Preserving Public Land
Land Cash Donation Ordinances
In 1972, the City of Naperville passed an historic ordinance
that has served as a model for communities throughout
the state in the area of parks and recreation administration—the
Land Cash Donation Ordinance. This ordinance has its roots
in a visionary commitment to maintaining a high quality of life
for present and future residents through the preservation of open
space for public parks and schools. The most important aspect
of this ordinance is that its goals are met without raising taxes.
It places the responsibility on the developers who create the
need.
Naperville Revisited and Today by Michael Benard, CLP, and Ernest Nance, CLP The Land Cash Donation Ordinance was enacted "to provide for the dedication of park lands and school sites, or for the payment of the fees in lieu thereof. "The ordinance defines that any developer building within 1.5 miles of the city line and seeking to annex to the city, as a condition of being granted zoning approval, had to dedicate land (in amounts to be determined by formula) to the school district and to the park district for new school sites and parks. In cases in which the donation of land was unfeasible, a donation of cash in lieu of land would be required. The amount of park land to be dedicated was 5.5 acres for every 1,000 people expected to live in the development, or the equivalent in cash figures at a rate of $15,000 per acre, which was the fair market value of land at the time. The Naperville Park District is credited with starting and leading the public awareness campaign regarding the open space crisis in Naperville (and in Illinois) which culminated with the adoption of the Land Cash Donation Ordinance. The rapid development of the community was under scrutiny for some time by an informal group of community leaders. This group—which included the mayor, the city manager, the school superintendent, the school board president, the park board president and the park district executive director—met on a regular basis to review and discuss the issues facing their community. The open space issue came to a head with the impending
"Green Trails Development" in 1971. This development projected
to add 30, 000 residents to the community, with no plans
for setting aside land for public parks and schools for these
additional residents. It was estimated that the cost of purchasing
and developing the necessary land to be dedicated for parks
alone for this new population would be $12, 000, 000.
The park district did not have the bonding power to make
such a purchase. Also, it would have been difficult, if not impossible,
to convince current residents that they should pay
(through an increase in taxes) for parks and schools for just that
development.
The issues leading to the creation of the Land Cash Ordinance
were as follows: Illinois Parks & Recreation * May/June 1996 * 39
The negative impacts that The Land Cash Donation Ordinance
created were felt by the developers who were forced to
pass on their increased expenses to the home buyers. It also
was feared at the time that developers would avoid Naperville
as a result of this ordinance. The concern over developers avoiding
Naperville has, of course, proven to be unfounded. Its current
population exceeds 100, 000 and it has the distinction of
being one of the fastest growing communities in the nation.
The Naperville ordinance was upheld by the Illinois State
Supreme Court in 1976. Since then, there have been other
attempts to limit municipalities' authority in regard to donation
ordinances. Those attempts have failed due largely to the
efforts of many dedicated professionals in our field.
Glen Ekey, executive director of the Naperville Park District,
stated in a letter supporting the ordinance that "Our residents
have grown used to having parks where the people are
and would suffer greatly if this valuable resource were taken
away from them." It is vital that efforts to protect the Land
Cash Donation Ordinance continue into the next century.
In the years following, 25 percent of all Illinois Association of
Park Districts (IAPD) member agencies would eventually pass
a parks donation ordinance as a result of seeing the
positive results in communities like Naperville.
IAPD statistics indicate that 63 park districts have a park
donation ordinance within their communities. Several park and
recreation departments also have the ordinance in effect in their
communities. A recent, informal survey of these park districts
produced the following:
Other communities drawing significant benefits were
Northbrook, Buffalo Grove, Deerfield, Lemont, Palatine and
Vemon Hills. In contrast, Naperville with room to develop, received
637 acres and $3.2 million and Northbrook, which is
built up, received 8.5 acres and $13 million. Funds were used
primarily for development of park sites and additional acquisition.
The survey also indicated that ordinances range from 15
acres per 1, 000 to to 5.5 acre per 1, 000, depending on the needs
and demographics of each community.
Related concerns cited via the survey included: villages/cities
accepting only wetlands and detention basins rather than
maintaining or adhering to quality land standards; having a low
(out of date) cash value per acre of land as prescribed by the
ordinance; the written language of the ordinance, for some communities,
discouraged acquisition of land in favor of dollars;
and that the ordinance simply came too late (subsequent to development).
The aforementioned concerns can be effectively dealt with
or eliminated as long as there is a strong, positive relationship
between the park district and the village/city. Strong intergovernmental
relationships have resulted in more quality park land
acquisitions and higher cash in lieu of donations.
While many park districts do not have a donation ordinance, many
do work closely with the developers and their village/city in order to
obtain what they can. There is still fear on the
part of village officials, especially in rural communities, that such an
ordinance will discourage development.
There have been instances where experienced developers
have suggested to villages and cities that they adopt a donation
ordinance to assure quality of life throughout the community.
Since families are attracted to communities with a well established
park system, the ordinance can aid developers in selling
new homes.
Some communities may consider themselves "built-up" but
there may be a time for redevelopment. Increased density should
continue to warrant an impact fee in order to provide additional
parks or to enhance existing parks.
Park districts that do not have a park donation ordinance
need to evaluate the positive impacts to the total community
and approach their respective village/city regarding implementation.
There is definitely evidence that such ordinances do pay
off for the community by contributing park land and cash for
park improvements to enhance the quality of life.
For more information on establishing a Land Cash Donation
Ordinance in your community, call Peter Murphy at the
Illinois Association of Park Districts at 217/523-4554.
Michael Benard, CLP, superintendent of recreation for Pleasant
Dale Park District is completing research on this subject as
part of his graduate program in Public Administration at
Roosevelt University. Ernest Nance, CLP, is the former director
of the Naperville Park District and co-authored its original
Park/School Land Cash Ordinance.
40 * Illinois Parks & Recreation * May/June 1996 |
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