The danger zone.
DuPage County has been seeking the ability to do whatever it wants to when it comes to developing real estate, under the cover of “affordable workforce housing” and “by right” use.
Despite opposition from every community that is aware of it, the county continues to push this potential program towards their goal. On April 21st and 27th, the village council met and wrote up a resolution declaring it’s opposition to the county attempt to create “Affordable Workforce Housing” in unincorporated DuPage County.
There are three components to this attempt to circumvent rational zoning laws:
- Senate Bill 1451, sponsored by State Senator Randy Hultgren (Wheaton) and Senator John J. Millner (Bloomingdale), would permit the county board in counties over 500,000 (excluding Cook) to use county funds to sell, lease, or exchange county property, including but not limited to a partial interest in property and to sell, lease or exchange property at less than fair market value, to achieve any housing need of the county and to benefit the residents of the county. There are four counties that fit that requirement: DuPage (929,192), Kane (501,021), Lake (710,241), and Will (673,586). Coincidence that bill sponsors are from DuPage?
- DuPage County’s Neighborhood Stabilization Program (NSP) pumps a one time federal payment of $5,176,438 into a program designed to “provide funding for the acquisition, rehabilitation, and resale of the many foreclosed homes peppering the neighborhoods of DuPage County. The county, at it’s discretion, can continue the program past the first year, and put additional funds into the program if it decides to.
- T-01-09-Proposed Amendments to the DuPage County Zoning Ordinance relative to Workforce Development Housing (AWFH) Regulations (Request to Send to ZBA for Public Hearing) covers that zoning changes that council and staff fired off the resolution against.
DuPage Mayors and Managers Conference has also weighed in against some aspects of this. T-01-09 itself essentially eliminates one of the fundamental tenets of comprehensive county planning, that being deferring development approval to municipalities for areas that are within 1 mile (some counties 1.5 miles) of the municipal border. This zoning amendment would eliminate the applications process planners use to look at building projects individually.
How it is now: “We want to do this; take a look, is this okay? Will you let us?”
How it would be: (silence until bulldozers show up).
That could be an explosive problem in Downers Grove, where we have an unincorporated area on the southwest side that has, like everywhere else, many foreclosures going on that could be future high density developments. Last year DG successfully used that deferred jurisdictional authority to stop a development project proposed by Pat Trowbridge which consisted of 24 townhouses on 2.75 acres of land.
This is what was called for in the original development the village opposed and prevented. 24 townhouses on 2.75 acres of land.
This is what could be built “by right” on the same property, with no say by the village. 38 townhouses on the same 2.75 acres of land.
Why do that? Why change the zoning requirements and regulations, in many cases loosening the county’s own rules for things like density, setbacks, stormwater compensation, and required utility hookups? Why open the door for severely overcrowded development projects being crow-barred into low density residential areas?
Higher density means more units equals more profit potential along with the lower prices.
24 units was too high a density for the village. Add in an additional 14 units, mix in T-01-09, and the village has no say. That would create affordable workforce housing, but it’s also a development that throws the entire area out of kilter, out of density guidelines, and into potential flooding, something we don’t need more of here in DG. On the plus side, it does allow for cheaper units to be built. By building so many more of them, the developer can still make a handsome profit.
Naperville is the latest community to wake up to the potential nightmare this county undertaking represents, and they have also responded overwhelmingly in the negative. In response to all the negative feedback, County Board member Kyle Gilgis (District 3 Downers grove), who has headed up the county effort, said the county will hold weekend informational meetings on the matter. I could not find any information on the meetings on the County website.
Downers Grove straddles two districts, 2 and 3. Should you wish to weigh in for or against workforce development housing as currently proposed by DuPage County you can get emails, addresses and phone numbers for all board members here.
- Any white areas, even seemingly inside municipalities, are fodder for Affordable Workforce Housing development under proposed county rule changes.
