Glenview Park District Annexes 2 Unincorporated Areas

GLENVIEW, IL — The Board of Commissioners of the Glenview Park District approved the annexation of more than 200 homes into the park district over objections from residents. Commissioners voted 5-2 at their Sept. 20 meeting to add the two areas of unincorporated areas Northfield Township near west Glenview to the district, according to the Glenview Journal. The district has the ability to annex land on its borders, adding a share of park district levy to property tax bills and providing residents discounted rates for the use of park district facilities. The changes will take effect next year and show up on property tax bills in 2020, according to the district.

The Glenview Park District includes all of the village and parts of Niles, Northbrook, Northfield, Skokie and adjacent portions of unincorporated Cook County. The two newly added areas are north of Lake Avenue were surrounded by park district territory. One is west of Landwehr Road, the other east of Milwaukee Avenue. District staff noted the areas are a short walk from The Grove, which is free and does not collect non-resident fees.

Commissioners Jennifer Roberts and Dave Tosh opposed the annexation, while commissioners William Casey, Robert Patton, Daniel Peterson, Board Vice President Angie Katsamakis and President Dave Dillon all supported the move, according to the Journal.

The involuntary annexation affects 214 homes, Pioneer Press reported. Of the 29 people who communicated with district staff regarding the annexation, 26 affected residents opposed the annexation and three supported it. All of the 10 residents who attended the board meeting opposed the move.

A homeowner in the park district with a property valued at $500,000 would pay a total of $84 in property taxes to the district under the most recently proposed levy. According to the Glenview Journal, a final levy will be set in November following the Oct. 25 meeting of the park district board.

Commissioners who voted in favor of annexation described the decision as a matter of fairness, according to Glenview Announcements, since the property owners in the unincorporated islands located close to various park district facilities were essentially freeloading off the rest of taxpayers in the district. Explaining her "no" vote, Roberts said she was troubled by the lack of recourse for homeowners who may have purchased lands in unincorporated areas for strategic reasons. She said the vicinity of the homes to park district facilities is an insufficient justification for involuntary annexation, even if it is technically allowed under state law.

"There is no recourse, which has bothered me since we first talked about it,” Roberts said, according to Pioneer Press. “It’s legal, but is it community?”