By now maybe everyone’s seen this one on Maple? Originally it was fairly straight up farm house style. (Folk Victorian?  Can a reader help me out here?  I don’t know what different styles are).  There’s an addition to the west side and a front porch across the north front.  This is at a prime residential location in the village.  In the past, some homes on Maple were replaced by much larger new homes, some homes were preserved, and some added onto and enhanced.  

The owners here chose to add-on and enhance.  The character  of the neighborhood stays intact.  The new front  porch ties it together and makes it whole.  An  excellent example of how builders can  renew, reuse,  and remodel and keep it all looking like  it’s always  been there, always belonged.  Bonus, the contractor has kept the parkway trees safe and fenced properly.  Corcoran Homes had their shingle out on this one.

This house begged for a picture at Washington Park.  Another example of  a house that will get significantly larger, yet by matching the existing structure, keep the look and feel of the original.  It’s proportions and height are in keeping with the neighborhood.  The turret feature provides interest and detail, and the front entry is now centrally located on the front.  I didn’t catch a builder name but the van I think was Village Remodeling.  Bonus, the owners kept their stone borders up around their trees.  It looks like the builders took steps to leave them alone and they look like they’re in good shape.  Retaining a 40 year tree is way cheaper than planting a 40 year old tree.  And that was the little one.

There’s more examples of this kind of home enhancement going on around the village.  Tear-downs have not been happening much lately, but build-ups seem to getting more popular.

This overhead shot, taken from the e-sheets, shows the proposed changes. Approximately 350 cars travel westbound on Burlington daily.

The agreement involves DG, the Burlington Northern Santa Fe Railroad, and the Illinois Commerce Commission.  The ICC’s  Grade Crossing Protection Fund would provide 90% of the needed funds, up to $262,800.  Additional costs will be on the village, which is projected around $29,200.  The village has applied for a grant that and has already received notification from the Illinois Jobs Now Program that funding has been ear-marked for this item.

The village would act as the cash float for the project, paying the bills and being reimbursed by the ICC.  There’s no cash set aside for this project but there are funds that can be used, and the project properly accounted for in the FY2011 budget.  The village will provide all design and construction engineering plans.  No costs have been attached to that component of the project.

Pending approval by the Village the agreement will be forwarded to for approval by the state, which would be a certainty.  From there, construction could begin as early as fall 2010 with a 2011 completion date.

Zoning probably has something to do with that.  Not everything, of course; the people make a big difference.  But the underlying zoning determines much of what you see:  dwelling units per acre, building line setbacks, building heights, etc.

So why are so few residents paying attention to the Comprehensive Plan meetings that are now underway — two so far, with almost another year to go?  The second meeting held March 23 was witnessed by just six residents, one of whom was an elected village commissioner.  Where were all the residents who protested about land-use issues on 63^rd Street, on Fairview Avenue, tear-downs, affordable housing, etc.?

If you are concerned about stormwater… or trees… or teardowns… you should be paying attention to this.

If you care about your neighborhood, you should be paying attention to this.

If you live within a block or two of a major commercial street – 63^rd Street, 75^th Street, Belmont Avenue, Fairview Avenue, Ogden Avenue – you should be paying attention to this, because the planning process could make recommendations that change the character of your neighborhood!

Not only should you be paying attention, you should be attending these Comprehensive Plan meetings and speaking up.  Because this committee is going to recommend the issues and publish the report that will affirm or change future Downers Grove zoning.  And your neighborhood!

The village and their consultants are doing a good job of making information available to you.  Take it.

Meeting agendas and minutes are online at the village web site (link here)

The consultants’ draft materials (link here)

Here’s what the consultants have provided to the committee so far (these large files may open slowly):

1. Introduction
2. Existing Plans, Studies and Reports
3. TCD3 Summary
4. Market Analysis
5. Existing Land Use, Development & Zoning
6. Community Facilities
7. Existing Transportation
8. Open Space and the Environment
9. Sub-areas

Interesting background reading.

If you care about your neighborhood, do you homework and show up/speak up at the Comprehensive Plan meetings.  The next one is Tuesday, April 27.

See you there.

John Schofield is a regular reader of DGreport and chairs the Coalition for Managed Redevelopment, a citizens group working “to maintain our rich cultural, architectural, and natural heritage while promoting growth and economic prosperity.”

