‘Hope is not a strategy’: Citing the need to spur development downtown, Northfield trustees move exploration of TIF plan forward

With one of the town’s hottest topics on the agenda, Northfield Village Hall was filled to near capacity Tuesday night.

Village trustees during their June 23 meeting dug deep into the ongoing debate over a proposed tax increment financing district — commonly known as a TIF district — and by night’s end voted to adopt a pair of ordinances advancing their consideration of the proposal.

The first approved ordinance formally schedules a public hearing regarding a TIF district for 7 p.m. on Aug. 25 and a joint review board meeting for 2:30 p.m. on July 15.

According to a village memo, the formation of a joint review board is required as a subsequent measure following a decision to hold a public hearing on a possible TIF district.

Joint review boards are typically comprised of representatives of the overlapping taxing bodies within the proposed TIF boundary, per village documents.

The group’s focus is to evaluate, prior to the formation of a TIF district, key documentation and ultimately provide village trustees with an advisory opinion on the matter.

Village Attorney Greg Jones said during the meeting that the joint review board plays a “significant and statutorily empowered role in the TIF creation process.”

The second ordinance approved the creation of what is known as an interested parties registry. Per information from village officials, this registry offers people the ability to sign up to receive notices from the village related to key steps and meetings regarding the TIF establishment process.

Village President Tracey Mendrek began the board’s deliberations Tuesday night by sharing her thoughts on the matter, saying Northfield is losing an estimated $350,000-$400,000 in sales tax revenue each year from empty storefronts.

That deficit, according to Mendrek, is making it difficult for the village to pay for its needs.

“Right now the reality is hard to ignore, and hope is not a strategy,” Mendrek said. “We need to have a dedicated financial tool to update aging infrastructure, attract new businesses and create the kind of environment where investment actually happens.”

Why are Northfield officials exploring a TIF district?

Northfield leaders have for years wondered how to enhance the town’s main business district. And, earlier this year, as reported first by The Record, village officials began exploring the possibility of a TIF district.

Village officials hope to boost growth in the Happ and Central corridors, saying the area has several issues that stagnate community growth, such as deteriorating buildings, aging water mains and declining property values. The redevelopment project area officials are initially proposing for the TIF would run adjacent to Happ Road between Winnetka Road and Pine Street.

To help investigate the idea, Northfield’s Village Board this spring invited SB Friedman Development Advisors to present information about the logistics of a TIF district, a program that is utilized in several nearby communities, including Skokie (three TIF districts) and Highland Park.

When a TIF district is put in place, the property taxes collected from that district area are frozen. More properties are developed, and property values tend to increase. The extra tax dollars generated from those increased property values are the “increment” that gets kept within the district, funding improvements to roads, buildings and more.

Areas must meet certain criteria to qualify for tax increment financing. SB Friedman reviewed village documents and recent private investment data and concluded that — based on signs of aging infrastructure (87% of area’s buildings are more than 35 years old) and slow economic growth — the redevelopment area Northfield is proposing is eligible for a TIF district.

Trustees differ on necessity of TIF district

One of the lingering and growing concerns that has been a focal point of several public meetings thus far is the concern over the impact a TIF district would have on local schools.

Caitlin Johnson, senior vice president of SB Friedman, the consultant firm the village is partnering with to explore the matter, delivered during the session an in-depth presentation of the company’s findings on Northfield’s economic needs.

As part of that presentation, Johnson argued the impact is not as great as perceived.

“We understand the concern that this is going to be freezing values from property taxes generated for these districts (Sunset Ridge, Avoca, New Trier), but we would argue that the vast majority of each of these districts remain outside of the district and will continue to grow through the normal property tax system,” Johnson said.

But trustee Charles Orth, who voted against the measures Tuesday night, disagreed with that assessment, citing his hesitations related to the impact on local schools as part of his reasoning.

During his statement on the decision, Orth said he had attended local school board meetings where attorneys and experts had advised against the TIF.

“My concern is if the schools … had these experts come in, those officials overwhelmingly have decided that they didn’t think TIF was good for them and probably isn’t needed,” Orth said.

Orth also cited recent board decisions, particularly the newly revised zoning regulations trustees established, as actions that have helped draw in more development proposals in Northfield.

Orth said that after “reading all the emails that (trustees) have received and the overwhelming disapproval of this TIF,” he believes “there are other ways to move Northfield forward.”

Trustee Todd Fowler offered a different viewpoint in stating his support for the TIF.

“Every year, the number one thing is to improve our downtown district,” Fowler said. “We lost Mariano’s, I’ve got to say, I’m very concerned about Walgreens. … The vast majority (of buildings in Northfield) are office buildings. Unfortunately post-COVID, offices have been hit extremely hard … So do we want to continue down a path of hope? I don’t think that’s a strategy.” 

‘The TIF structure doesn’t really align with the community profile here’

More than a dozen community members took the stand to voice their opinions during the meeting’s public comment section. 

Resident Charlie Pick owns property in the proposed TIF district. He said his building was considered “blighted” by SB Friedman, but noted he has invested over $300,000 to keep it in shape. He said several other buildings on his block were determined as “deteriorating,” even though they were rehabbed.

“I would ask the board to take, with a grain of salt, the blight determinations in the context of the report,” Pick said. “It’s too easily met, the standard, just to justify TIF creation under state law. A much more detailed and granular look at each property is necessary.”

Kathy Estabrook, who is on the village’s Plan and Zoning Commission but clarified she was speaking as a resident, said she believes Northfield’s new zoning measures are already making a difference.

“Within months of rezoning, we have seen the rezoning as doing exactly as it was intended to do,” Estabrook said. “It has attracted three major developments … We’re not going to kick those rezoning costs in the rear to add a TIF to mix at this stage of the game without giving rezoning an even chance to do what it was designed to do.” 

Resident Jennifer Hull read aloud a petition she created asking the village to slow down the TIF process and increase public education. 

Resident Ryan Schultz said he had moved to Northfield recently and used to work in municipal finance. 

“I was fairly surprised to hear that the community of Northfield was thinking about establishing a TIF district, knowing the reason we moved here from the city was because it’s a high quality residential area with very, very strong schools,” Schultz said. “The TIF structure doesn’t really align with the community profile here.”

Mendrek concluded by noting the village would add more information to the TIF FAQ page after hearing residents’ concerns and questions. As of publication time, a formal vote on the TIF district is tentatively scheduled for Sept. 22.

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