Channahon mulls developer request to lower land values
By Jeanne Millsap For The Herald-News September 7, 2012 3:04PM
Updated: October 14, 2012 12:38PM
CHANNAHON — Trustees may consider lowering the value of an improved acre of land at their first October village board meeting.
The request was made to the board by the South Suburban Home Builders Association, following two neighboring communities that recently lowered their values.
Channahon Director of Community Development Mike McMahon told trustees that Shorewood and Minooka lowered their values to $47,000 and $45,000 per improved acre, respectively.
Channahon raised its value from $50,000 to $75,000 in 2006, but developers argue the value has dropped precipitously since. The home builders asked the village to drop the value this year to $23,000.
The association’s request was based on an appraisal prepared by Real Valuation Group, LLC, and was designed to take into account the fair market value of improved acres in Channahon.
The new appraisal would make calculations of the contribution a developer is required to make in lieu of land donations to schools and parks more accurate, the association said.
The independent appraisal put the value of an acre of undeveloped land at $12,000, then added another $10,000 per acre for grading and minimal road work to reach the figure of $22,000 to $23,000.
McMahon said Channahon staffers decided the appraiser’s figure for land value was “extremely low.” Using the village’s tax stamp data base, a list was generated of improved lot sales through 2009, and it was calculated that the land value averaged $19,867 per lot, or $49,669 per acre.
Trustees agreed to consider a figure of land worth of $45,000, which could become an ordinance on which the board would vote as soon as Oct. 1. The local school districts declined to seek their own independent appraisals, McMahon added.
The homebuilders’ association also requested Channahon remove the school facility impact fee and the village’s capital impact fee, but those issues were not addressed by the village board this meeting.
