Plans to turn downtown Elgin and surrounding areas into a special tax area worry some homeowners, who fear the proposed district would hurt their property values.
Several residents within the proposed 1,074-acre tax-increment financing district expressed their concerns at a public hearing earlier this month.
TIF districts are designed to set aside some taxes collected in an area for improvements there.
City officials said the new TIF district would be designed to reinvigorate the area, which includes property on both sides of the Fox River as far south as U.S. Highway 20 and as far north as Big Timber Court, Summit Street and Congdon Avenue.
The area contains business and residential property. Many residents said they are worried that their property would be targeted for acquisition either by the city or by commercial developers or hurt in other ways.
“I think our property values will decrease,” homeowner Duane Werth said. He also said he didn’t believe city officials who said they were not targeting property for acquisition.
But Mayor Ed Schock, who lives in the proposed TIF district, repeatedly said the city does not have such plans.
Schock said the TIF district would not affect the ability of city or commercial developers to acquire property.
A few residents said the TIF district was a good idea. Mike Wolfe, a member of the Kane County Board, said it could help a downtown he described as suffering from a “low-grade fever” — not exactly sick, but not exactly well.
The City Council is expected to discuss the TIF issue Oct. 10.
