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| [ Introduced ] | [ Engrossed ] | [ Senate Amendment 001 ] |
91_HB2698enr HB2698 Enrolled LRB9100308PTbd 1 AN ACT to amend the Township Code. 2 Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois, 3 represented in the General Assembly: 4 Section 5. The Township Code is amended by changing 5 Sections 115-5, 115-20, 115-30, 115-35, 115-40, and 115-55 as 6 follows: 7 (60 ILCS 1/115-5) 8 Sec. 115-5. Definitions. As used in this Article, 9 unless the context otherwise requires: 10 "Board" means the township board in counties having a 11 population of more than 150,000250,000. 12 "Development of real property" means the constructing, 13 installing, planting or creating of any permanent or 14 temporary improvement of real property that has been acquired 15 for open space purposes. 16 "Open land" or "open space" means any space or area of 17 land or water of an area of 50 acres or more, the 18 preservation or the restriction of development or use of 19 which would (i) maintain or enhance the conservation of 20 natural or scenic resources; (ii) protect natural streams or 21 water supply; (iii) promote conservation of soils, wet lands, 22 or shores; (iv) afford or enhance public outdoor recreation 23 opportunities; (v) preserve flora and fauna, geological 24 features, historic sites, or other areas of educational or 25 scientific interest; (vi) enhance the value to the public of 26 abutting or neighboring highways, parks, or other public 27 lands; (vii) implement the plan of development adopted by the 28 planning commission of any municipality or county; or (viii) 29 promote orderly urban or suburban development. A township at 30 any time may release a specified parcel of land from an open 31 space plan and allow the development of the parcel to occur. HB2698 Enrolled -2- LRB9100308PTbd 1 Once development (as defined in Section 115-55) has 2 commenced, the land shall no longer be eligible for 3 acquisition as open space or open land. 4 "Open space plan" means the written plan adopted by the 5 board to implement an open space program and includes 6 properly adopted amendments or additions to the plan. 7 "Open space program" means the acquisition of the fee or 8 of a lesser right or interest in tracts of open land in the 9 township for open space purposes. 10 "Open space purposes" includes (i) the preservation and 11 maintenance of open land, scenic roadways, and pathways; (ii) 12 the holding of real property described in clause (i), with or 13 without public access, for the education, pleasure, and 14 recreation of the public or for other open space values; 15 (iii) the preservation of portions of that property in their 16 natural condition and the development of other portions of 17 that property; (iv) the management and use of that property 18 in a manner and with restrictions that will leave it 19 unimpaired for the benefit of future generations; and (v) 20 otherwise promoting the conservation of the nature, flora and 21 fauna, natural environment, and natural resources of the 22 township. 23 (Source: P.A. 85-1140; 88-62.) 24 (60 ILCS 1/115-20) 25 Sec. 115-20. Referendum on recommended plan; petition. 26 (a) If the board recommends adoption of the open space 27 plan, or if a petition is filed by not less than 5% or 50, 28 whichever is greater, of the registered voters of the 29 township (according to the voting registration records at the 30 time the petition is filed) recommending adoption of the open 31 space plan, then the Board, within 30 days of making of the 32 recommendation or the filing of the petition, shall file a 33 petition with the township clerk, requesting the clerk to HB2698 Enrolled -3- LRB9100308PTbd 1 submit to the voters of the township the question of whether 2 the township shall adopt the open space plan and enter upon 3 an open space program, with the power to acquire open land by 4 purchase, condemnation (except townships in counties having a 5 population of more than 150,000 but not more than 250,000), 6 or otherwise in the township and with the power to issue 7 bonds for those purposes under this Article. The township 8 clerk shall certify that proposition to the proper election 9 officials, who shall submit the proposition to the township 10 voters at the next regular election. The referendum shall be 11 conducted and notice given in accordance with the general 12 election law. 13 (b) The question submitted to the voters at the election 14 shall be in substantially the following form: 15 Shall (name of township) adopt the open space plan 16 considered at the public hearing on (date) and enter upon 17 an open space program, and shall the Township Board have 18 the power (i) to acquire open land by purchase,(insert 19 ", condemnation," if the township is in a county having a 20 population of more than 250,000),or otherwise, (ii) to 21 issue bonds for open space purposes in an amount not 22 exceeding 5% of the valuation of all taxable property in 23 the township, and (iii) to levy a tax to pay the 24 principal of and interest on those bonds, as provided in 25 Article 115 of the Township Code? 26 The votes shall be recorded as "Yes" or "No". 