MT,
Who else on the County Board supports the work force housing bill? I was only aware of Kyle Gilgis. Last I had checked the county board was not “on board” with the work force housing part of the bill. I know that the board seems fine with the Neighborhood Stabilization Program for the most part.
I have spoken with Kyle Gilgis about this plan and I have expressed concern over Senate Bill 1451 and the precedent it would set. Typical IL politics is the muscle that is pushing this bill through. I am saddened that this bill has local Republican Party support. I think we have some RINO’s in our mist that may need some weeding out. There has to come a point where subsidizing peoples lives comes to an end. The County and the Country cannot afford to rack up any more debt to cover a few people. We have seen the damage home subsidies has had on the housing market. Fannie and Freddie are two huge programs that went horribly wrong. This bill is more of the same. I told Kyle that giving potential home owners such substantial assistance is not going to keep them in their homes long term. You are only enabling them to live beyond their means artificially.
The major premise behind the work force housing part of this legislation is to have the county own the land and the home owners own the nuts and bolts structure part of the real estate. The home owner only pays a mortgage on the home structure itself and the county keeps ownership of the land. People need to learn what it means to save for a down payment and get their credit right so they can stay in a home. There are plenty of housing in DuPage County that our teachers, police, fire fighters and nurses can afford to purchase.
At what point did home ownership become a right?
‘Affordable workforce housing’ is nothing more than an acronym for ‘housing project’. Ever heard of Grove Parc in Chicago? That is what developers want to build in DuPage county, that is what they consider ‘working class housing’.
Ultimately the only people who benefit will be the developers and the sponsors of the bill. Pray you don’t live anywhere near these units, your property values will backslide like drops of mercury across a sheet of ice.
How was it determined that there is a need for this type of housing? Where are the workers who are in need of this housing living now? Will the units just be glorified rentals? It seems like there are a lot of houses for sale in DG and most of the homes do not appear to be tear downs or $1K mansions but the homes that were built decades ago for teachers, policemen, firefighters and the like.
Kelly,
Good questions. Politicians are the ones who have arbitrarily determined there is a affordable housing crisis. Our tax money is just burning a hole in their pockets. There are plenty of affordable homes available in Downers Grove and DuPage County. This is just another social welfare program that is going to cost the people of this County, State and Country more money than we can afford. These are glorified housing project‘s where the tenants own a stake in the house by paying a mortgage on the physical portion of the house. This is a horrible idea. This is giving someone the false idea that they can afford a more expensive home than their wage warrants. I feel the very idea of creating housing for a small population is unfair to the rest of us.
I have some rough numbers to back up the claim that we have plenty of affordable housing in our County. There are 85 homes in Downers Grove and 96 homes in Woodridge all under $300k. $300k is considered the high end threshold for the first time home buyer these days. I checked the homes under $250k for both Downers Grove and Woodridge just for kicks and I found 36 homes in Downers Grove and 57 homes in Woodridge. These are all single family detached homes, not condo’s or town homes. If I figured in condo’s and town home’s for sale in the county we would all wonder what are these politicians thinking? Please note this program that Kyle Gilgis wants to pass is for DuPage County as a whole, not just Downers Grove. We have plenty of housing stock to accommodate any and all callers, just ask any Realtor and they will sell you a home today!!
There is a home in my subdivision that, according to Zillow, is worth over $270,000. JP Morgan/Chase, the lender who took title via foreclosure, had the house listed at $265,000. It’s down to under $240,000.
My home, according to Zillow, has dropped by nearly $70,000 since the peak in 2006, and by $45,000 since last September. So, there is affordable housing in Downers Grove, and there will be more affordable housing, as the number of gainfully-employed people (i.e., people with income to pay mortgages) continues to shrink.