Comprehensive Plans are supposed to be good for up to 10 years, in some cases even 20.  They’re not supposed to be static documents, instead being updated at regular intervals.  Our village Comprehensive Plan is 44 years old and unchanged.  There’s a saying in the planning profession I’ll paraphrase as I remember CP booster Martin Tully say: “If you fail to plan, in reality what you are doing is planning to fail.”

ITEM RES 00-04019 Comprehensive Planning Ad Hoc Committee authorizes the creation of a Comprehensive Planning Committee and appoints members to the committee.

A Comp Plan is the overarching document that sets course for where we go in the future.  Almost everything else flows from it.  Comprehensive planning is tied at the hip to the economic prosperity of our village, to traffic, zoning, everything.  Each section of the plan deals with particular elements, contains descriptions of existing conditions, a discussion of issues and general goals, and policies to guide actions. Each of the sections also looks at specific strategies along with recommended actions for implementing each strategy.

You can read our current 44 year old plan at the Library up on the second floor; 1965 predates computers and on-line documentation.  Last time I checked the parchment rolls were still there.

A good Comprehensive Plan will have fiscal benefits for us all, whether residents or businesses.  It’ll save taxpayers money and help preserve and grow what’s good about Downers Grove, so it’s critical to get the best plan we can.

Zoning Board of Appeals Chairman Bill White (also D99 BOE member) will chair the CPC.  ZBA member Marge Earl is also a member, as well as three Plan Commission members PC Chair Alan Jirik, PC members Audrey Hamernik and Greg Beggs, Transportation and Parking Commission member John Wendt, and two residents at large, Paul Jacobs…and me, Mark Thoman.

One of the big tasks of a Comprehensive Plan update is gathering information.  Remember last years TCD3 was all about gathering information?  Now that will be a crucial source of information about what the community wants to see in an updated Comprehensive Plan.

I know some of the other nominees, and I think it will go well, I hope it will go well, and I will do what I can to help it be so.

-Mark Thoman

The EDC submitted the text amendment to create new category in between the largest signs allowed (for multi-store properties) and the rest of the smaller single store properties by carving out a middle classification.  The text amendment proposed by the EDC would allow free-standing signs that are 15 feet tall and 60 square feet on lots with a minimum frontage of 260 feet with a minimum of two-and-one-half acres even if they are single tenant properties.

Staff is against the text amendment (mainly because staff has no direction to change the sign ordinance) but acknowledged there is a gap that exists primarily for large single tenant properties.  These buildings have larger setbacks from the road and the description fits a lot of properties along Ogden Avenue.  Think car dealers.  Staff and the EDC also found that most of the big car dealers down by Finley along Ogden are in M-1 zoned land, and the current ordinance amendment would cover B-3 only.

Dick Benes (?) spoke, he was on the Sign Ordinance Committee.  He reiterated the purpose of the work his group had done.   He gave some context that the shopping center signs were given a larger size to adequately allow for advertising the multiple stores, not because of the width of the property.

Since the new sign policy, most cases that have come before the Zoning Board of Appeal have dealt with requests for sign variances.

One point he made was that any exceptions to enlarging the size allowed is that it’s kind of a camel’s nose under the tent, first 15 feet, next the businesses will want higher.  The Firestone sign was cited as an example of a sign that was far larger than needed.  The Dodge sign that change east of Belmont was also cited as a positive, and he noted when that occurred it opened up the whole area.

Greg Bedalov, President of the EDC spoke and he thanked staff for working with them on the text amendment request.  There’s 14-15 businesses (plus five or more are zoned M-1 that probably should be B-3) that would benefit from the proposed change.  Those M-1 property owners have no problem with zoning to B-3 from M-1; it’s no skin off their nose because their business is already allowed in that land space.  He wants businesses to be able to site signs generally where they feel the sign will do the most good.

Plan Commission PC-19-09 A petition seeking an Amendment to Chapter 28 of the Municipal Code – Zoning Ordinance Section 28.1502.01 Monument Signs and Shingle Signs to amend the original monument sign regulations as they relate to shopping centers and automobile dealerships; Downers Grove Economic Development Corporation, Petitioner, was sent to council with a 6-1 vote that supported approving the text amendment request.

