LINDENHURST, IL - Village officials will revise a state-mandated affordable-housing plan, taking 2.5 acres on Route 45 out of the plan because village officials believe it is better suited to commercial development. Adopted two years ago, the Village Board had designated the site at Heritage Park on Route 45 at Country Place for multi-family affordable housing to be built by Pulte Homes. "We have reviewed the best use for that parcel, and considering it is adjacent to other commercial sites and it fronts Route 45, we believe it is best suited for commercial, rather than residential, development," said Mayor Susan Lahr. "It doesn't make sense to have residential development like this on a busy road right in the middle of a commercial district."
Pulte Homes, owner of the property, doesn't build commercial developments. The developer is donating the property to the village to remove it from any obligation to develop affordable housing, Lahr said. "We will work with the state's affordable-housing group to find another site suitable for affordable housing."
In 2007, the Village Board adopted an affordable-housing plan, setting aside 15 percent of existing and future development to meet the state's affordable-housing requirement. The Pulte project was a big part of the plan, but now village officials want to integrate affordable housing throughout Lindenhurst's residential areas. "We don't have to locate new affordable housing in a specific area," said Lahr. "We just need to look at creative ways to provide affordable housing and submit a revised plan to the state."
When village officials adopted the plan, it was to meet the requirements of the Affordable Housing Planning and Appeal Act, which requires every municipality to have at least 10 percent of housing considered affordable based on a state-approved formula. Lindenhurst was one of 49 municipalities in the state that did not meet the required number of housing units, falling 28 units short. It was expected that by 2010 the village would fall short by 150 units, and the Pulte proposal to build affordable, multi-family housing on Route 45 at Heritage Park was seen as a remedy.
The state act was designed to address a shortage of housing that is "affordable to people who are vital to local economies and who provide critical community services," says the introduction to the statute. "Many teachers, police officers, nurses, firefighters and other key employees in local jobs cannot afford to live in communities where they work. "Furthermore, seniors are often priced out of the communities in which they have spent their lives, and young families cannot afford to return to the communities where they grew up to raise their children. Home prices continue to outpace incomes throughout the Chicago area."
The law doesn't require that municipalities change their laws or ordinances to meet the requirements, especially pertinent to those that have very little available land. "Communities with little available land could choose the option of 15 percent of all new development and redevelopment as a set aside for affordable housing," according to the procedural guidelines of the Act.
"The law simply provides that as a community continues to grow or redevelop, it should work to include some moderately priced housing, making it possible for those who work in and serve the community to afford to live there, too." Lindenhurst chose the 15 percent option.
Source: SuburbanChicagoNews.com