Ivanhoe Development Impact Fees | Mundelein High School

Legislative Action and Ivanhoe Village Development • April 4, 2025

On April 3, we received a copy of this letter from four of our state legislators to newly elected Village of Mundelein Mayor Robin Meier. In summary, new State legislation will be introduced regarding impact fees. If passed, this would allow the Village of Mundelein more authority to negotiate with developers to offset costs to local schools due to enrollment growth.

It could ensure the developers pay their fair share for the impact of the Ivanhoe Village development on schools, which relieves the tax burden on current community members.
It could provide proper funding for the school districts to help ensure that educational programming isn’t negatively impacted by the enrollment growth from Ivanhoe Village.

The timing of this news is critical. The spring legislative session runs through May 30. With Mayor Steve Lentz ending his term and the turnover of three trustees, decisions on impact fees should be paused while we work with our legislators. We are presented with an opportunity to reset impact fee talks and work collaboratively on behalf of our community.

What Can You Do?

· Urge Mayor Lentz and the Village Board to remove the school impact fee agreement and ordinance items from their April 14 meeting agenda. Allow time for the legislative process to “untie the hands” of village officials.

Encourage Mayor-Elect Meier and the incoming trustees to call upon Mayor Lentz and the current Village Board to delay action and allow the Village’s new leadership to deliberate on these important decisions.
Contact the Village of Mundelein Board of Trustees, encouraging them to support this new legislation and halt any action concerning impact fees (letter template)
Make a public comment at the next Village of Mundelein Board of Trustees meeting scheduled for Monday, April 14, at 7:00 p.m. at Village Hall.

Mayor Lentz has previously stated that the Village's hands are tied due to current state laws, and now our legislators have shown their willingness to “untie” limits that the Village believes exist. Now is the time for the Village of Mundelein to commit to its desire to unify our community by supporting this new legislation and pausing action on impact fees.

We again are grateful for our state legislators who are stepping up to show their support for our community members and our schools.

Sincerely,

Trisha Kocanda, Ed.D.,
Superintendent of Schools, D79

Kevin Myers, Ph.D., Superintendent of Schools, D120

Update on Ivanhoe Village Development Negotiations • March 17, 2025

Fremont School District 79 & Mundelein High School District 120

March 17, 2025 1:20 PM

Dear D79 and D120 Communities,

We want to provide another update on the negotiations between our school districts and the developers of the Ivanhoe Village proposed in Mundelein. Following our latest session on Thursday, March 13, we remain deeply concerned about the expedited pace of this process, the financial disparity between the parties, and whether Ivanhoe Village is even a viable development as currently planned.

The Ivanhoe Village plan continues to change, yet decisions are being rushed. During the March 13 session, the developers of Ivanhoe Village presented updated housing data that differed from the February 2024 SB Friedman report provided to the school districts by the Village of Mundelein for planning purposes. Updated data was originally requested at the first negotiations in January to help inform a reasonable impact fee funding proposal from the school districts. The new Ivanhoe Village plans shared with us last week include 244 fewer single-family homes (nearly 20% reduction), along with a 244-unit increase in attached rental units. It was affirmed that the Wirtz family will retain ownership of at least half of the properties for rental purposes.

Despite these ongoing changes, the timeline for negotiating the impact of Ivanhoe Village remains unreasonably swift. Given the development’s enormous impact, we urge the Village of Mundelein to slow down the process to allow for a thorough and fair assessment with common data sets and opportunities to agree to fair contingencies.

The school districts are committed to continued discussions, but the financial divide is extreme. Based on the developer’s original impact studies and our own analysis, the school districts have put forth reasonable impact funding proposals to ensure that all students in our districts, including the estimated 1,247 new K-12 students from Ivanhoe Village, will have access to the quality education our community expects and deserves without placing an unsustainable burden on current taxpayers. Unfortunately, the developer’s proposed financial commitments fall drastically short of addressing these needs.