Commissioner Marilyn Schnell noted that the sign variance requests getting through the Zoning Board of Appeal take time and are hard to obtain.  ZBA has a rightly high standard they want to see met.  They usually deny such requests, around a half dozen or so since the sign ordinance took effect.  She supported an idea put forward by a different unnamed committee member who called several council members and suggested they think of two 10’ signs allowed versus one 15’ high sign.  Director of Community development though two signs might add to the confusion and chaos more so than one 15’ tall sign.

Commissioner Geoff Neustadt noted the suggested setbacks from lot borders might put two signs right by each other, so he thought he could support the text amendment as requested by the EDC.

Commissioner William Waldack noted the ordinance was only five years old but there was a need to evaluate the ordinance and get some additional input.  He noted most non-complying signs still were not changed out.  Given the time spent on signs, and zoning conflicts, and the lack of current enforcement, the ordinance should be revisited in whole rather than apply an amendment patch.

Commissioner Bruce Beckman wanted to stay zeroed in on the request at hand.  The existing sign gap existed, and the amendment address the option of large properties having a single sign the same size as similarly sized properties and building heights.

Commissioner Bob Barnett wanted a copy of the power point presentation.  They couldn’t find the slide he was looking for but he asked if the Ogden Plan concentrated on reducing clutter; the number, size, and height of signs.  It did, but talked about general guidelines without specifics, but did call for siting and size similarity, so one sign didn’t obscure another.

Mayor Ron Sandack acknowledged the seeming conflicting goals of beautification of Ogden being so difficult, and finding that one size ordinance does not fit all areas of the village.  He agreed that the sign ordinance should be revisited, but maybe after the compliance dead line, which is in two years.  He noted that the 15’ signs for multi-tenant properties already exist.  He would favor de-cluttering with fewer signs, but switching right now might send a negative message to those businesses that spent the money and changed out signs, and wanted to make sure he had additional information on how the ZBA adjudicated variance requests, and would have to roll it around some more.

Commissioner Sean Durkin supported the amendment.  He asked if any companies that were going to come into Downers Grove changed their minds due to the sign ordinance.

It’s tough times right now.  Travel down Ogden from Naperville east.  Naperville has huge signs at big single tenant properties, mainly car dealers, that block out the sun but you sure do see them; Lisle has big signs too, mainly for car dealers; Westmont and Clarendon Hills have bigger signs:  Durkins’ query has merit.

The Sign Ordinance Committee was not designated as an Ad Hoc Committee, so they could be called back into duty if needed.  The Committee members did some heavy lifting when they did their homework.  At the time the original Sign Ordinance changes took effect it was specifically noted that the Village had the flexibility to make changes to the changes if needed.

COC, DMG, and EDC have worked pretty well to smooth over the economic trough we are suffering in.  It isn’t apparent now but it will be when the economy kicks back.  Giving them tools they request makes sense within limits, and adding a bridging category to the sign ordinance seems like one of those very tools; limited, within the existing parameters, and beneficial to making large sales tax generating businesses happy to locate here.  In the mix, DG should look at the requested rezoning and get that straightened out.  That area near Belmont is the largest chunk of deep lots along Ogden Avenue, and if car dealers go away, having a large B-3 area one step easier for re-development makes sense.

-Mark Thoman

Among notable Downers Grove delinquents are some banks: US Bank, Mutual Bank, Deutsche Bank, and First National Bank of Brookfield all have ended up holding property they have not paid taxes on.  Chicago Title and Trust too.  Several local and area builders, as well as speculators, have been caught up short, and have taken a pass on paying taxes.  This could be problematic.

One time high flyer Rosol Construction (Georgian Courts on Gilbert and Curtiss) was one of the first to encounter difficulties, but he may not be the last.  It only takes one or two homes sitting unsold, with a construction loan ticking away, eating away at profits.  In what some describe as a race against time to sell a home, time has gotten a sharp set of fangs.  One builder said earlier this year he’s almost dormant, just a couple solid contracts with buyers and remodeling work to tide him over to a better economy.  But there’s still spec homes out there, unsold, loans ticking away.

Not paying your taxes doesn’t mean you automatically lose your property.  Here in DuPage County, a tax sale creates a tax lien on a property that puts the lien holder first in line for any payment.  Depending on the type of property, owners have up to 2 1/2 years to pay off the lien and the interest.  For the banks, they may simply include it as a closing cost when they move the property off their holdings.  For the builders and speculators, it’s another way to use other people’s money as a bridge loan during hard times.  If a builder just finished a $1 million home in time for the downturn, that $10,000 delinquent tax payment (that might cost them 7% on the $10-20K when they finally sell) is worth it, especially with banks being so tight on bridge and construction loans right now.

