Park districts ask commission to back $7,500 per‑lot developer contribution to fund sports park and trails

March 12 — Joe Giordano, chair of the Warren West Park District, and representatives of the Taylor West Weaver Park District asked the Western Labor Planning Commission to support a baseline developer contribution of $7,500 per lot for new residential subdivisions. Park leaders said rapid growth in the unincorporated area will outpace existing parkland and that the contribution would be used to acquire and develop larger, regional park facilities.

"We're kind of at an inflection point," Joe Giordano told commissioners, saying the district currently serves roughly 800 residents on 6 acres of parkland and that planned nearby development will increase demand. He said the park district ran two methods to estimate need — preserving historical open‑space percentages and a facilities‑cost approach — and both produced a per‑lot contribution around $7,500. "So through these two different methods, we came to that $7,500 number," Giordano said.

Giordano described a near‑term priority of a 25‑acre sports park with…