Committee approves adding about 112 acres in Lena to Northwest Illinois enterprise zone

County staff presented and the committee approved a boundary amendment to add about 112.23 acres of residentially zoned parcels in the Village of Lena to the Northwest Illinois certified enterprise zone. Staff said the move is intended to lower development costs by allowing building materials to be purchased without Illinois sales tax and by offering a property‑tax abatement on improvements: "A 112.23 acres of residentially, zoned property within the village of for the purpose of, spurring residential development," staff said during the presentation.

Staff told the committee that the abatement for residentially zoned property would operate like a temporary freeze on assessed value — improvements would be frozen for three years and then fully assessed in year four — and that the affected taxing districts would include Stephenson County, the Village of Lena, Highland Community College and the local school district. Committee members asked about the number of homes likely to be built and the enterprise-zone cap; staff said roughly five parcels are expected to be developed in the near term and that the zone has ample remaining capacity (about 13.84 square miles used of a 20‑square‑mile cap). The committee moved, seconded and approved the resolution and ordinance amendment (motion carried).