Board willing to try collaborative parkland method
CHAMPAIGN – Champaign parks officials and local developers apparently will continue to agree to disagree about a method to provide new park space in the city's growth areas.
A joint meeting Wednesday night between the Champaign City Council and the park district board highlighted the continuing rift between the park board, which wants a mandatory land dedication law for residential developments, and developers, who favor what has been termed a "mandatory collaboration."
As proposed, it would require a developer and the park district to agree to a land donation or a cash grant before a subdivision development went to the city government for an annexation agreement.
Champaign is short of park land, according to park district Executive Director Bobbie Herakovich. Among Illinois communities, she said, the average is 11.3 acres per 1,000 population. Champaign has 8.5 acres per 1,000. And many recent developments in the city have added little or no park land.
Plus, she said, the city can't afford to buy park land.
But two developers who attended the Wednesday meeting at the Virginia Theatre supported trying the mandatory collaboration idea.
"The collaborative approach will work," said Shawn Luesse, director of development for the Champaign-based Devonshire Group, "and I believe the development community will embrace it. What they won't embrace is mandatory dedication."
He cited the example of the Applewood Valley subdivision in south Champaign where Hallbeck Homes Inc. agreed to donate about 2.5 acres out of what is now a 20-acre development.
"I think we can do it on a collaborative basis. I think it worked well at Applewood," he said. "I think we need to try it for a while."
Mike Martin, director of residential real estate for the Urbana-based Atkins Group, said developers would be willing to set aside land for parks.
"I think you're going to get some nice parks in the future, whether you tell us to or not," he told the park board and city council members. "But if you force us into building big regional parks, and that raises the prices so much that we can't sell, well, that's another story."
Park board members indicated they were willing to try the collaborative approach, but were skeptical.
"This is what the task force said," said past park board president Barbara Kuhl, a strong supporter of mandatory land dedication. "We were at an impasse. We've got to find a way of getting more park land in Champaign. We said what can we do to move a little bit forward? So, we'll see what happens with this."
But she said mandatory land dedication, already required in 69 Illinois communities, is preferable.
"Over time, other developers have come into this community, particularly developers from the Bloomington-Normal area. They have mandatory dedication there. Do they have a stake in the quality of life here? Probably not, unless you require them to. Yes, the Atkins Group has been generous. But if you're coming from Bloomington-Normal to do one development here, are you going to be as generous?
"Mandatory land dedication would level the playing field. Everybody would have to do it."
City council members were divided on the issue, and indicated they were uncomfortable with the notion of having the city require a land donation before approval of an annexation agreement.
"I have concerns about the city being the 100-pound gorilla and trying to make sure that everyone plays nice," said council member Deb Feinen.
Mayor Jerry Schweighart agreed, even down to the analogy. "I like the idea of collaboration between the park district and developers, but I don't like the idea of us standing back there as the big gorilla."
After the meeting, city officials said they'll continue to try to get the park district and developers to work toward agreement.
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