27 (c) If a majority of the voters voting at the election 28 on the question vote in favor of the question, the township 29 shall thereafter adopt the open space plan recommended by the 30 board or by the petition of the registered voters of the 31 township and shall enter upon an open space program under 32 this Article. If the proposition does not receive the 33 approval of a majority of the voters voting at the election 34 on the question, no proposition may be submitted to the HB2698 Enrolled -4- LRB9100308PTbd 1 voters under this Section less than 23 months after the date 2 of the election. 3 (Source: P.A. 85-1140; 88-62.) 4 (60 ILCS 1/115-30) 5 Sec. 115-30. Property within municipality; petition; 6 referendum. 7 (a) If the open space plan recommended for adoption 8 under Section 115-20 contains property that is situated 9 within the corporate boundaries of a municipality, the 10 corporate authorities of the municipality may, within 30 days 11 of the recommendation, vote to authorize the board of a 12 township in a county having a population of more than 250,000 13 to acquire by condemnation property that is situated within 14 the municipality's corporate boundaries. If the corporate 15 authorities of the municipality fail to act within that 30 16 day period, then none of the property included in the open 17 space plan that is situated within the municipality shall be 18 acquired by the board by condemnation. The municipality's 19 failure to act constitutes a denial of authority to acquire 20 that property by condemnation. 21 (b) If, within 30 days of the decision of the 22 municipality to either authorize or deny the board the 23 authority to acquire by condemnation that property included 24 in the open space plan that is situated within the corporate 25 boundaries of the municipality, a petition is filed with the 26 township clerk, signed by not less than 15% of the registered 27 voters of the municipality residing within the township 28 (according to the voting registration records at the time the 29 petition is filed), requesting that the question of whether 30 the board shall be granted authority to acquire property 31 within its corporate boundaries by condemnation be submitted 32 to the voters of the municipality residing within the 33 township, then the question shall be submitted to those HB2698 Enrolled -5- LRB9100308PTbd 1 voters in the form of a proposition. The petition shall state 2 the public question to be submitted and contain a common 3 description of the territory in plain and nonlegal language. 4 The description shall describe the territory by reference to 5 streets, natural or artificial landmarks, addresses, or any 6 other method that would enable a voter signing the petition 7 to be informed of the territory proposed to be acquired. 8 (c) The township clerk shall certify the proposition to 9 the proper election officials, who shall submit the 10 proposition to the voters of the municipality who reside 11 within the township. The referendum shall appear on the 12 ballot at the same election as the referendum required in 13 Section 115-20. Except as otherwise provided in this 14 Section, the referendum shall be conducted and notice given 15 in accordance with the general election law. The question 16 submitted to the voters at the election shall be in 17 substantially the following form: 18 Shall the Township Board of (name of township in a 19 county having a population of more than 250,000) have the 20 authority to acquire by condemnation open land that is 21 situated within the corporate boundaries of (name of 22 municipality) for open space purposes? 23 The votes shall be recorded as "Yes" or "No". 24 (d) The election authority shall include on the ballot 25 the description of the territory proposed to be acquired as 26 set forth in the petition. If the election authority 27 determines that the description cannot be included within the 28 space limitations of the ballot, the election authority shall 29 prepare large printed copies of a notice of the public 30 question that include the description. The notice shall be 31 prominently displayed in the polling place of each precinct 32 in which the question is to be submitted. 33 (e) If a majority of the voters voting at the election 34 on the question vote in favor of the question, then the board HB2698 Enrolled -6- LRB9100308PTbd 1 may acquire by condemnation open land that is situated within 2 the corporate boundaries of the municipality and included in 3 the open space plan recommended for adoption under Section 4 115-20. 5 (f) If the corporate authorities of a municipality deny 6 the board the authority to acquire by condemnation property 7 that is situated within the municipality's boundaries and the 8 referendum does not appear on the ballot at the election 9 specified in this Section, or if the proposition fails to 10 receive the vote of a majority of the voters voting on the 11 question, then the board may not acquire the property by 12 condemnation. 13 (Source: P.A. 85-1140; 88-62.) 14 (60 ILCS 1/115-35) 15 Sec. 115-35. Property contiguous to municipality; 16 petition; referendum. 