Following is a summary of the current proposals from both the school districts and the developers:

Fremont District 79

District Initial Proposal: $90.1 million to offset 70% of the $130 million required for infrastructure improvements, such as connecting to municipal water and sewer systems, directly related to Ivanhoe Village, as well as a portion of the new 1,000-student middle school to accommodate the huge influx of new students.
District Commitment: A mechanism allowing the developer to recoup a significant portion of this investment if the development’s property tax revenues exceed related expenditures, demonstrating the District’s commitment to fair funding.
Developer Response: Estimated to total about $3.8 million—a small fraction, just about 2.9% of the estimated financial impact.

Mundelein District 120

District Proposal: $22 million to offset the costs of voter-approved facility projects necessary to accommodate Ivanhoe Village students, including eight classrooms, stormwater detention, and portions of the cafeteria/kitchen expansion.
District Commitment: To return these funds to the community through a tax rebate, ensuring minimal taxpayer burden.
Developer Response: $1.9 million—again, far below the costs associated with the Ivanhoe Village student impact.

While the school districts remain committed to working with the developer to close these gaps, the stark contrast between these figures raises legitimate concerns about the feasibility for this project to proceed without imposing an undue tax burden or negatively impacting education quality. The Wirtz team stated that the financial contribution requested from the school districts would jeopardize the financial viability of the development, making it impossible to proceed.

Perhaps it is time to consider whether the Ivanhoe Village is a viable development as currently planned. There are very few residential developments in Illinois that match the scale of Ivanhoe Village. With over 7,000 residents planned within 700 acres, now is the time to ask:

Is Ivanhoe Village sustainable in its current form, or is it simply too large given its anticipated impact on the community?
Are there sufficient plans and funding in place to responsibly support this level of growth?

At this point, the developers have not provided sufficient assurances that future changes to the plan will not further shift the financial burden to taxpayers. The viability of this project remains an open question.

What You Can Do

The Village of Mundelein Board of Trustees will ultimately decide whether to approve Ivanhoe Village this spring. We strongly encourage community members to share their questions and perspectives. Please let the Village of Mundelein Trustees know how you feel about relying on taxpayers to subsidize a megadevelopment project.

We appreciate your engagement and will continue to keep you informed as this process unfolds. Thank you for your support in ensuring that any development in our community is pursued responsibly and fairly.

Sincerely,

Kevin Myers, Ph.D. Trisha Kocanda, Ed.D.

Superintendent of Schools, D120 Superintendent of Schools, D79

Important D79 and D120 Community Letter • February 21, 2025

Fremont School District 79 & Mundelein High School District 120

February 21, 2025 12:15 PM

Dear Community,

We are sharing an important update regarding the future of our school communities—both Fremont School District 79 and Mundelein High School District 120—and our preparation for future enrollment growth primarily due to the impact of Ivanhoe Village. This proposed new development in Mundelein is expected to include more than 3,700 housing units and generate a population of over 7,100 new residents, including the potential addition of over 1,000 new students to our schools. As you may be aware, Fremont SD 79 is projected to reach capacity at its preK-5 schools within the next four to seven years, and the additional students from Ivanhoe Village will exacerbate the facilities issues.

Background: The Ivanhoe Village development, owned by the Wirtz Family, will have a direct financial impact on the seven communities we serve. Since the Village of Mundelein annexed Ivanhoe Village in December 2022, School Districts 79 and 120 have made every reasonable effort to work with the Village and the Wirtz Family to ensure our schools are properly resourced to support students and their education, while equally protecting taxpayers’ financial interests. These financial agreements are called impact fees—one-time payments to help cover school districts’ capital and/or operational expenses prompted by a new development. See the timeline here.

The Bottom Line: To date, the Wirtz Family has failed to recognize the impact of their development on the School Districts. We have provided substantial and compelling information revealing the financial burden that you, our community members, would incur should the developer refuse reasonable responsibility for the impact.

Urgency: The Village of Mundelein indicated a desire to approve the Ivanhoe Village development this spring. School impact fees must be in place before the Village approves any development plan.

