TIF referendum, workshops on tap for Riverside
Could delay process for months
http://rblandmark.com/main.asp?SectionID=1&SubSectionID=1&ArticleID=2168&TM=49785.05
Their editorial was interesting too.
What does time buy?
The Landmark View
http://rblandmark.com/main.asp?Search=1&ArticleID=2153&SectionID=3&SubSectionID=&S=1
It would be nice if the press reported the referendum properly. The Village Board has no involvement in the referendum. It is a citizen initiative that we are entitled to pursue. This article and others are wrtitten to make it look as if the Board has put topic to referendum.
The press and members of the board state that if voter turnout is low, the results are invalid. Carrying that logic forward, does that also invalidate the election results from past years when boards were elected with under a 20% voter turnout?
Terry
I think the press is referring to the Board's decision to include their own advisory referendum questions on the April ballot. The Board made this decision at the January 8th COW meeting.
Terry has a valid point about the election results.
But I did have some questions on the village's attempt to put referenda question(s) on the ballot:
I did hear the Village President at the 1-8 meeting ask the Board to come with referenda questions.
1) does the village administration need to acquire valid signatures from at least 10 pct of the votes cast in the last gubernatorial election as is required by the public?
2) if not, what are the rules that the village must abide by in posing referenda questions? Are there limits to the number of questions, for example? Do they have to post the questions first in a public forum such as the local papers? does the village board need to vote by a majority resolution on the questions?
3) by when do they need to get the questions articulated?
4) what are the questions that the VB is thinking of?
thanks for any answers
miket
Questions that need to be considered given the true complexity of the TIF and the circumstances driving the need behind the TIF. The TIF is not a black and white issue and cannot be answered with one yes or no question.
The TIF plan and the TOD study are siamese twins, and both are wrong for Riverside. Look to Harlem for your salvation.
The board made the decision to include referendum questions BECAUSE of the citizen initiative. Before that, they repeatedly said they would not because "they didn't have to." Yes, that Landmark article was absurd, but then it is a rag.
If our referendum got 796 votes, that would be more than Smith got elected with.
I'm not sure it is the board that decides the referendum questions. Perhaps those working on it, or those who know them, can say.
Spatny, what can we do with Harlem. We would have to tear down a lot of houses, no? Although judging from the police reports, this could reduce our costs tremendously.
Catherine, while there are a lot of residences on Harlem, there are lots of areas there that are business now. The 7-11 at 26th, Sara Lee, Cleaners, Cork and the mini-mall there, gas station south of Longcommon, then those couple blocks from about Addison to the tracks (Natural Health place, garage, Wing Wah, florist or Secrets [whatever it is now] then that whole block south to Burlingon including the parking lot at the SW corner of Burlington and Harlem. (Go west a block on Burlington too, to capture those businesses there: the building on the south side of Burlington, just west of Harlem, is for sale now, and empty I think, and then there's a parking lot, and a doctors office I think. The north side of Burlington there has the bank, then a small building where the coffee shop used to be.)
Then a parking lot, Texor(?) Petroleum, Minuteman, a mixed use building, some sort of doctor's office, Riverside Restaurant, then skip down to White Fence Farm and then skip to the medical building on the corner of Ogden and Harlem.
I'd say the number of commercial and residential properties on Harlem is similar to what has already been circled as the proposed TIF district downtown. I don't know about zoning or the actual number of properties in either case, but there is a lot more commercial space on Harlem than one realizes.
OK, thanks. Well, it seems there are plenty of businesses there and more likely to follow. We don't need any TIF funds there; I should think the free market will take care of Harlem. Do they need parking?
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