Elmhurst Panel Opines On Sidewalk Mandate

ELMHURST, IL – An Elmhurst City Council committee is opposed to requiring homebuilders to install sidewalks in areas without them.

Instead, it favors mandating such builders to pay into a city sidewalk account. That way, the committee said, the city could strategically decide where to build sidewalks.

The city said 2,200 homes in Elmhurst do not have sidewalks. Many of them are on the city's northeast side.

Over the last five years, an average of 10 new homes have been built annually in neighborhoods without sidewalks.

Some aldermen believed a requirement to install sidewalks in such areas would gradually increase the city's network.

However, members of the city's Development, Planning and Zoning Committee said such a policy could be problematic.

Members Marti Deuter, Jennifer Veremis and Tina Park said it would be far more efficient to install sidewalks a block at a time, rather than by house.

They also noted another city committee is considering adding a few sidewalks in northeast Elmhurst on one side of the street. It would not be known ahead of time which side the city may target in the future, the committee reasoned.

The committee, though, said builders of homes in areas lacking sidewalks should pay a fee into the sidewalk fund.

The city estimated the cost of a sidewalk would be between $110 and $188 per linear foot. It said the typical price tag is typically at the low end, which is $5,500 for a 50-foot lot.

With a $5,500 required fee, the city could generate $55,000 a year with 10 houses built, according to the committee's memo. The typical long side of a block in northeast Elmhurst would cost $69,000, with the short side costing $33,000.

The money, the committee said, should not be used for maintenance of existing sidewalks.

"It should be noted that the existing policy that requires the construction of a new sidewalk when a lot connects into an existing sidewalk network will not change," the committee said. "Homes subject to this policy will not be required to pay a sidewalk fee."

The City Council plans to vote on the committee's proposal Monday. It is asked to direct the city attorney to draft the policy.