Things are starting to come around. IL didn’t get hit as hard as some places. We are fortunate. One thing that we all need to remember is that things work in cycles. Whether its housing or the economy in general. This slump is just a cycle, the likes of which we haven’t seen since the depression. If you let things cycle out the way they always have, you can plan for slumps. If you let the government intervene, you mess with that natural ebb and flow of our economy and you get the situation we are entering into now. We are in uncharted territory. I don’t think any economist really can predict when and how this slump will end. Many economist will and have tried to predict the end of this slump. Only time will tell.
This morning’s Tribune featured a brief piece on the ‘Affordable Housing’ proposal, and made note of Mayor Sandack’s reservations about giving developer’s so much ‘leeway’ in the process. The article listed County Board member Kyle Gilgis as the main proponent of the measure.
There is no need in DuPage county for this kind of development. None. The only entity that will benefit are the developers who are seeking alternate revenue streams during a down housing market. I promise you that not a single Police Officer or Nurse will benefit from this proposal, but the developers will thrive like a roach in dumpster.
This morning’s ‘Realtor.com’ listed 51 homes in Downers Grove between 250 and 280k (under the proposal the average house would be below 280k), not including townhouses or Condos. Some of them are surprisingly nice, some need work. I am absolutely convinced that any one of them, given enough time, pride and sweat equity could be absolute beauties. My home bordered on the edge of an Extreme Makeover visit when I bought it, but 5 years later I feel a pride in it’s appearance that could only come from pride and a vision. It’s a great feeling.
Let me ask any ‘young professionals’ out there who may be reading this:
Would you want to live in a ‘development’ specifically designed for your income (because that’s apparently all you’ll ever earn) by a developer who sleeps in Hinsdale or Inverness, or would you prefer to buy something you found, you fall in love with, you fix up yourself and make into something special that reflects the pride and integrity you put into it?
The ordinance is scheduled for a vote on June 23. Let Kyle Gilgis know what you think of it. I did.
The problem is too many people buying homes want them in turn key condition. People are not as willing to fix up a house like previous generations. People under 40 have not had to go through any hard times on a national level like previous generations have. We are spoiled. Ever hear those jokes that your parents or grandparents told you of how they walked to school in the snow barefoot for five miles? For many people like my grandmother or even my parents to a degree this story is not too far off.
While the politician’s were touting this program did they happen to point out that if the county owns the land these houses sit on then the house owners don’t pay property tax on the land, we do.
It’s not county-OWNED land, it’s county-ZONED land owned by private developers. It’s the “free market” at work: elected officials change the zoning regulations and the private developers get rich.
What Downers Grove and other municipalities have objected to, is that is takes away an existing review process for county-zoned land within a certain distance of their borders.
I agree with Mayor Sandack when he stated on April 27th that, “Workforce housing is a well-intended initiative; however, the implementation and process is poorly thought out… An initiative proposed as a special use makes sense because it provides for opportunities for notification.”
In a true “free market” scenario this land would be sold directly to the developer with the County giving up all of its rights to the land. Then the resulting house would be sold at “fair market value” to the home owner. That is free market economics 101. That is not how this bill is written.
Senate Bill 1451,
“to use county funds to sell, lease, or exchange county property, including but not limited to a partial interest in property and to sell, lease or exchange property at less than fair market value, to achieve any housing need of the county and to benefit the residents of the county“.
“Amends the Counties Code. Provides that each county shall have the power to purchase, hold, sell, convey, or lease any real estate within the county necessary to administer or fund a Neighborhood Stabilization Program. Effective immediately“.
The way this bill is written certainly gives the County land ownership rights under the NSP. They only have this power if the land is used for the many purposes outlined with in the bill. In my conversation with Kyle Gilgis, she thought it was a good idea for the County to keep rights to the land so that the home owner only had to pay a mortgage on the house portion of the property. Just the wording “at less than fair market value” throws all notions of “free market“ principals right out the window. Socialism at its best. The worst part is that its co-sponsored by Republican‘s. The County should just find a way to sell this land outright or have it annexed by the villages of DuPage County so they can use the land for its highest and best use.