Highland Park officials want to address long-empty storefronts — but likely not with a ‘risky’ vacancy tax

A previously discussed policy that would punish landlords for long-term commercial vacancies once again has the attention of the Highland Park City Council.

But city officials expressed significant hesitations about turning the well-worn discussion into reality.

The council during its Monday, Jan. 27 committee of the whole session reignited discussions on a vacancy tax for commercial properties within city limits that are blighted and have been vacant for what officials describe as “a considerable period of time.”

Although the council quickly came to a general consensus that it is in favor of pursuing additional avenues for the city to “gain leverage” over bad-acting property owners who have displayed a propensity for vacancies, all members also strongly highlighted legal concerns with any such policy.

City Manager Ghida Neukirch opened the conversation by noting that the issue of long-standing vacancies has “repeatedly come up over the years,” adding that city officials looked over it more than a decade ago.

Prior to the meeting, Highland Park’s legal counsel did take a “deeper dive” into similar examples of vacancy taxes in other states, Neukirch said, noting that “constitutional concerns” came up as part of that review.

Some examples included in a detailed staff report provided to councilmembers described efforts in municipalities in California and New York and Washington, D.C.

As previously documented by The Record, Highland Park officials recently reported a retail occupancy rate of just over 93 percent — a noticeable difference from city data reported in 2021.

But despite the drop in retail vacancies, officials, according to a city memo, are still “regularly exploring opportunities to increase occupancy within the community and continuing to work with property owners, businesses, brokers and others to improve economic development and community vibrancy.”

The city’s Business and Economic Development Advisory Group, commonly referred to as BEDAG, reviewed potential best practices early last year to address the issue. Representatives from that group, according to city documents, pushed for more accountability for property owners who have long-standing vacancies.

After the brief presentation from Neukirch, councilmembers jumped in to share their thoughts on the potential tax while also debating other means to address vacancies.

Councilmember Anthony Blumberg said he was “uncomfortable with the notion of a vacancy tax,” adding that he felt uneasy over the potential for litigation.

Similarly, Councilmember Andrés Tapia noted the “immensity of the legal issues” gave him pause and that he felt it’s “very risky.” But Tapia did also advocate for the council and city to find solutions.

“I still feel that we have a problem,” he said. “Maybe it’s not as bad as it’s been, but I don’t like the fact that the city has zero leverage for irresponsible property owners when it comes to leaving things open.”

“While the tax may not be the way to go, I feel that we have to see what alternative methods there are,” Tapia later added, noting that he believes more study should be devoted to those methods.

Mayor Nancy Rotering shared similar sentiments while highlighting the city’s progress.

“The good news is that we are at 93 percent occupancy, which is amazing but … I think we do want to hold people accountable in whatever form we can,” she said.

One idea officials floated during the meeting was a property registration system that would require property owners to register their vacant properties with the city. Doing so would, among other provisions, allow the city to better track how long a site remains unoccupied.

Conversations ended with a consensus from the council for having the BEDAG look further into the options discussed during the COW meeting as well as reviewing potential additional alternatives.

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