Homer Township officials want to sell two farms that were bought as part of the township’s open space initiative to help fund an event center, but some residents say they want to fight to preserve the open land.
Township Supervisor Steve Balich said the township could make about $4 million from the sale of the Purdy and Paul farms. The Township Board voted 5-0 Monday to authorize the sales.
The Purdy Farm, an 86-acre open space site on the corner of Gougar and Bruce roads, was the first piece of property the township bought as part of its open space program. The Paul Farm is a 56-acre site on the south side of 151st Street between Gougar and Farrell roads.
Balich said the township can sell the land under Illinois state statues and the sale price the township would receive would far exceed the revenue they get leasing it back to farmers. The revenue from the sale of the properties could help fund an event center at the Trantina Farm in the 15700 block of West 151st Street, which is another property in the township’s open space program, Balich said.
An event center could offer accommodations for weddings, birthday parties, corporate events, family gatherings, block parties or festivals, Balich said. Groups such as the Boy Scouts and Girl Scouts or 4-H clubs could also use the center, he said.
Balich pointed to a successful advisory referendum in 2020 that asked if the township should pursue grants to build a multipurpose, pole barn style structure for educational, environmental, recreational and social community activities.
Former Township Supervisor Pam Meyers said township officials never intended to sell open space property to pay for a pole barn when they sought the 2020 advisory referendum proposal. They were looking an an energy-efficient pole barn for educational uses and preserve the Trantina Farm’s history and land.
“We wanted to always preserve the footprint of the site, not pave it over,” Meyers said.
Balich said he would not raise taxes to fund the center, and the township is in the early stages of working with a landscape architect to design the project. The event center could have parking for about 1,000 cars, Balich said.
“It will be a real welcoming, nice place,” he said.
Some residents, however, said they plan to fight the sale of the two farms, which goes against the spirit of the open space program residents approved via a referendum more than 20 years ago.
Homer Township voters in April 1999 voted to issue $8 million in bonds to buy areas across the township as part of its open space plan. About 65% of residents approved the bond sale, which eventually bought about 200 acres of land, including the Paul, Purdy, Welter and Trantina farms. Many of these areas continue to be farmed.
Township documents from 1998 said that open space may be leased back to farmers to promote conservation of soil. The open space program also would promote public outdoor recreation such as building a gazebo or a park for concerts, building bike and horse trails, developing a sports complex or expanding park land. Some land would remain in its natural state to preserve flora and fauna, historic sites or scientific interests, according to the documents.
The open space program is also used to promote orderly suburban development using the township’s land use plan as a guide.
Earlier this year, residents objected to the township’s plan to sell the Welter Farm property just west of Bell Road to a developer to build a senior citizen housing development. Balich said the Welter Farm land is zoned residential, while the Purdy and Paul farms are zoned for agriculture. The Welter Farm senior housing development was eventually dropped.
Resident Sharon Sweas, a former Homer Glen trustee, said residents move to Homer Township for its rural feel and because it does not look like other suburbs. Preserving open space is important to community, and one reason residents approved the referendum was to prevent overdevelopment.
“I’m totally against the sale of these properties,” she said. “Is it all about the money or is it about preserving the area for current and future residents? It should be preserved. I don’t want to lose the beauty of nature and everything that comes with it.”
The land does not belong to the township board, but the township residents, said former Homer Glen Trustee Margaret Sabo, who sat on the township’s open space committee for more than 20 years.
“This is terribly wrong,” Sabo said. “The residents paid for these properties. They voted to purchase the properties. It’s the people who own the properties.”
Sabo said the proposal to sell the two farms has not been transparent. The Township Board did not have public hearings or community workshops to gauge residents’ interest, she said.
Gail Snyder, who was appointed to the first Homer Glen Village Board after the area incorporated in 2001, said the sale would go against the voters’ intent.
Snyder, who helped pass the referendum and was secretary of the Homer Township Land Acquisition Committee for Open Space, said the committee carefully created a plan and a map of potential properties to buy to show to the public, which agreed with their plan. She said she anticipates a legal battle and wondered how much taxpayer money the township will spend fighting the open space plan voters once approved.
“The properties have not been sold yet,” Snyder said. “Residents need to speak out to their elected officials. They need to go to meetings to oppose it.”
Snyder said she is also concerned an event center on Trantina Farm, with room for 1,000 cars, will alter that property.
“The natural part of the property would be devastated,” she said.
Greg Fisch, who was a Homer Township trustee for 16 years, said residents passed the referendum to protect the land from development.
Balich said if the farms are bought, they would have to be rezoned. He said the county, township, Lockport and Homer Glen will ensure that the property would fit within the character of the area. The Township Board has a right to reject any bids submitted for the purchase of the farms.
“Somebody has an opportunity to buy it and make an offer to do something with it whether its farmland or whatever they want, but it has to be rezoned,” Balich said. “The (village) of Homer Glen, the city of Lockport, they can say no. The township planning commission can say no. Just because it’s sold doesn’t mean somebody gets to do whatever they want with it. They have to go through all the zoning, all the codes, all the rest of the stuff. … We don’t want to bring warehouses over here either.”
Michelle Mullins is a freelance reporter for the Daily Southtown.