La Grange Landlord Blames Vacancy On Parking Problem

LA GRANGE, IL – La Grange officials on Monday heard more criticism of the downtown parking system, with a landlord blaming it for a vacancy.

Brian Henkel owns a condo at 34 S. Sixth Ave., which he has owned for 24 years. For the last dozen years, he has rented it out.

Subscribe

Like other buildings in that area, it lacks assigned parking.

"Across 24 years and many tenants, obtaining a permit has never been an issue until now," Henkel said at a Village Board meeting. "We recently listed our property for sale, and we were shocked to learn that new permits are being waitlisted."

In the last couple of weeks, he said, three prospective tenants walked away from a deal, citing the inability to get a parking permit.

He said the situation drove him to reduce the price. That artificially depresses surrounding home values, he said.

"When properties like ours sit vacant, La Grange misses out on new residents dining in our restaurants and supporting local businesses," Henkel said.

He urged officials to look into whether the village was giving a disproportionate number of commuter permits. He also asked them to establish a system where residents at eligible addresses can get permits immediately.

"Otherwise, the unintentional message we are sending is that if you own a car, you are not welcome as a new resident in downtown La Grange," Henkel said.

In response, Village President Mark Kuchler revealed that he had been renting out a condo for three decades in the next-door building. He said the tenants have never had problems getting parking permits, at least for overnight spots.

Charity Jones, the village's community development director, said overnight spots are available, but 24-hour ones are on a waitlist.

"Although the tenants for this unit have reportedly not had issues in finding parking, we do have residents in the area who have been on a waitlist waiting for parking for years sometimes," she said.

With the new online system, Jones said, the village can monitor usage of parking lots to see if opportunities exist to adjust permit availability.

A couple of weeks ago, a woman told the Village Board that she had struggled recently to get parking. She said she might not have rented her apartment had she known about the parking difficulties.