Burr Ridge creating new business district and special tax
Superintendent Dave Palzet said he supported the Burr Ridge business district as it could end up raising money for the Pleasantville School District. (Jesse Wright / Pioneer Press)
Burr Ridge will create a new business district with a special business tax.
The board of trustees voted unanimously on Monday to approve the measure they’ve discussed for months. The business district will include the Village Center, the County Line shopping center, a Marriott hotel and some undeveloped property. The district will include a 1% tax on whatever is purchased and that money will be spent to develop and improve the area.
Business and local leaders attended Monday’s meeting and everyone present approved the idea.
Pleasantville Superintendent Dave Palzet said the project could help his school district.
“In conversation with some of the staff of Burr Ridge, I understand this proposal would develop the downtown area and create some additional revenue for the school district but the burden would be minimal,” he said. “The proposal, as I see it, has that magic balance.”
Mayor Gary Grasso later explained that if the money is used to improve the downtown area then property values should rise — along with property taxes — and so anything funded through property taxes, like the school districts, should benefit tangentially.
However, Grasso was very clear the measure itself is not a property tax.
“It’s not a property tax, it’s a sales and use tax in that area,” he said.
Matt Russian, the head of the Pleasant Dale Park District, voiced support for the plan for reasons similar to Palzet.
Even business leaders voiced support. Ramzi Hassan, the president of Edwards Realty, the company which owns the Village Center, said the tax plan would be a win for the area.
“What this will be doing is bringing more money to Burr Ridge and to the people of Burr Ridge to beautify the area,” Hassan said.
Ramzi Hassan addresses the Burr Ridge Village Board in support of the business district. (Jesse Wright / Pioneer Press)
Grasso asked Hassan how he thought the money should be used to improve the Village Center, and Hasan said modernizing the space would be an improvement. Hasan’s company bought the center two years ago and he said the property needs work — especially in its marketing.
“That’s the number one complaint we have had from people, we never know the Village Center was here,” he said.
Besides that, he said if additional improvements are made to nearby properties, it would help the whole area.
“It can reach its maximum potential by having complementary features next to it,” Hassan told the board.
Village administrator Evan Walter said he hadn’t received any public commentary from anyone in Burr Ridge on the issue, though trustee Tony Sciappa said he’s had private conversations with residents who support the business district.
“I’ve experienced nothing but positive conversations about the district,” Sciappa said. “It will move us forward.”
Trustee Guy Franzese said he’d initially been wary to raise sales taxes, though he said he was persuaded to support the measure Monday.
“They did not think it will impact their sales,” the mayor said, regarding the business owners he’s talked to. “It’s incremental.”
Walter told the board that, should the state approve the business district, the increased taxes would begin in the new year, though the village would not see any revenue until April.
This article originally appeared on ChicagoTribune.com