It’s an arcane way to invest that’s not for beginners.  To start, here in DuPage you have to ante up a $500 participation fee, so homework is essential; you see a lot of tax lawyers at the auctions.  Sorry, the registration ended yesterday.

Going over DG delinquents a couple stood out because they are in our TIF districts:

4929 Forest LLC owes $76,259.42 in unpaid 2008 taxes on 16 units in the development at the same address.  You may remember the builder, Michael Prince, told the council to buzz off when he changed to cheaper building

Click on image for larger version.

materials midstream without approval.  Council did nothing then.  Now, his company, which is listed by the Secretary of State’s office as NGS (Not Good Standing) also has taken a pass on paying his 2008 taxes payable in 2009.  In a couple years there may screaming good deals on some luxury condos on Forest, but in the meantime the village is out almost $70,000 in increment taxes that all would have gone into village coffers.  Ouch.  It remains to be seen if these tax bills will get sold.  Being what they are, they have some value to a tax lien investor, and if/when they get auctioned off the money will go into the hopper and work its way back to Downers Grove months, perhaps a year, later than scheduled.

Records show at least 14 properties in arrears. Click on image for larger version.

An even more troubling sign of the tough times is Luxury Motors.  Through the various companies that make up Joseph Abbas’ holdings, he owns 14 or more properties along the 300 block of Ogden Avenue that total over 205,000 square feet of real estate including Luxury Motors, a Bentley dealership,  Downers Grove Saab, and properties that currently are home to Downers Grove Yamaha, LaMantia Builders, and others.

Mr. Abbas is $70,637.86 in arrears on his 2008 taxes. and his web of companies have several that, starting in December of 2007, have been involuntarily dissolved,  revoked, or not in good standing.  Only one was found to be both active and holding property locally.  3311 Charles, Inc. is listed at 330 Ogden, the empty corner of Fairview and Ogden,  which is also in tax arrears.

Luxury Motors was the high-flying car dealer that Downers Grove had a sales tax rebate agreement with that, pre-recession, generated several hundreds of thousands of dollars for the village, and rebated one year over $200,000 back to the car empire.  When times got tough car sales, especially luxury car sales, collapsed. Village Manager Dave Fieldman canceled the sales tax rebate agreement several months ago and has not made rebate payments for some time now, since Luxury Motors fell below the threshold. Credit Fieldman for looking out for us; we could have been paying them our sales tax dollars while they were not paying us our property tax dollars.

These properties have more intrinsic value at  tax auction than the luxury condos on Forest.  They’re commercial properties along a high traffic artery that’s just been repaired, and the tax bills will probably be auctioned off pretty readily.  It’s up to Joseph Abbas’ various surviving companies to repay the liens or walk away.

In either case, the largest sales tax generator in Downers Grove has been hammered by the economy and DG tax revenues have been hammered right along with them.  It remains to be seen if these tax bills will get sold.  When they get auctioned off the money will go into the hopper and work its way back to Downers Grove months late — like 4929 Forest perhaps a year later than scheduled — but better than never.

Can you blame Sandack and Barnett for the double team at the 11/3 council meeting about getting away from sales tax revenue because of the unknowns?  This was unknown two years ago, but it’s known now — and no one has the stomach for a repeat of relying too heavily on one sales tax giant again.

That’s not a bad thing.  Focus is a good business attribute, but diversity is a must.  Spreading revenue sources across many streams minimizes the damage one can do if it’s suddenly diminished.

Luxury Motors problems have a long-shot silver lining, a wild card that could actually kick start development along that section of Ogden.  With car sales crashing, they may not be able to raise the cash if they are over-leveraged.  It wouldn’t be a stretch for even a proxy to buy the tax bills and in two years or so assume the property ownership, washing away liquidated debt from failed businesses, but leaving extremely low-cost property ready to be developed and redeveloped.

The plan, details of which are located here, include:

• Replacing aged windows with new energy efficient units,
• Removing the wooden front and replacing and restoring the brick façade,
• Installing a new 6′wide canopy along the entire length of the building.

