Like much of the nation, Lake County, Illinois, just north of Chicago, is experiencing a crisis-level housing shortage. So, earlier this year, when the County Commissioners fast-tracked a proposal to address the $886K budget deficit with revenue from a sharp increase in land development permit fees, it was especially perplexing. The Mainstreet Organization of REALTORS® sought an urgent review of the draft ordinance by the REALTOR® Party’s Land Use Initiative program, and the results helped them to combat the effort, and get the ordinance tabled – for now.
Michael Dobrow, the Illinois REALTORS® Government Affairs Director working with the Lake County region, notes that the ordinance drafted by the County proposed a one-time fee increase of up to 20% on permitting, and an automatic increase year-over-year. “We supported a housing study commissioned by the County that asserted that the local economy’s success depends on ample housing, but that development is lagging because of high costs and complex permitting fees and red tape. So, floating a proposal to drastically raise permitting fees and create even more complex requirements just flew in the face of logic: if you’re not selling enough lemonade, you don’t raise the price of lemonade!”
Dobrow reached out to the REALTOR® Party and, within days, was on the phone with the legal experts at Robinson & Cole, LLC, the firm retained by the Land Use Initiative program to review and analyze zoning and land use legislation. “NAR was very responsive, and so were the legal professionals, which was great, because we didn’t have much time,” he explains. “The process was quick, and we were able to make certain adjustments on the fly. The analysis confirmed our instincts, and we used it to inform both our strategy and our messaging, which focused on the need for greater transparency as well as affordable housing.”
Dobrow continues, “The County Commissioners listened to our members, who were all working together in one cohesive group, delivering our message through emails, phone calls, and public testimony. The LUI memo was a big part of our play book.”
The concerted effort driven by the local REALTORS® secured an 11-8 vote on the proposal, which kept it from moving forward. “If we had not resisted, this would have sailed through!” states Dobrow. “The deferral is a real testament to the advocacy of local members, and the support of the state and national REALTOR organizations.” He adds that, while the temporary stay was a key victory, it has also been an important step toward promoting thoughtful, pro-housing policies, rather than rushing punitive fee increases. “Ideally, any proposal that is going to raise fees to develop housing, especially during a housing crisis, would undergo careful scrutiny. Ultimately, slowing it down, crunching the numbers and getting the authorities to ‘show their work,’ gets us better, more thoughtful government.”
To learn more about how the Mainstreet Organization of REALTORS® is working to protect the interests of property owners and aspiring property owners in Lake County, Illinois, contact Government Affairs Director Michael Dobrow at mdobrow@illinoisrealtors.org or 847.951.3326.
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