After Wirtz proposal in Mundelein, Illinois House passes bill allowing impact fees for new school buildings

Legislation introduced as promised by state lawmakers to untie the hands of Mundelein village officials allowing towns to impose fees to help schools cover costs of mega-developments has been approved in the Illinois House.

House Bill 22 is the response by four Lake County legislators to the proposed Ivanhoe Village development in Mundelein, which has had Fremont Elementary District 79 and Mundelein High School District 120 at odds with Wirtz Realty Corporation.

Ivanhoe Village encompasses about 772 acres on the village’s northwest side on land owned for generations by the well-known Wirtz family, which settled the area in the mid-1800s.

The proposal, to be built over 25 years, calls for 3,200 units of various housing types, retail, light industrial buildings and other uses and elements.

School officials say District 79 and Wirtz are about $86 million apart on what developers should contribute to build a new school to accommodate an estimated 800 new K-8 students.

The bill passed Wednesday 113-0 and will be sent to the Senate for consideration, possibly in the next few days.

“This legislation allows municipalities to impose impact fees to help cover the costs of constructing new school buildings when those costs are directly tied to specific developments,” reads a statement by state Sens. Adriane Johnson of Buffalo Grove and Mary Edly-Allen of Libertyville and state Reps Daniel Didech of Buffalo Grove and Laura Faver Dias of Grayslake.

Legislators became involved in late February after talks between Wirtz and the schools broke down and a public dispute erupted. The legislators urged village leaders to act collaboratively and work with the schools and Wirtz to reopen talks.

Negotiations with developers are common but Mundelein does not have an impact fee ordinance.

Mayor Steve Lentz said the village’s hands are tied by state law and can’t require the Ivanhoe Village developer pay fees to cover school construction costs or operational expenses. The village is considering enacting an impact fee ordinance for future development and a specific agreement with Wirtz but details have not surfaced and no official action has been taken.

School officials have been urging the village to delay any decisions and asked residents in updates, including one sent Thursday, to do the same so the legislation can advance.

According to the update, the legislation allows for proper funding for school districts so programming isn’t negatively impacted by enrollment growth from Ivanhoe Village if the village and developers are willing to negotiate.

“It is our taxpayers who will benefit from this proposed legislation,” said District 79 Superintendent Trisha Kocanda.

Lentz chose not to seek reelection and mayor-elect Robin Meier has deferred to him until she officially is seated May 12.

“While we respect our legislators, this is (a) much larger issue that would impact 1,200 plus municipalities across the state,” Lentz said Thursday.

“There is no way to know what this final legislation will look like or when it may possibly take effect,” he added. “In the meantime, we must follow the current standards.”

Whether the village will take official action regarding impact fees or Wirtz before Lentz leaves offices is to be determined. The agenda for Monday’s village board meeting won’t be finalized until late Friday afternoon, he said.

A spokesperson for Wirtz declined to comment.