A sticking point in several previous applicants and grants, no EIFS materials are planned for this project.

The grant applicants asked for more than the max $15K based on Dali’s occupying two buildings, but staff is treating this as one restaurant, one project, and has capped their recommendation at $15k.  Look for council to react favorably this week at workshop, and approve this project at next week’s meeting.

There have been eight previous projects approved  under the Façade Improvement Grant Program, and if Dali’s ais approved, a little under $12,000 would remain in the fund.  The project funds are derived from the CBD TIF District funds.

Everybody missed it?

Pick a local business; any one — about 80 folks involved with them protested the approval of ATI taking 10,000 square feet of prime retail space at reduced rental rates any one of them would gladly pay.  Many of those local businesses are owned by people who live here.  They bank here, sometimes locally.  They buy groceries, and dine out, and have a beer or glass of wine here.  They attend local events.  They belong to local business groups that promote local business.  The rent they pay sometimes goes to landlords who live here, who in turn do the same things the other business owners do.

National and regional businesses expanding into local markets diverts the local money stream away from the community, where it is spent on large capital expenditures, overseas goods and all too frequently inflated executive salaries. As the money leaves town, an important economic source of funds leaves with it: recirculated income.

John Maynard Keynes first coined the term “Local Multiplier Effect” in his 1936 book The General Theory of Employment, Interest and Money, to describe this phenomenon that creates local money movement that passes from local hand to local hand over and over, on average at least three times before leaving the community.

Pick Anderson’s Book Store and compare that to Barnes & Noble Booksellers.  Both fine book stores, both staffed by able and willing employees.  Spend $100 dollars at Anderson’s, and about $45 dollars gets spent on things-and I have no idea if these are all applicable to Anderson’s-like accountants/bookkeepers, advertising, legal services, possibly office supplies and a plethora of other expenses.  That same $100 at Barnes and Noble-again a fine shop-and about $15 dollars gets spent locally.  The remainder leaves town for the corporate offices.

It adds up.  Some communities actively advocate a Business To Business (B2B) Import Replacement program to link businesses with local suppliers and services.

Back to ATI.

Council took the short view that $50,000 in property tax income a year was better then waiting for the same property tax income plus an estimated $26,000 a year in sales tax at some later date.  To boot, finishing up the Acadia on the Green Redevelopment Agreement hinged upon approving the ATI deal.  So in they go, and local residents will be referred there, possibly instead of to the Good Sam Wellness facility, or to any of several existing local physical therapy businesses.

In the former, ATI revenue leaves town immediately for the regional offices. One hopes some jobs for locals come with the business.  Patients and workout buffs probably will not even make payments there, instead being billed; few local services being used to keep money in the community.  Council harped on the fact ATI users would be eating downtown, and shopping downtown.  Given ATI expects their prime time to be before 5am and 8am, and after 6pm when bars and restaurants are open, it appears the opposite would be true, people will be going to ATI instead of to local shops and dining.  That $70 therapy visit or that $25 a month membership money never gets a chance to do much inside Downers Grove.  Mostly it just leaves.  Add on to the local money departing, outside insurance funds never returning into town.

In the latter, at the other smaller physical therapy businesses, or at God Sam’s Wellness Center, all of the benefits of the Local Multiplier Effect (LME) come into play.  That insurance payment that left the community comes back to a local business, who passes it on to another local business.  That dimes the users drop at the Park District or the YMCA to feel the burn circulates around so others can share the wealth by receiving and in turn using the money.  Both of those groups use the money for other programs and activities.  The money sticks around and does some more good for the community.

The village needed to determine whether ATI would add value to the downtown, or whether they should wait longer and see if they might get retail to fill the spot.  It’s a tough choice.  The EDC is tasked with finding warm bodies to fill cold space.  When EDC President Greg Bedalov entered into talks with ATI, they took a look around and locked their sights on the middle of AOTG building #1, which is the choicest of the AOTG prime street level space.  Thousands of commuters pass by there every weekday; hundreds of Egg Harbor customers see it, and thousands of cars drive by every day.  TCF Bank?  Charles Place?  No thanks, ATI knew where it wanted to be, and that was at DG’s “Grand Central Station”.  It meets all three real estate requirements: location, location, location.