17 (a) If the open space plan recommended for adoption 18 under Section 115-20 contains property that is contiguous to 19 the corporate boundaries of one or more municipalities, the 20 corporate authorities of any of those municipalities may, 21 within 30 days of the recommendation, vote to authorize the 22 board of a township in a county having a population of more 23 than 250,000 to acquire by condemnation property that is 24 contiguous to the municipality's corporate boundaries. If 25 the corporate authorities of a municipality fail to act 26 within that 30 day period, then none of the property included 27 in the open space plan that is contiguous to a municipality 28 shall be acquired by the board by condemnation. The 29 municipality's failure to act constitutes a denial of 30 authority to acquire that property by condemnation. 31 (b) If, within 30 days of the decision of the 32 municipality to either authorize or deny the board the 33 authority to acquire by condemnation that property included HB2698 Enrolled -7- LRB9100308PTbd 1 in the open space plan that is contiguous to the corporate 2 boundaries of the municipality, a petition is filed with the 3 township clerk, signed by not less than 15% of the registered 4 voters of the township (according to the voting registration 5 records at the time the petition is filed), requesting that 6 the question of whether the board shall be granted authority 7 to acquire property contiguous to the corporate boundaries of 8 the municipality by condemnation be submitted to the voters 9 of the township, then the question shall be submitted to 10 those voters in the form of a proposition. The petition shall 11 state the public question to be submitted and contain a 12 common description of the territory proposed to be acquired 13 in plain and nonlegal language. The description shall 14 describe the territory by reference to streets, natural or 15 artificial landmarks, addresses, or any other method that 16 would enable a voter signing the petition to be informed of 17 the territory proposed to be acquired. 18 (c) The township clerk shall certify the proposition to 19 the proper election officials, who shall submit the 20 proposition to the voters of the township. The referendum 21 shall appear on the ballot at the same election as the 22 referendum required in Section 115-20. Except as otherwise 23 provided in this Section, the referendum shall be conducted 24 and notice given in accordance with the general election law. 25 The question submitted to the voters at the election shall be 26 in substantially the following form: 27 Shall the Township Board of (name of township in a 28 county having a population of more than 250,000) have the 29 authority to acquire by condemnation open land that is 30 contiguous to the corporate boundaries of (name of 31 municipality) for open space purposes? 32 The votes shall be recorded as "Yes" or "No". 33 (d) The election authority shall include on the ballot 34 the description of the territory proposed to be acquired as HB2698 Enrolled -8- LRB9100308PTbd 1 set forth in the petition. If the election authority 2 determines that the description cannot be included within the 3 space limitations of the ballot, the election authority shall 4 prepare large printed copies of a notice of the public 5 question that includes the description. The notice shall be 6 prominently displayed in the polling place of each precinct 7 in which the question is to be submitted. 8 (e) If a majority of the voters voting at the election 9 on the question vote in favor of the question, then the board 10 may acquire by condemnation open land that is contiguous to 11 the corporate boundaries of the municipality or 12 municipalities and included in the open space plan 13 recommended for adoption under Section 115-20. 14 (f) If the corporate authorities of a municipality deny 15 the board the authority to acquire by condemnation property 16 that is contiguous to the municipality's boundaries and the 17 referendum does not appear on the ballot at the election 18 specified in this Section, or if the proposition fails to 19 receive the vote of a majority of the voters voting on the 20 proposition, then the board may not acquire the property by 21 condemnation. 22 (g) For purposes of this Section, "contiguous" means 23 contiguous for purposes of annexation under Article 7 of the 24 Illinois Municipal Code. 25 (Source: P.A. 85-1140; 88-62.) 26 (60 ILCS 1/115-40) 27 Sec. 115-40. Later submission of proposition to include 28 property. If in a township in a county having a population of 29 more than 250,000 a parcel of land cannot be acquired by 30 condemnation because it was not approved at an election under 31 either Section 115-30 or 115-35, that parcel can again be 32 included in a proposition only if (i) the procedures set 33 forth in Section 115-15 relating to amendments that add HB2698 Enrolled -9- LRB9100308PTbd 1 property to existing open space plans have been followed and 2 (ii) not less than 23 months have elapsed since the date of 3 the election at which the voters failed to approve the 4 acquisition of the parcel by condemnation. 5 (Source: P.A. 85-1140; 88-62.) 