Jury to decide land dispute

By Marni Pyke Daily Herald Staff Writer
Posted Wednesday, August 11, 2004


The DuPage County Forest Preserve District wants a jury to decide how much a bitterly contested property in Wayne is worth.

District leaders announced Tuesday they were abandoning efforts to reach an out-of-court settlement for 370 acres owned by the Oliver-Hoffmann Corp.

"It was quite evident negotiations were not going anywhere," board President Dewey Pierotti said. "Trying to get a good settlement was impossible."

The Hoffmann saga goes back to 1998 when the forest preserve filed a condemnation lawsuit to acquire 200 acres in far northwest DuPage. In 2001, the district went to court to obtain the remainder of the Hoffmann site.

Landowner Camille Hoffmann also sued the district and the village of Wayne for trying to take the property. The Oliver-Hoffmann Corp. wants to build homes on the land.

Attorney Henry Vess, who represents the Hoffmann family said his clients did not want to comment at this time. But Pierotti said he was confident "the judge and jury will be able to resolve all the issues hanging out there."

Numerous Wayne residents who have lobbied the forest preserve to keep houses off the land applauded the news.

"I think it's a splendid effort on the forest preserve's part to conserve some of the last open space in DuPage County," said Robert Gault of Wayne.

The property, near Army Trail and Powis roads, is sandwiched between two historic districts in Wayne. It once was home to a farm featured in the 1893 Chicago World's Fair where Percheron horses were bred. The site contains valuable wetlands, officials said.

Sources said the district's original offer was around $25,000 an acre while the property owner sought thousands more.

At one point this year, district officials thought they couldn't afford to buy the entire 370 acres. But after identifying new sources of funds, they decided to proceed, Pierotti said.

The additional revenues could provide money that the district could borrow without having to go to the voters. As old loans are retired, agencies like park districts and forest preserves can extend debt without having to raise tax rates. However, such non-referendum bonds carry higher interest rates than those which must be voted on.

The district used that financing method when it bought the St. James Farm property near Warrenville.

Commissioner Roger Kotecki of Carol Stream, who is an attorney, contends the case will likely take years to decide.

That means the district could use state grants or revenues from improved interest rates on investments to fund the Hoffmann purchase, rather than non-referendum bonds, he noted.