Some might say council went with “git ‘er dun”, but it looks like staff and council made their decision based on a cost/benefit analysis, which is usually informal.  Letting a property lie unused for three years is about the maximum if you are looking at the short term of ten years, and a difference of $50,000 or $76,000/year in revenues to the village.  If you are considering the full 20 years of the potential lease, the break-even point is six years.  If you are looking at the life of the building for how it can contribute to village revenues, it never makes fiscal sense to allow a non-sales tax revenue generator into a street level building in the CBD.  Everyone knew that three years ago, but as they say, times change.

Net Present Value

“It is a standard method for using the time value of money to appraise long-term projects. Used for capital budgeting, and widely throughout economics, it measures the excess or shortfall of cash flows, in present value terms, once financing charges are met.”

In another post I mentioned Net Present Value, or NPV.  Sometimes it’s called Net Present Worth.  It’s a concept most people on council with one exception, might have no experience with.

Here’s some full disclosure; one of my jobs due diligence requires me to do the NPV math on a sale or purchase.  I cheat nowadays: I use a couple different computer calculators that do the math for me so I can just plug in different variables and see what the results yield.  This is not an exact methodology, but it usually works, especially for long-term investments.  Long-term planning if you will.

In this case, the village needed to determine whether ATI would add value to the downtown, or whether they should wait longer and see if they might get retail to fill the spot.  Using NPV calculations isn’t quite germane for the village, unfortunately.  Long story short, given the expectation of revenues and the revenues already lost, given a 20 year time frame the village could wait four more years if they could know for certain the space would be filled with retail, which they can’t know.

The guy on council most intimate in knowing how to value real estate deals is Waldack.  Deal with it; he knows his numbers.  He knows how to value real estate, transactions, and account for variables related to whether or not a given deal makes sense from a hard math POV.

Past that, whether to keep fishing or cut bait is anyone’s guess.  I called my buddy, a pseudo-retired economist who taught at U of I, and got his response: “Ask ten expert economists what will happen and you should get at least 30 answers all based on what has happened in the past.  Makes for great conferences, by the way, always someone to discourse with.  Economists are best analyzing what happened, not specifically seeing the future; that involves bones, blood, entrails, and cauldrons.  Candles help set the mood…  Listen to what Warren Buffet thinks will happen.  He’s been more right than any economist in predicting future markets, and the economy is tied to the market.   Buffet says in 2012 or 2013, everything will be fine.”

It’s a tough choice.  The village sank about $7.2 million into the AOTG deal with New England Builders, another outside company.  In return the village determined that street level retail was something to be desired, and wrote a 90% minimum into the RDA with New England Builders.  That deal is now done and gone, as is the $7.2 million-NEB is an outside company, and most if not all of the bond money left town just a surely as if it were spent at Barnes & Noble instead of Anderson’s.

So much for long-term planning in the CBD?  Maybe, maybe not.  Times changed for the worse, and they can change again for the better.  It’s ironic that for all the support council has shown for the concept of shopping local-and they are absolutely correct on the importance, even the need right now-that they lost sight of not just solid long term comprehensive planning, but that what the village also lost in the ATI deal was the Local Multiplier Effect.  It wasn’t just settling for the short-term gain of $50,000/year in property taxes instead of the “maybe” of an extra $26,000 in sales tax.  It also includes the certainty that 85% of the money that goes into ATI never comes back out into the community; it leaves town.

Editor’s note: Tim Canning of the Lemon Tree posted this note this morning.

Hi friends-

The Lemon Tree is coming! Thank you all for your comments. The project slowed down due to business terms with the lease and binding contract deals with Michael’s. I can assure you that all business issues have been sorted out.

Bill White — great idea with the “Peapod pick-up only”! I will bring up your clever idea at our meeting this afternoon. I also appreciate your comments concerning the parking… We are working closely with the village to maximize the accessibility of parking spaces on Burlington.

Our Web site is near completion (www.lemontreegrocer.com). We would love to hear everyone’s suggestions and comments on this blog or through our website. The Lemon Tree wants to know what you want from your downtown market!

Thank you all! And the Lemon Tree is coming… Please sit tight.

Tim Canning

So what’s the problem?

Each mature tree does a couple key things for Downers Grove:

Trees reduce stormwater. They act as giant sponges that absorb 660 gallons of water in the first 24 hours of a rain event.  Our 23,000 mature parkway trees absorb over 15 million gallons of initial rainfall.