6 (60 ILCS 1/115-55) 7 Sec. 115-55. (a) The board may acquire by gift, legacy, 8 purchase, condemnation in the manner provided for the 9 exercise of the right of eminent domain under Article VII of 10 the Code of Civil Procedure and except as otherwise provided 11 in this subsection, lease, agreement, or otherwise the fee or 12 any lesser right or interest in real property that is open 13 land and may hold that property with or without public access 14 for open space, scenic roadway, pathway, outdoor recreation, 15 or other conservation benefits. No township in a county 16 having a population of more than 150,000 but not more than 17 250,000 has authority under this Article to acquire property 18 by condemnation, and no other township, however,has 19 authority under this Article to acquire by condemnation (i) 20 property that is used for farming or agricultural purposes; 21 (ii) property that is situated within the corporate limits of 22 a municipality or contiguous to one or more municipalities 23 unless approval to acquire the property by condemnation is 24 obtained under Section 115-30 or 115-35; (iii) property upon 25 which development has commenced; or (iv) property owned by a 26 religious organization, church, school, or charitable 27 organization exempt from federal taxation under Section 28 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 or similar 29 provisions of any successor law, or any other organization 30 controlled by or affiliated with such a religious 31 organization, church, school, or charitable organization. 32 (b) For purposes of this Section: 33 (1) "Development" of property is deemed to have HB2698 Enrolled -10- LRB9100308PTbd 1 commenced if (i) at least 30 days before the filing of a 2 petition under Section 115-10, an application for a 3 preliminary plan or preliminary planned unit development 4 has been filed with the applicable governmental entity 5 or, if neither is required, a building permit has been 6 obtained at least 30 days before the filing of a petition 7 under Section 115-10; (ii) mass grading of the property 8 has commenced; and (iii) within 180 days of the date the 9 open space plan is recommended for approval by the board 10 under Section 115-5 or by petition of the voters under 11 Section 115-20, 115-30, or 115-35, the installation of 12 public improvements has commenced. 13 (2) "Contiguous" means contiguous for purposes of 14 annexation under Article 7 of the Illinois Municipal 15 Code. 16 (3) Real property is deemed used for farming or 17 agricultural purposes if it is more than 10 acres in area 18 and devoted primarily to (i) the raising and harvesting 19 of crops, (ii) the feeding, breeding, and management of 20 livestock, (iii) dairying, or (iv) any other agricultural 21 or horticultural use or combination of those uses, with 22 the intention of securing substantial income from those 23 activities, and has been so used for the 3 years 24 immediately preceding the filing of a condemnation 25 action. Real property used for farming or agricultural 26 purposes includes land devoted to and qualifying for 27 payments or other compensation under a soil conservation 28 program under an agreement with an agency of the federal 29 government and also includes the construction and use of 30 dwellings and other buildings customarily associated with 31 farming and agricultural uses when associated with those 32 uses. 33 (c) If a township's acquisitions of open land, or 34 interests in open land when combined with other lands in the HB2698 Enrolled -11- LRB9100308PTbd 1 township held for open space purposes by other governmental 2 entities, equals 30% of the total acreage of the township, 3 then the township may not acquire additional open land by 4 condemnation. 5 (d) Any parcel of land that is included in an open space 6 plan adopted by a township that has not been acquired by the 7 township under this Section within 3 years, or within 2 years 8 with respect to existing open space programs, after the later 9 of (i) July 29, 1988, or (ii) the date of the passage of the 10 referendum may not thereafter be acquired by condemnation by 11 the township under this Section, except that if an action in 12 condemnation to acquire the parcel is filed under this 13 Section within that 3 year or 2 year period, as applicable, 14 the parcel may be acquired by condemnation by the township 15 notwithstanding the fact that the condemnation action may not 16 be concluded within the 3 year or 2 year period, as 17 applicable. Notwithstanding the foregoing, if a parcel of 18 land cannot be acquired by condemnation under subsection (a) 19 because of its use for farming or agricultural purposes, the 20 3 year or 2 year period, as applicable, shall be tolled until 21 the date the parcel ceases to be used for farming or 22 agricultural purposes. Notwithstanding the foregoing, the 23 fee or any lesser right or interest in real property that is 24 open land may be acquired after the 3 year or 2 year period, 25 as applicable, by any means authorized under subsection (a) 26 other than condemnation. 27 (Source: P.A 85-1140; 86-1191; 88-62.) 28 Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect upon 29 becoming law.