More taxes in Naperville; more entertainment

I think the performing arts center and the new restaurants are positive adds for the city.

The problem isn't that the City has been too aggressive in adding more commercially zoned areas, it has been far too timid.

The entire neighborhood south of City Hall should be re-zoned commercial and extremely attractive 200% - 300% of Market value offers (plus moving company expenses) made to all of the property owners. Three years would allow plenty of time for people that want to remain in their schools to relocate and pocket a lot of bucks in the process. Currently, this neighborhood is suffering the Chinese water torture, one lot a time. Drip drip drip.

This would effectively double the size of the downtown without dwarfing the surround homes. There wouldn't be any. The high end re-development that was done in Boca Raton on RT1 could serve as a model. The City did a study on this, then fizzled, why is a mystery. But, a good question to ask.

The real question has been and continues to be: Who picks up the check?

Millions of tax dollars for essentially private parking decks. There is nowhere else in the city where you can build commercial and residential buildings with no parking spaces. Why are these owners special?

Millions in improvements to the downtown parks and neighborhoods to bring more customers downtown. The Downtown consumes more tax dollars then it generates. So why do it?

The Downtown sucking up the police force that is designed to cover the entire city, not just the bars on weekends. Who is going to pay for the added police protection? Or, lack there of?

Reduced safety for children visiting Nichols Library, if the deck is built. Will the perverts simply move from the computers to the parking lot where they can have more privacy?

The 1.5% tax is the most efficient way to collect parking fees from the 60% of the downtown customers who come from neighboring cities. I don't think that anyone eating at Sullivans needs a meal subsidized by the Naperville homeowners.

The smoking was supposed to sink the Titanic, it didn't. 1.5% tacked onto a $100 dinner won't either. Allowing a big time developer that was not born in Naperville to re-develop the neighborhood just south of City Hall won't sink us either.

You want to raise more taxes? Are you out of your mind? I think your liberal institution better consider an alternative to getting their politics in the community. Leave Naperville alone, you are a bunch of socialists.

Normally, you have some well-thought-out columns, Mike. This one makes me ill.