Forest land buy on hold until 2006

By Marni Pyke Daily Herald Staff Writer
Posted Friday, January 07, 2005


Think 2006, not this year, about whether you might want to increase your taxes to buy more open space.

A majority of DuPage County Forest Preserve District commissioners said Thursday they opposed holding an April 5 referendum, saying there wasn't enough time to organize their efforts.

Instead, they'll focus on crafting a land acquisition plan in time for the March 21, 2006, primary election.

The deadline to decide on holding an April referendum is Jan. 31. Commissioner Roger Kotecki cast the sole vote against the move.

Kotecki, who advocates buying up land along waterways, said property vulnerable to development could disappear and get more expensive.

"The interest rates alone will make it more painful," Kotecki said. "I think people ought to have a choice now."

But others argued that the district could use its powers to save threatened sites from builders in the interim and that voters wouldn't buy raising taxes without a detailed plan.

"I don't want this to be interpreted as a moratorium on land acquisition," Forest Preserve board President Dewey Pierotti said. "We just don't feel ready to do it now."

At one point, it looked like a majority of commissioners favored getting The Conservation Foundation, a multi-county environmental organization, to poll voters on their response to an April 5 referendum.

But comments by district Executive Director Brent Manning that more time was needed to prepare turned the tide the other way.

"We must have a comprehensive plan and we need a (long-term) fiscal strategy," Manning said. "We need to ensure plans are ready for public review and assessment; the public needs to look at this and say, 'It's good.'"

Conservation Foundation Executive Director Brook McDonald also advised commissioners to hold back, saying they needed to do polls and mount a proper campaign.

The foundation is helping Kane and Will counties with referendum proposals, but officials there started months ago, he said.

"I'm the last person in the world to say, 'Be cautious about protecting open space,'æ" McDonald said.

"I'd hate to throw something together at the last minute and have it not go well. If it fails, it's going to hurt. It's going to take a long time before you can go back to the voters and ask for more."

That still didn't convince Kotecki, who argued that April 5 is an optimum time for a vote, compared to the March 21 primary, and that the district needs to fulfill its maximum potential.

"This is a great vision," he said. "This will benefit us today. This will benefit people for centuries to come to retreat to a place away from increasing urbanization."

Commissioner Gwen Henry of Wheaton said waiting until next year was prudent.

"We will move forward to secure property, we'll be a more active partner with the Conservation Foundation, we'll move to solidify our plan," Henry said. "We won't wait until November or December to get our information together."