By Amy Stark~Correspondent
Several residents of the Red Oak Estates subdivision spoke at the Spring Grove Village Board meeting on Tuesday night to express concern over the moratorium on building permits the village has imposed upon the development since September, 2009.
The developer, Dai Bui, lost his $280,000 letter of credit when his bank failed; however he is still obligated to put a final layer on the roads in the subdivision once it is 75 percent complete.
He currently owes more on the property than it is worth, and cannot get another letter of credit to insure that the road will be finished in the future.
Homeowners questioned the reason that the village placed the moratorium on granting building permits. Red Oak resident Donna Baxter said that she didn’t understand why the village would not allow homes to be built.
“You are denying tax dollars and permit fees being collected. How does it benefit the residents? On behalf of the residents, you should lift the restriction. This affects the residents of Spring Grove and Richmond,” Baxter said. She also said she has seen holes in the road currently, which could be a hazard to those walking in the neighborhood.
Trustee Pat Mazzanti said he has been working with Bui for the last several months to try to work out a solution to the problem. One scenario was that Bui use equity from his other businesses to pay cash to pave the roads now, instead of requiring the safety net of a letter of credit, and then lift the moratorium.
If the economy does not pick up, it could take several years for the development to reach 75 percent occupancy.
Only seven building permits have been issued in the past two and half years in the entire village. A resident, who did not give his name, was confused as to why none of the residents had been informed of this moratorium. Melissa Grillo asked that all the homeowners be given written notification on what exactly is going on.
Mazzanti said that Bui is receiving bids which are due on July 20 for final paving of the roads. The village board will have to decide if they want the roads finished now, or hold the money in a trust, for the roads to be finished in the future, or come up with an alternate plan.
The decision is still uncertain and will be discussed again at a board meeting in August.
One thing the board and the residents did agree on was that the developer, not the taxpayers of the village, should pay for the road to be finished.
In other news, the grand opening for the Fish Hatchery is scheduled for Sept. 15. Check the village website, www.springgrovevillage.com for updates.