Breaking a decades-old policy, trustees have agreed to allow a property owner to secede from the village and change his address from Westmont to Downers Grove.
Village Board members unanimously voted last week to allow Ed Page of E&J Builders to deannex his 2 1/2 acres near Naperville Street and Roslyn Avenue so he can have a continuous piece of property in Downers Grove.
Page has repeatedly proposed a variety of single-family homes, townhouses and estate lots for the property over the last three years. Village officials have repeatedly turned him down because they said any large development would create a drainage problem.
The property, originally slated for roads that never materialized, has been subdivided several times. Portions lie within Westmont, Downers Grove and unincorporated Du Page County.
Westmont has never allowed property owners to deannex because it would deplete property-tax revenues.
But Page’s plan to put his lot under the auspices of one municipality “makes more sense than having it sprinkled over three jurisdictions,” said trustee James Addington. “And basically, under our codes, this property is unbuildable. We wouldn’t normally do this, but if we don’t, that property sits vacant. Why not put this thing under one umbrella?”
The village’s financial loss won’t be steep, only about $110 a year in property taxes, according to Robert Gleason, community development director. Page will pay for the deannexation costs.
Once Downers Grove officials agree to the plan and both villages redraw their boundary lines, Page said he intends to build single-family estates residences.