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player ready...Opponents of a proposed downtown taxation district have fewer than 60 days to collect enough signatures to block the plan before it takes effect in December.
A public hearing on the plan, which would expand an existing district and redistribute the revenue, brought out more opposition than expected last week, according to officials and supporters.
“If it’s not something they want, this is their opportunity to do something to stop it,” said Ald. Sue Klinkhamer, chairwoman of the City Council’s Downtown Committee and chief backer of the plan.
With an annual property tax rate of 90 cents per $100 of assessed value, the district should generate about $132,000 in revenue, according to city estimates. The revenue would be used to fund the operation of Friends of Downtown, a nonprofit organization promoting revitalization.
The proposed district, or special service area, includes commercial property between Fifth Avenue, the Chicago and North Western railway tracks, Fifth Street and Prairie Street.
A smaller existing special service area, centered on the near west side of downtown, already charges a tax of $1.30 to raise funds for parking improvements. The plan would reduce the rate in the first area to 40 cents, thus owners in both districts would see no net increase.
“A lot of people were under the misunderstanding that they would have additional taxes,” said Friends President Tom Castronovo. “What it means for them is that although they will be paying in the same amount, not all of it will be going for parking.”
Plan proponents used the hearing to explain what they said was another misunderstanding. Owner-occupied residential properties within the district would be exempt from the tax, while rental properties would still be subject to it.
The council is scheduled to create the district at its Dec. 6 meeting unless 51 percent or more of the property owners and voters sign petitions against the plan.