The proposed draft of the Redevelopment Plan, the highlights of which are a parking garage and a community center, has been released and calls for a $20,000,000 TIF over 23 years. This week we will be voting on a $4,000,000 pedestrian tunnel. With a price tag of $20 million, we should also have the right to tell the Village whether or not we approve of the creation of this TIF district.

What can you do?

• Attend the Thursday, November 9th meeting at Village Hall at 7pm. There, village commissions, school districts and Riverside Township will be briefed on the TIF issue. Residents are encouraged to attend this meeting.
• Fill out the Interested Parties Form
• Read the TOD.
• Read the Redevelopment Plan.
• Review past Landmark editorials at www.rblandmark.com
• Share the TIF Facts Flyer with friends and neighbors. This will affect Riverside for generations to come.

I am a 10 year resident of Riverside with 2 kids at Central School and another 1.5 years away from Central. I also happen to be a city planner with experience in planning for retail development and with TIF Districts for the City of Indianapolis, Village of Lombard, and Village of Burr Ridge. I would like to share some of my thoughts on TIF Districts and on plans for downtown Riverside:

§      A TIF is simply a funding mechanism. In and of itself, it is not good or bad.

§      All TIF’s require a “Redevelopment Plan”. That is the document you want to review to assess the TIF. It is my understanding that the TIF redevelopment plan for Riverside will reflect the adopted Transit Oriented Design (TOD) Plan. There is no way to assess the merits of the TIF without considering the merits of the TOD plan and the redevelopment plan. If the redevelopment plan is good, TIF is good for all including the school districts. If the redevelopment plan is bad, the TIF is bad for the schools and the taxpayers.

§      The Redevelopment plan has to be filed with the State of Illinois before TIF can be enacted.

§      In many TIF’s the other taxing bodies, particularly the school districts, participate in the preparation and implementation of the TIF.

§      In terms of taxes and financial implications, the school boards need to voice their opinion of the TIF. It is absolutely critical that our school boards are in close contact with the Village and are allowed to act as partners in the consideration of the TIF District. After a TIF is created, State law requires the creation of a TIF Board to oversee the TIF revenues and that Board must include representatives from the school districts and other local taxing bodies.

§      In terms of land use, density, etc, these are completely separate issues from TIF. If the proposed development plan is one that we as a community do not like, we need to let our elected representatives know that. The land use plan stands apart from TIF. Even if TIF was not the chosen method to finance the plan, other means to implement the plan could be pursued and we would have the same issue with the land use plan.

§      Although I was not involved with the preparation of the TOD Plan, I have reviewed the plan and I have some serious concerns. Most importantly, the plan seems to be lacking in its justifications. That is to say, the plan recommends the development of mixed use buildings with retail on the first floor and condominiums above but does not provide any verification that the downtown Riverside market could support new retail. I am also concerned about certain aspects of the plan. In particular, I question the recommendation for a community center and a parking deck. I do not see the need for these expensive facilities and the plan does not make a case for these facilities. I would also like to see more emphasis on the need to connect the two main retail streets – Quincy and Burlington Streets – with a pedestrian or vehicular connection across the tracks in the vicinity of the post office/arts center. I would consider this connection critical to creating a unified downtown Riverside and thus, creating a better retail and pedestrian environment.

§      Having raised all of these questions and concerns, I do know that one of the primary reasons our property taxes are so high has a lot to do with the lack of revenues received by the Village of Riverside. In Burr Ridge, where I currently work, the municipal portion of the property tax bill is about 2% of the total tax bill with about 65% going to the schools. Burr Ridge receives only about 11% of its funding from property taxes. I am guessing that property taxes are a much higher percentage of the Riverside budget. The Village of Riverside portion of the tax bill is high because Riverside does not have a diversity of revenue sources including retail and industrial wholesalers. Until the Village finds a way to balance its revenue sources, our municipal property taxes will continue to be high and most likely continue to rise.

All of that being said, I think the Village needs to revisit the TOD plan before any further consideration of the TIF. TIF is an extreme measure for a Village the size of Riverside. Depending on the quality of the redevelopment plan, it could be the worst thing or the best thing that has happened in Riverside since Olmstead and Vaux did their little planning project.

Doug Pollock, AICP
dpollock@burr-ridge.gov

We have received so many emails on this issue in the last few days and are pleased that the debate has begun. The TIF is something that will affect all Riversiders, one way or another, good or bad. It is imperative that we all have a dialogue open. Each resident of the Village has to know soon where they stand on this issue. Please consider sharing your opinion with our elected officials as creating a TIF district does not require a voter referendum but instead a majority vote by village trustees.

Since we all seem eager to learn more, we look forward to hearing from our Village Officials when the next phase of the TIF process (Development Study) is available & when the next informational sessions for the public concerning the TIF are scheduled.

We attached the flyer again for your convenience. We removed the example of the Swim Club as private property that could be taken by eminent domain. We are sorry if there was any confusion. It was meant to be an example. ANY private property within the TIF district could be acquired with TIF funds.

Thanks so much to everyone for your consideration in this matter.

Looking forward to the conversation continuing!

Kim & Holly

I am not a subject matter expert, but offer some input for consideration.

When I lived in Oak Park from 1988 to 1999 I paid relatively high real estate taxes due to the multiple failed attempts to create commercial tax revenue from the Special Business Tax District they created on Lake Street. I believe this was “pre TIF”, so the efforts were localized.

The net effect of shutting down Lake street, creating a mall, failing, tearing out the mall and re-opening Lake street resulted in 10+ years of NO tax revenue from the commercial taxing district and the burden fell on the homeowner for supporting the schools and village infrastructure with ever increasing Real Estate taxes.

To gamble for 23 years with a locked in tax base seems a bad plan. We have momentum today without entering into this TIF strategy, and I can’t imagine why the Riverside Swim Club and Swan Pond would EVER be part of this plan.

Alan McCarter

Concerned Citizens for Riverside

A Coalition of School Parents, Riverside First members,
Frederick Law Olmsted Society members, and Village Residents

The Village of Riverside is in the process of establishing a TIF District
(Tax Increment Financing)

• This TIF, to be located in our downtown business district area, will divert future tax revenue growth AWAY FROM THE SCHOOLS (as well as all taxing bodies except the Village) to subsidize private development in the TIF area, for up to 23 YEARS.
• A TIF financially enables the Village to use their eminent domain powers. Private property in the TIF district can be purchased by the Village & then sold to a developer.
• The TIF will encourage and facilitate high-density development. This may mean increased class sizes or the need for new classrooms, as well as increased traffic congestion.
• A TIF may encroach upon green spaces in our Village. The integrity of natural areas in the TIF district, such as may be impaired.
• Downtown Riverside is already experiencing massive re-development. There is no need for Riverside taxpayers to subsidize private developers. And, if the TIF fails, Riverside residents WILL PAY HIGHER TAXES.

Please inform yourself about TIF districts at www.ncbg.org/tifs/tifs.htm.

For more information or to be added to the Concerned Citizens of Riverside e-list, please contact either Kim Jacobs or Holly Machina using our contact form.