Trees reduce energy bills. They provide 133 square feet of canopy coverage.  That seemed like a small area until I was told that represents solid coverage.  In real life, that canopy spreads over a much larger area, but it’s not a 100% solid canopy, and it doesn’t represent the crown volume, just the canopy top.  Underneath a tree it’s a couple degrees cooler in the summer, and a couple degrees warmer in the winter. Properly placed trees can reduce summer cooling costs by as much as 30%.

Trees increase air quality. They sequester 48 pounds of carbon dioxide each year, enough to offset the amount produced by driving a car 26,000 miles.  That same tree produces enough oxygen f in a season as 2 people inhale in a year.

Trees increase property values. Most studies say mature trees increase comparable home prices roughly 15%.  Some developers claim that clear cutting reduces construction costs, but they ignore cost reductions that can be realized by preserving existing mature trees.  What builder is against adding 15% to the value of a new home by not doing something?

The key word here is mature.  A tree takes 20+ years to mature, and none of these benefits kick in until it is a mature tree.  The 1,147 trees the village planted in the last two and a half years won’t “come on-line” until around 2027.

We’re going to lose our ash trees, too.  Two years ago the village made the decision to take out approximately 4,100 ash trees from our public parkways over the next 5-10 years, about 18% of our total parkway tree inventory doomed by the Emerald Ash Borer.

The net result on paper will be that the village, since it is planting trees faster than they are being removed, is okay.  The problem is, “trees-in/trees-out” is a false metric.  It doesn’t accurately assess and address that the “trees-in” don’t come on-line for twenty years, and the “trees-out” immediately reduce the village benefits.

For a council and staff facing budget problems, and looking at being forced to raise taxes, this is a huge problem, and here’s why.

By 2017, if the village makes good on plans to aggressively address EAB, we will have lost 5,000 mature trees from the public parkways.  Add in only the total of ash tree loss in Downers Grove, and we lose over 1,000,000 square feet of canopy coverage.  That’s one million square feet of solid coverage; about 20 football fields of total shade stripped bare, needing more cooling, more energy use. Of course, trees aren’t solid, so the area effected is, in reality, much larger.

Back to just the 5,000 parkway trees.  120 tons of CO2 not sequestered.  Oxygen for 10,000 people not produced.  Home value growth, real estate tax growth, stunted.  And that’s the minor impact to the village.

Those 5,000 trees?  Where does the water go?  each one sponges up 660 gallons in the first 24 hours of a rain event.  that’s 3,300,000 gallons of water, or about 10.25 foot/acres of water looking for basements and back yards.

I did some math on Washington Park.  Engineering, design, construction, interest and principal on the bonds, change orders (so far): it’s a $4.3 million dollar project that will hold 8.7 foot/acres of water.

$4.3 million to hold 8.7 foot/acres.  By 2017, 10.25 foot/acres of additional water in the village with no place to go.  And that’s not counting trees removed from park land, school land, and private property.  We’re not running fast enough to stay on the treadmill, but we are creating the necessity of another big expensive water retention project to help stay even.  Not to get ahead of the problem, just to tread water.

Flooding was a recurring issue in TCD3, and it’s been a recurring issue for many years.  The village committed to an initial borrowing of $25 million to address stormwater issues, with plenty more to come.  There’s talk of a stormwater tax to fund the improvements.  But if we immediately build the problem back in right along with the solutions, we don’t move forward; we just spend a lot of money for things to seem to stay the same.

We do know some things for certain.  No one wants to pay more taxes if they don’t have to.  Paying more for the same apparent services is frustrating.  Mature trees save money, now and in the future, whether they are on parkways, private property, parks, or by schools.  They create higher real estate property values, in turn creating higher tax revenues.  People have less issue with paying more if they get more, and trees get us more value for our homes.

In three weeks the final TCD3 report will be published.  It’s already been talked over that the key outcome is a need for better communications, and neighborhood groups have been discussed as a mechanism for that better communication.  That doesn’t seem to apply directly to this type of issue, but this issue is a critical lever in any new comprehensive village plan.  In the village stats, the tree problem is being addressed; more trees are being planted than are being removed.  In the real world, we still need a proper set of metrics so we can make accurate informed decisions about what we need to be doing.  By the metrics of water absorption, carbon sequestration, energy costs, and oxygen production, we’re failing.