Borg Warner Property Rezoning Vote Pushed Back Again

FRANKFORT, IL — A proposed ordinance to rezone the Borg Warner property, located at 300 Maple St., was tabled Monday for a second consecutive time. The Frankfort Village Board of Trustees unanimously voted to table a vote on an ordinance that would change the property from its current I-1 Limited Industrial use to R-4 Attached/Single Family Residential use.

A vote on the proposed ordinance had been on the board's agenda for the Nov. 1 and Monday's meeting, but the issue was tabled both times to allow Village staff and Borg Warner representatives time to come to some agreement about future uses for the property. The matter is now scheduled to be taken up again during the board's Dec. 6 meeting.

• Related: Borg Warner Property Rezoning Up For Village Board Vote Monday

The proposed ordinance to rezone the 1,128,204 square-foot property from its current limited industrial use to a residential use was recommended by the Frankfort Plan Commission/Zoning Board of Appeals by a 4-0 vote at its Oct. 14 meeting, according to Village documents.

At that Oct. 14 meeting, commissioners and Village staff discussed possible uses for the property should it be rezoned to residential, including the potential to build as many as 96 townhomes, according to Village documents.

Rod Carter, an attorney for Borg Warner, told the commission at that time that a potential unnamed buyer of the property is "paying attention to the proposed rezoning and is walking away from the deal," according to a summary of Carter's remarks in the minutes. Carter also told the commission that, "The Village is backing Borg Warner into a corner, leaving them no choice but to file a lawsuit," according to the minutes.

Village staff at that time estimated that the Village could collect as much as $828,000 in property taxes if 96 townhomes were to be built. It is unknown how much, if anything, the Village could collect on sales taxes should a new business take over the property, as that would depend on the type of business and if it produces and sells anything that could be taxed.