The Orland Park Village Board moved closer this week to acquiring two long-vacant and blighted properties at one of the village’s most dangerous intersections.
Trustees agreed Monday to use eminent domain to acquire the properties at 9401 and 9441 West 159th Street. Both properties, the first a former BP gas station and the second a former KFC restaurant, have been shuttered for years.
Eminent domain is the power of a government to take private property for public use while paying just compensation to the property owner.
For the last several years, the village has taken over maintenance of the properties as several attempts to contact the owners have gone unheeded.
Mayor Jim Dodge said using eminent domain (to acquire these properties) marks the next major step to solving issues with the accident-prone intersection … and getting these properties back on tax rolls as successful business locations.
Trustee Joanna Leafblad said the (property owners) have made no effort to maintain the properties. “It’s a dangerous corner and it costs the village money year after year to maintain.
“Eminent domain was made exactly for that reason,” she said.
Village Manager George Koczwara said the village’s goal is to buy the properties and put them back on the tax rolls with new ownership.
Trustee Bill Healy said that “while eminent domain is a distasteful option, this is a business deal. This is a risk they run by leaving it blighted.”
Yep, they’re going to acquire the property to build the planned rental housing on that busy corner making it more dangerous
Noway seriously