By Ed Lowe
Senior Writer
The Hearing held on Friday, Nov. 4, by the City's Finance Committee apparently approved the proposed Lincoln Avenue Special Service Area. This proposal, promulgated by the Lincoln Park Chamber of Commerce (LPCC), would raise local taxes by $249,250 annually and would provide certain services including snow removal, litter cleanup, and street beautification. The fund would be administered by LPCC which would receive an annual fee of $24,000 for the management of the program.
A Special Service Area is a device to provide specific localized taxation on real estate within defined boundaries. The funds raised by the increased real estate tax are earmarked for certain budgeted improvements. One of the problems opponents point out is that residential property owners are taxed at the same rate as commercial property owners within the SSA. The money raised by the SSA tax is, however, designed primarily to benefit the commercial owners. Street beautification, snow removal, business district promotion and the addition of benches and hanging flower baskets are examples of what an SSA can spend its funds on. Residential owners object because the improved commercial climate increases traffic in the neighborhood and sometimes causes a shortage of parking spaces.
The area involved is along Lincoln Ave. between Webster and Diversey avenues. According to a vocal critic of the project, Peter Zelchenko, who attended the meeting, "It was a mock process. I'm told it passed, but there was no vote. The Wrightwood Neighbors Association attended the meeting and at first seemed to favor the idea, provided that the ordinance would do a better job of balancing the cost of this SSA between residential and commercial property owners. After I explained more about the proposal to them, they said that they would support the SSA, but not as it was currently written."
According to Zelchenko, the only alderman attending the hearing was Ald. Burton Natarus (42nd). No vote was taken at the hearing. Zelchenko continued, "I'm told that it still needs an enabling ordinance to be passed by the entire City Council. Ald. Vi Daley was at the hearing and agreed to another meeting to work out a rebalancing of the SSA between the residential and commercial property owners. According to my analysis, only about 30 percent of the properties involved are commercial, although figures presented to the city by LPCC's consultant Brad Leibov stated that 84 percent of the properties were commercial."
According to Barbara Guttmann, spokesperson for Ald. Vi Daley (43rd), the SSA has been added to a City Council Finance Committee proposal and will be submitted to the entire City Council for its approval. The SSA proposal cannot, according to Guttmann, be separated from the entire Finance Committee ordinance without special action being taken by either the entire Council or the Aldermen whose ward is most affected. |
