title
PROPOSED PREVIOUSLY APPROVED ITEM AMENDMENT
Department: Department of Planning and Development
Request: Authorization to proceed with grant of easements per Board Item No. 26-0169 as amended. The original waived appraised value of one of the easement areas is incorrect due to a change during plan review in one temporary easement area to a permanent easement area after the appraisal was completed. Forest Preserves staff nonetheless wish to convey the easements to IDOT to allow repairs to proceed due to the potential for significant road damage, partially on Forest Preserves’ property, while a new appraisal is pending. Although the exact fair market value of the easement(s) are unknown, a waiver of fees is justified under Sec. 2-5-6 of the Forest Preserves Code of Ordinances as the proposed IDOT repairs/improvements represent a significant public benefit. Once known, if the corrected appraised value exceeds $10,000, the Forest Preserves will report such appraised value to the Board of Commissioners.
Item Number: 26-0169
Fiscal Impact: N/A
Account(s): N/A
District(s): 9
Original Text of Item: EASEMENT REQUEST
Request: Requesting authorization for the Forest Preserves of Cook County (the “Forest Preserves”) to grant a permanent and a temporary easement to the Illinois Department of Transportation (“IDOT”) at Des Plaines River Road north of Foster Avenue in Schiller Park for 0.501 acres or 21,823 square feet.
Reason: IDOT is seeking to address safety and the potential collapse of the road into the Des Plaines River and improve pedestrian safety. The permanent easement is for construction and maintenance of a retaining wall, rip rap, a new sidewalk and other related improvements described in the plans and specifications. The temporary easement will be used for construction access. The work would require removal of sixteen (16) living trees and one (1) dead tree, resulting in tree mitigation fees. In practice, more trees may need to be removed than originally estimated. Any increase in the tree mitigation fee will be in accordance with the Tree Mitigation Plan (see Board Item No. 20-0279), and if such increase is more than 20% of the original estimate, then approval will be sought from the Forest Preserves of Cook County Board of Commissioners. Staff is recommending waiver of easement compensation in light of safety and environmental benefits of riverbank stabilization. IDOT has agreed to pay tree mitigation fees. The term of the temporary easement is five (5) years, or completion of construction, whichever comes first.
The area for the permanent easement is 0.298 acres, and the area for the temporary easement is 0.203 acres. IDOT indicates that seventeen (17) trees are expected to be removed for this project.
Easement Fee: $3,650.00 waived Waived. If the waiver value is higher than $10,000, the amount will be reported to the Board of Commissioners.
Tree Mitigation Fee: $148,295.73
Concurrence(s): The Chief Financial Officer has approved this item. Final easement is subject to legal review and approval.
District(s): 9
end