Fees for developers in New Lenox are going up 5 percent, village trustees said last week.
The ordinance setting fees charged to developers are distributed to help the Park District, school districts, Fire Protection District, emergency dispatch center and the library, as well as the village, cope with the costs generated by residential development. Some of the revenue is also earmarked for the costs of transportation and the Village Hall.
The fees are based on the fair-market value of an acre of land, which was set at $64,662 last year.
Robin Traubenik, the village’s planning and development administrator, recommended assessing the standard 5 percent increase, raising the fair-market value to $67,895 an acre.
The per-acre value in New Lenox is in the middle range, Traubenik said, noting that both Naperville and Orland Park set their per-acre value at $82,000.
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Trustee Dave Smith was concerned about justifying the increase and avoiding litigation.
“The price we’re getting up there is starting to frighten me,” he said.
Rising costs worried Trustee Gary Mueller, too.
“I’m very concerned we’re reaching a point where people can’t afford to live here,” Mueller said.
The $67,895-per-acre market value is “far below what a developer can get” for the land, Trustee Dave Batson said.
The cost won’t deter growth, Batson said.
“If you don’t want to annex to New Lenox, don’t,” he said. “There’ll be another guy right behind you. We have 106 building permits already, so obviously it isn’t much of a deterrent.”