provide relocation assistance to businesses displaced because of city-backed building projects in the Main Street redevelopment area downtown.
Under the policy to be formally approved Feb. 20, the city will pay all moving expenses and up to $1,000 in search fees for businesses required to move.
The city also will reimburse owners for business stationery on hand at the time of the move, as well as for the removal and reinstallation of computers, telephone systems and fire and smoke detection systems.
The city also will pay up to $15,000 per business for other re-establishment expenses, including for modifications to new property and for construction and installation of exterior signs to advertise a business’ new location.
In a warning to businesses that do not wish to sell to the city, the relocation-assistance policy only applies to negotiated land acquisitions. The city will provide no relocation assistance to businesses that block acquisition efforts and force a jury to determine appropriate compensation for its property.
The city already has adopted a residential relocation policy for apartment tenants displaced because of the projects, and it adopted a similar policy in 1994 for businesses in another downtown redevelopment district.
“This policy looks to be fair, and it appears that we have touched all the bases,” said Mayor Jim Carr.
The city has initiated several land acquisition efforts in the Main Street redevelopment district, but the businesses that are most likely to be targeted by the city–a string of businesses along South Main Street that would make way for an expanded Jewel Food Store–have not yet been condemned by the city.
