David Lesniak and the $170,000+ developer giveaway
David Lesniak likes to tout his “planning” credentials, but when it comes to his time on the Plan Commission, he’s put the needs of high-density developers before the needs of Riverside.
Lesniak pushed for a lowball parking buyout that caused Riverside to lose out on more than $170,000 that it should have charged the Village Center developers for not providing parking spaces per the new B-2 zoning code. When the developers did not build 17 parking spaces that they should have, the Village Board approved a measure allowing the Village Center to pay just $5,000 per spot instead of conforming to the zoning code – far below what it would cost the village to build those parking spots. Where did that $5,000/spot number come from? David Lesniak, who rejected proposals for higher fees when developers didn’t provide the spots required by the B-2 zoning, and made a motion to charge just $5,000. That motion carried and was eventually approved by the Village Board.
Surface parking costs can exceed $15,000 per spot – the Landmark pegged it at more than $20,000 per spot. In fact, the Village Center developers are charging $15,000 to their condo owners for a parking spot.
So instead of collecting $225,000 – the cost of 17 spots at $15,000 a piece – the Village Board collected only $85,000 – letting the Village Center out of $170,000 that they should have paid.
Eventually, the Village Board realized that they drastically undercharged the Village Center for parking. Months after approving the $5,000 per spot buyout, the board upped the fee to $15,000. Too bad that Mr. Lesniak and the Village Board couldn’t come to their senses before they did a $170,000 favor to the Village Center developers. That’s money that could have paid for a few Fourth of July parades.