Willow Springs, LTHS Lock Horns On Sale

WILLOW SPRINGS, IL – Willow Springs is resisting the idea of full industrial zoning for a 70-acre property that Lyons Township High School is trying to sell.

And village officials say their school counterparts have refused to meet with them about the sale. The wooded land is southwest of 79th Street and Willow Springs Road.

In a public letter Monday, Village President Melissa Neddermeyer noted the zoning for the land excludes industrial development. Neighbors have objected to such development.

At its Dec. 19 meeting, the school board voted to put the property up for bid, with a minimum price of $55 million. Last Wednesday, two industrial developers submitted bids, with one, Bridge Industrial, meeting the minimum.

In the letter, Neddermeyer said the school did not reach out to the village before its Dec. 19 decision.

Two times, she said, the village, along with Pleasantdale Park District and Pleasantdale School District 107, requested meetings with the school to discuss the property. But the school refused, she said.

In a statement to Patch, the school's spokeswoman, Mary Lin Muscolino, said the school has been intentional about communicating with all involved parties about the potential sale. That includes informing Neddermeyer on Nov. 30 about the plan to sell, she said.

"The (school) and board have not refused to meet with village officials," Muscolino said. "Rather, we proposed an alternative date to the one proposed by the Village so that we could complete our legal review of the bids received and discuss additional details of the property sale."

In an email to Patch, Village Administrator Ryan Grace said the property in question is zoned for housing and businesses. The business component is designated B-1, which is mainly for retail.

"This type of development would allow residents already living in the area to not be burdened with additional truck traffic congestion, excessive noise, light pollution, and other potential hazards of industrial use," Grace said.

He said the elected Village Board's priority is for the residents. Any development on the property, he said, would increase the village's tax base because a public entity now owns it, meaning the village gets no tax income now.

"The board understands that an industrial usage has the potential to increase village funding. However, that type of development is not in the best interest of our existing residents," Grace said. "We look forward to working with (the school) to ensure that a future development on this site will enhance our community."

Grace said the village would take all proposals seriously and work with developers, "but a full industrial development in our residential neighborhood is not a viable option."

The school's property is surrounded by a UPS facility, Pleasantdale Elementary School, a country club and single-family housing.

School officials said they want to use the proceeds from the sale to improve school buildings.

The land, which was purchased in two phases in the 1950s and 1960s, was acquired during a time of quickly rising enrollment. The school had hoped the property would be used for another campus.

Over the last four decades, though, enrollment has stabilized.