Business Owner: Village Project Could Put a Stop to Plans to Rebuild After Fire

A local business owner is accusing the village of taking advantage of a .

Jeff Sebert, owner of , said his on his Parkwood Avenue property have hit a snag, thanks to a village proposal to locate a lift station on the parcel.

Sebert said learned of the village’s plans for the property two weeks ago as he attempted to move forward with a proposal to construct a new, LEED-certified structure to replace the metal frame building that was gutted in the January 2012 fire.

Mayor John Noak said he could not comment on the situation, adding negotiations between the village and the company are still in the early stages, and it’s too soon to say what the outcome will be.

According to Sebert, the village plans to use its right-of-way to build a 20-by-20-foot building on an easement on the property, plus a small parking area for public works staff.

“That would take up all of our parking lot,” and affect a neighboring business that shares the lot, Sebert said.

“This really winds up prohibiting us to build here because we would not have enough parking spaces to fit the village requirement,” Sebert said.

Sebert said he was aware of the village’s easement when he purchased the property back in 2008. The area in question is a 60-by-100-foot section along the front of the property at Parkwood Avenue.

But he maintains that the development agreement he signed clearly prohibits the village from building any permanent structure, limiting its use of the property to underground improvements.

“When I bought the property, there was never any mention of a lift station on our property,” Sebert said. “It clearly states in our agreement that nothing will be built above ground that impedes our use of the property.”

The 2008 agreement states, in part:

“Developer shall formally grant and convey to Village an easement … as may be required for the construction, placement and use of drainage improvements and for access to such improvements … provided, however, that such drainage improvements shall be located underground, with the exception of overland flow routes that may take the form of surface swales, provided, however, that the use of any part of the surface of the reserved easement for the location of overland flow routes shall not prohibit or restrict the improvement and use of the same as a paved parking or storage area so long as the functionality of the overland flow route in question is maintained … Such easement shall provided that no permanent buildings or structures … shall be located therein.”

Sebert, which also has locations in Bartlett, Elk Grove, Naperville and Marengo, lost the Romeoville facility to a Jan. 16 fire. The blaze also claimed an upstairs apartment rented by a Sebert employee, and killed two pets.

For now, the business is operating out of a trailer on the Romeoville property.

Sebert said he believes the village is taking advantage of his misfortune to make a land grab.

“I just find it another example of government out of control,” he said. “ … It’s like throwing salt in the wound. That’s kind of how I feel.”

But with the old building leveled, it’s unclear whether the 2008 agreement is still valid. Sebert said village Community Development Director Steve Rockwell told him that the village’s attorneys are reviewing the document.

Rockwell did not respond to a message left by Patch regarding negotiations.

In the meantime, Sebert said he’s unsure whether he will be able to move forward with his plans to rebuild. Originally, Sebert hoped to begin construction over the next couple of months.

“You don’t want to start this in November,” he said.

If the village insists on moving forward with its plans for a lift station, Sebert added, “I think they would have two options — they need to buy the property at a fair market price,” he said. “If they’re not going to agree to that, we’re going to court.”