The Sycamore City Council reapproved the increase of impact fees used by the Sycamore Park District to acquire land and construct buildings Monday.

A capital plan that specifies how the money will be spent has yet to be made by the park district.

The council previously approved the increase of impact fees, 7-0, but the council was required under the Unified Development Ordinance to make public notice of a hearing before any changes of the impact fees were enacted.

This time, the council voted 4-3 in favor of the impact fee increase.

The park district and Sycamore City Manager Bill Nicklas compromised on a number of issues including funding for a community park, which was originally proposed at $18,000 but was lowered to $15,000 at Nicklas’s suggestion.

First Ward Alderman Rich Neubauer said the increase does not affect existing residents but those from out of town moving into new developments.

Current Sycamore residents could also benefit from raising impact fees, Neubauer said.

“Raising taxes on people who move here from Aurora actually lowers our taxes,” Neubauer said.

Fourth Ward Alderwoman Terry Kessler said she couldn’t support the increase at this time.

“We wanted to see a capital improvement plan to know what direction it was going,” Kessler said.

The ordinance also called for increasing the acre per thousand ratio from 11.5 to 25 acres.

“Reviewing the data that was provided to us, I found it somewhat vague on where those numbers are coming from,” Kessler said.

Third Ward Alderman Gregory Taylor said passing the ordinance to increase impact fees would be more appropriate when the park district actually has a capital plan.

“The money that this could be bringing in is not that significant and could have a real impact on

whether someone moves here or a property somewhere else,” Taylor said.

Third Ward Alderwoman Grace Adee also voted against the ordinance.

Neubauer disputed that raising impact fees decreases the demand for houses by referring to 2005 when the impact fees were raised leading to a record number of homes built. When the impact fees stayed the same, housing sales plummeted, he said.

A schematic design was also presented to the city council to lay out plans for renovation and altercations to take place in the Police and Public Safety Building.

Although the plans are not yet final, they include the tightening of the floor plan to increase the amount of space available.