 The primary responsibility of this position was oversight and
administration of the Logan County Enterprise Zone.
As a result of this change at the commission, the county zoning
office was given the responsibility of administering the enterprise
zone.
Since that time, zoning officer Will D'Andrea has spent as much
time as possible reviewing the enterprise zone transactions, working
on establishing an updated map showing all the properties that are
now included in the zone, and reviewing the language of the
enterprise zone document.
In doing this, D'Andrea has come across a problem with a current
ordinance that limits the types of business and industry that may be
able to benefit from the enterprise zone designation.
On Monday night, D'Andrea brought this problem to light with the
Lincoln City Council.
The enterprise zone was created in 1987, the result of a
statewide initiative to help bring business and industry into
Illinois. Through the plan, regions of a county could be designated
as enterprise zones and those who established businesses within that
region were given incentives including property tax abatements.
Zone participants are eligible for 100 percent property tax
abatement on construction improvements the first five years, 50
percent abatement in the next five years and then begin paying 100
percent on the improved property value. They also receive waivers or
discounts on building permits and certain other taxes.
The original plan document allowed for a wide variety of business
and industry including retail and food establishments to be
permitted to take advantage of these incentives.
However, an ordinance passed in 2004 altered eligibility by
leaving out any allowances for retail businesses and commercial
enterprises that sell beverages, food and gasoline.
City attorney Bill Bates assisted D'Andrea in explaining the
situation, saying this came about when the Illiopolis area was added
to the zone for the sake of the Formosa plant. Bates said the
representatives for Formosa drafted the agreement and included the
ordinance change.
He said what they included was standard ordinance language
generally used by all the enterprise zones in Illinois. The change
went unnoticed by all the parties involved, which included not only
the city of Lincoln, but the county, plus the village of Elkhart and
Sangamon County.
D'Andrea explained that since then a large number of unqualified
businesses have been allowed to participate. He spoke specifically
about the businesses that have expanded or built on the city's west
side, saying a large number of those have come into existence since
2004.
It was also noted that the rehabilitation of the Scully Building
was accomplished partially because the owner, Patrick Doolin, was
able to take advantage of some of the enterprise zone incentives.
According to the 1987 document, his eligibility was legal, but
according to the 2004 document it was not.
Mayor Keith Snyder said he and D'Andrea had met to discuss this
situation and are proposing a new ordinance that will allow retail
and service industry businesses back into the zone.
When the matter came to discussion, Alderwoman Melody Anderson
asked what the consequences would be if the city chose not to change
the current ordinance.
Snyder said primarily it would deter the creation of any new
retail business in Lincoln because they would not be eligible for
incentives. She then asked if there would be any consequences to the
retail businesses that were given incentives in error.
He replied there could be legal ramifications if the city tried
to take back the incentives. He noted the businesses had acted in
good faith and it would not be reasonable to take away from them
what they have been given.
Alderman Tom O'Donohue then asked: "And if a business would come
in now and we would say no, what are the legal ramifications of
that?"
Bates, D'Andrea and Snyder all commented on this situation being
uncertain, but all agreed there could be lawsuits brought against
the city and county if they were to deny someone now.
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Discussion then turned to the new ordinance drafted. As aldermen
looked at the language in the new document, Alderman Jeff Hoinacki
noted there was no mention of residential property being ineligible
for abatement where in the 2004 document there was. He wondered if
that needed to be added.
Bates commented that residential has never qualified, but Snyder
also noted the new draft needed to be reviewed and the council
should decide if the language needs to be tweaked.
Anderson then commented that she doesn't want to see the language
get too specific as it could result in future rewrites.
Hoinacki also noted the ordinance left the responsibility of
determining eligibility to the zone administrator, and he felt that
was the way it should be, and D'Andrea should be able to determine
if a business fits into the plan.
D'Andrea however, said that even though he has years of
experience in interpreting zoning rules and laws, the more clarity
the governing bodies can give to an ordinance, the better.
Joel Smiley of the Lincoln & Logan County Development Partnership
was in attendance at the meeting and commented briefly that widening
the parameter of eligibility would be a good decision, as a wider
variety of businesses may be drawn to Lincoln and Logan County. He
noted that in competing with other regions to draw new business, the
enterprise zone helps to level the playing field and make this area
more attractive.
O'Donohue asked if the new draft would solve the current problem.
Snyder said yes, but it wasn't something the city could act on at
the moment.
As it stands, the city and county have to agree to make this
change. As they are the leading governing bodies in the enterprise
zone, this is the first step. Afterward it will have to be approved
by all the other bodies involved in the zone, which would be
Atlanta, Elkhart, Hartsburg and New Holland in Logan County as well
as the counties of DeWitt and Sangamon.
Alderman David Wilmert then asked if there was anything the
council could do immediately so D'Andrea would be able to report the
city's support to the county when he meets with them.
Snyder said he was seeing a general consensus of the council to
go along with the change, and that is information D'Andrea can take
with him.
At the end of this discussion, D'Andrea also presented a new,
updated map of the enterprise zone to John Lebegue, city zoning and
safety officer.
D'Andrea, who is also in charge of the development of the GIS
program for Logan County, said he was offering an aerial photo map
with the zones marked as they stand currently.
He also noted he is going to incorporate an overlay of the
enterprise zone into the GIS system online in the near future.
[By NILA SMITH]
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