Antioch and the Lake County Forest Preserve District have tentatively agreed to a deal that officials hope will end a two-year legal battle that has blocked a major housing development.
Both sides have been arguing about whether the forest preserve district improperly thwarted construction of a 495-home project the village had approved.
In 2000 the district bought land between the development site and the county-owned sewer system, then refused to let the developer build sewer connections on that land.
Antioch Mayor Taso Maravelas and forest preserve Chairman Al Westerman said last week that the district is now offering to give the village a sewer easement. Maravelas said he hopes the Village Board will approve the deal Monday.
But other legal battles loom. With a trial set to begin June 24, the village, forest preserve district, county and developers are still arguing in court over who is responsible for millions of dollars in lost profits from the long-delayed housing project.
The dispute dates back to the spring of 1999, when Antioch approved a plan by Deercrest Development to build the 495 homes. The developer had planned to build on a 234-acre former dairy farm owned by Otto Sprenger.In August 2000 while Deercrest was trying to get a sewer hookup, the forest preserve district bought 75 acres known as the Glick property. The former trailer campground was between the Sprenger farm and county-controlled sewer lines.
In September 2000 Deercrest and Sprenger sued the county, forest preserve district and Antioch, claiming all three had a role in denying the hookup to the county-run sewer system. They seek $4.5 million in damages, mostly from lost profits.
Then in 2001 another developer, Neumann Homes of Warrenville, joined in the lawsuit. The company sought a sewer hookup for a 1,240-home project.
That same year, Antioch countersued the forest preserve district, accusing it of trying to impede the Deercrest development by buying the Glick property.
Last month, Lake County Circuit Judge John Goshgarian ruled that the county must allow the connection to its lines.
That ruling prompted the district to offer Antioch the sewer easements free of charge.
