Three controversial billboards in Orland Hills continue to be a controversial subject, one that drew about 35 people to the Village Board meeting this week.
Several residents carried letters Wednesday night they had received on village stationery, addressed to “Dear Neighbor” and signed by Mayor Kyle Hastings. The letter defends the decision to allow the billboards on part of 11.5 acres at 171st Street and La Grange Road annexed by Orland Hills.
That property subsequently was also annexed by Tinley Park, and the two villages are in court over the matter.
The letters were received after fliers attacking the billboards were distributed in the village.
Resident Dan Biallas had five questions but was told by Hastings that spectators were allowed only one each. Biallas then asked the mayor about previously rumored plans for an off-track betting parlor on the disputed land, but he didn’t get an answer.
Resident Marge Dworak, a building department employee, asked board members how the billboards hurt the village, adding, “They don’t bother me.”
Trustee Don Bigos, one of two trustees who voted against the signs, said they will hurt property values.
“People have had realty companies come to their home and told how their property values will decrease,” Bigos told Dworak, who said her background in real estate led her to question that assessment.
That resulted in a heated discussion between Biallas and Dworak, with other audience members deriding revenue projections related to the billboards.
“If you look out my bedroom window, you can clearly see those billboards,” Biallas said.
Hastings’ letter states that Orland Hills allowed the billboards in order to attract developer Doug Engberg and an expected shopping complex.
The letter says Orland Hills will reap “at least $250,000 each year from commercial property tax revenue, sales tax revenue and special permit fees the mall will generate. Given the interest in the property from national retailers and franchisees, this 11.5-acre development could generate as much as $500,000 for us each year.”
The letter also states the signs are the only billboards in Orland Hills but does not mention two others also recently approved along 159th Street.