Park District officials said last week they will consider a request by 87 property owners to deannex from the district and join the Downers Grove Park District.
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The petitioners, who own property within Downers Grove corporate limits, said they want to join the Downers Grove district so they can participate more fully in village activities and avoid paying out-of-district fees to their hometown district.
All of the owners live in an area that was forcibly annexed by the Westmont Park District in 1984. One year later, the Westmont Park Board rejected a petition from those property owners asking to deannex from the district.
In 1989, Downers Grove annexed the 139 properties, bounded by Ogden and Maple Avenues and Roslyn and Cumnor Roads.
“We live in Downers Grove, and we should belong to its Park District,” said Joan Konecny, the Downers Grove activist who spearheaded the petition drive. “This is our attempt to rectify that.”
Children who live in Downers Grove but are served by the Westmont Park District are at the greatest disadvantage, Konecny said, because they must wait until Downers Grove Park District residents are registered for programs before they can register. Even then, they must pay out-of-district fees to participate.
Westmont Park District officials said they will study the petition during a required 30-day period. If they ascertain that all the petition signers are property owners, and if at least half the property owners agree, the Park Board could vote on deannexation at its March 10 meeting, said Kenneth Kubiesa, Park Board attorney.