Hartz Const. Co., Inc. v. Village of Western Springs

908 N.E.2d 527, 391 Ill. App. 3d 75
CourtAppellate Court of Illinois
DecidedMay 4, 2009
Docket1-08-1895
StatusPublished
Cited by3 cases

This text of 908 N.E.2d 527 (Hartz Const. Co., Inc. v. Village of Western Springs) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Appellate Court of Illinois primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Hartz Const. Co., Inc. v. Village of Western Springs, 908 N.E.2d 527, 391 Ill. App. 3d 75 (Ill. Ct. App. 2009).

Opinion

JUSTICE WOLFSON

delivered the opinion of the court:

How much statutory authority does a non-home-rule village have when it contracts with a developer to recapture from a third party the costs of improvements which benefit that third party? To answer that question we examine the applicable statute to determine what it says and what it does not say about recapture agreements.

Plaintiff Hartz Construction Co., Inc., 1 filed a suit for injunctive relief against defendants Village of Western Springs (the Village), Currie Rhoads, Commonwealth Properties Co., LLC, and Rhoads Development Co., seeking a declaratory judgment that a 2002 recapture agreement adopted by the Village was invalid under section 9 — 5—1 of the Illinois Municipal Code (Code) (65 ILCS 5/9 — 5—1 (West 2002)). Plaintiff and the Village filed cross-motions for partial summary judgment. The trial court granted the Village’s partial summary judgment motion, finding the recapture agreement was valid under the Code. It denied Hartz’s motion for partial summary judgment. Plaintiff appeals. We affirm the trial court and remand for further proceedings.

FACTS

Rhoads, Rhoads Development Co., and Commonwealth Properties Co., LLC (Rhoads), are the developers of the “Commonwealth RPUD,” which is part of a residential planned unit development in the Village of Western Springs known as the “Commonwealth Development.” Plaintiff owns three noncontiguous parcels known as the “Waterford PUD,” which were intended to be developed in conjunction with the overall Commonwealth Development. Plaintiff’s north and middle parcels are surrounded by Rhoads’ properties and the south parcel forms the southern boundary of the Commonwealth Development. The Commonwealth Development is zoned “R-4 Multi-Family Residence District.” The Waterford PUD is a proposed single-family townhouse development.

Pursuant to a Village ordinance passed on August 10, 1992, Rhoads was required to make several improvements as a condition for approval to develop the Commonwealth Development. The improvements included constructing a sanitary sewer system, storm water sewer system, water distribution system, roadways, streets, the 53rd Street bridge, sidewalks, right-of-way landscaping, and street lighting. Rhoads also was required to build several water detention ponds. By 2000, Rhoads’ development was 75% to 80% complete.

On October 28, 2002, after private negotiations between plaintiff and Rhoads regarding reimbursement for the improvements did not succeed, Rhoads and the Village entered into a recapture agreement pursuant to section 9 — 5—1 of the Code. The stated purpose of the agreement was to reimburse Rhoads for the costs incurred in making improvements that benefitted properties other than his own. The preamble to the recapture agreement specifically noted Rhoads’ public improvements benefitted plaintiff’s three noncontiguous parcels. Plaintiffs three parcels were the only “benefitted properties” subject to the recapture agreement. Rhoads owned 88% of the property at issue in the recapture agreement, while plaintiff owned 12%. The total cost of public improvements included in the recapture agreement was $3,513,057. The agreement also provided that, if any term or provision was found illegal, the remaining terms and provisions continued to have full force and effect.

The Village passed Ordinance No. 05 — 2358, which approved plaintiffs request for a permit to develop the middle and south parcels of its Waterford PUD, a total of 10 units. The ordinance noted plaintiff planned to “hold off on preliminary and final approval” of its north parcel. Under the terms of the ordinance, approval of the permit was conditioned on plaintiff paying the Village a per-unit cost of $24,915 to reimburse Rhoads pursuant to the statute. The recapture agreement provided that upon approval of additional units, plaintiff is required to pay $24,915 per each additional unit. The recapture agreement does not require Rhoads to pay an additional fee if he constructs more units.

Plaintiff filed a complaint for declaratory judgment and injunctive relief, seeking a declaration that the recapture fees imposed by the ordinance are arbitrary, capricious, and unlawful. The Village filed the affirmative defenses of estoppel and waiver, alleging plaintiff participated in the recapture agreement negotiations with full knowledge of the terms.

Plaintiff moved for partial summary judgment, seeking a declaration that the recapture agreement is invalid because: (1) the per-unit recapture calculation method is unreasonable and beyond the Village’s power: (2) only “over-sized” improvements that were done “primarily” to benefit plaintiff may be subject to recapture; (3) the definition of benefitted properties violates section 9 — 5—1 of the Code; (4) a recapture agreement cannot seek the recapture of improvement costs which already have been incurred; and (5) the recapture agreement does not recapture actual costs proportionate to plaintiffs use of the public improvements. The Village filed a cross-motion for summary judgment, requesting plaintiffs motion be denied and the entry of a judgment in favor of the Village and Rhoads upholding the validity of the recapture agreement.

The trial court entered partial summary judgment in favor of the Village, finding the recapture agreement and ordinance, except for the inclusion of Rhoads’ landscaping costs, were valid under section 9 — 5—1 of the Code. The trial court removed the landscaping costs from the recapture agreement because reimbursement for such costs was not specifically provided for under section 9 — 5—1. Hartz’s motion for partial summary judgment was denied. Plaintiff appeals.

DECISION

I. Material Questions of Fact

Plaintiff contends material questions of fact prevented the trial court from entering summary judgment in favor of the Village in this case. Specifically, plaintiff contends the trial court adopted the Village’s version of the facts in their entirety in reaching its decision, ignoring several inconsistencies raised by plaintiff. We disagree.

Summary judgment is appropriate where the pleadings, depositions, admissions, and affidavits on file, when taken in the light most favorable to the nonmovant, show there is no genuine issue of material fact and the movant is entitled to judgment as a matter of law. 735 ILCS 5/2 — 1005(c) (West 2002); Midland Properties Co. v. Acme Refining Co., 361 Ill. App. 3d 180, 183, 836 N.E.2d 95 (2005). Our review of the trial court’s grant of summary judgment is de novo. Midland Properties Co., 361 Ill. App. 3d at 183.

When parties file cross-motions for summary judgment, as here, they agree no genuine issue of fact exists, only a question of law is involved, inviting the trial court to decide the issues based on the record before it. State Farm Fire & Casualty Co. v. Martinez, 384 Ill. App. 3d 494, 498, 893 N.E.2d 975 (2008).

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Related

F.R.S. Development Co., Inc. v. American Community Bank & Trust
2016 IL App (2d) 150157 (Appellate Court of Illinois, 2016)
Hartz Const. v. Village of Western Springs
965 N.E.2d 1159 (Appellate Court of Illinois, 2012)
Hartz Construction v. Village of Western Springs
2012 IL App (1st) 103108 (Appellate Court of Illinois, 2012)

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
908 N.E.2d 527, 391 Ill. App. 3d 75, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/hartz-const-co-inc-v-village-of-western-springs-illappct-2009.