The School Districts are not against development, nor are we looking for a financial handout. However, we need to be able to support the anticipated growth in enrollment without compromising our educational standards or saddling our taxpayers. We are attempting to be good neighbors with the Wirtz Family, who has resided within our community for well over 100 years. It benefits our communities, including future Ivanhoe Village residents, to have quality schools.

We have attempted to negotiate with the developer to no avail. After months of requests, our first and only negotiation meeting was held on January 22, 2025, and ended with an agreement to meet again. Instead, we received a letter from the Wirtz Family attorney accusing the School Districts of acting in bad faith.
Undeterred by the disappointing response, we provided the information necessary for substantive negotiations to occur. Again, a disappointing letter was received, declining any further negotiations with the School Districts.
The developer’s communications reveal a complete lack of commitment to reach a financial agreement that truly matches the impact of over 3,700 housing units, according to a study commissioned by our Districts and conducted by Johnson Research Group (JRG) in 2024.

How could the absence of a fair and reasonable impact fee structure with the developer impact you as a taxpayer?

Current taxpayers will bear the burden of our School Districts’ increased capital and operating needs. Taxpayers who reside outside the Village of Mundelein will also be impacted, including those who reside in Grayslake, Hawthorn Woods, Libertyville, Long Grove, Round Lake, and Wauconda.
The anticipated revenue generated from new Ivanhoe Village homeowners will not cover large capital costs for the enrollment influx of hundreds of students, such as additions and new buildings. The developers should offset a reasonable portion of the $150 million enrollment growth projects as detailed in Fremont School District’s Educational Long-Range Facility Plan (ELFP at-a-glance).

Without proper capital support, how could this impact our School Districts?

Increased tax burden on current community base
Increased class sizes
Reduced educational programming
Students in mobile classrooms

What can you do to advocate?

The Village of Mundelein holds the ultimate authority on development agreements regarding impact fees.

Attend and provide public comment at an upcoming Village of Mundelein Board of Trustees meeting; speak out and advocate for the students and taxpayers. Upcoming Village of Mundelein Board of Trustees meetings:
- Monday, February 24; 7:00 p.m. (Village Hall; 300 Plaza Circle, Mundelein)
- Monday, March 10; 7:00 p.m., same location
- Monday, March 24; 7:00 p.m., same location
Ask the Village to slow down the process and require the Wirtz Family to negotiate a fair impact fee agreement that our students, community, and taxpayers deserve—we should not be pressured by an arbitrary deadline.
Demand that the developers pay their fair share. The tax impact of this development should not predominantly fall upon our current taxpayers.

It is time for the communities we serve to stand up and urge Village of Mundelein leaders to demand that the Wirtz Family do what’s right for our schools and our communities. Please let the Village of Mundelein Trustees know how you feel about relying on taxpayers to subsidize a megadevelopment project.

As always, we thank you for your support of Fremont 79 and Mundelein 120 students and schools.

Sincerely,

Peter Rastrelli, Ed.D.
D120 Board President

Gabriela Whipple
D79 Board President

Kevin Myers, Ph.D.
Superintendent of Schools, D120

Trisha Kocanda, Ed.D.
Superintendent of Schools, D79

Q: How big is the Ivanhoe development and how many new students will it add to our schools?

A: This proposed new development is expected to include more than 3,700 housing units and generate a population of more than 7,100 new residents, including the potential addition of more than 1,000 new students to area schools.

Q: What is the projected enrollment impact from Ivanhoe on School District 120?

A: The full 25-year buildout of the Ivanhoe Village development is estimated to generate 301 additional students for District 120.

Q: What is the projected capacity for School District 120?

A: District 120’s total school capacity is currently 2,520 and its most-recent student enrollment is 2,217. While that implies room for a maximum of 303 additional students, nearly all the space (estimated 301 additional students) would be filled from the impact of Ivanhoe Village. Meanwhile, there are approximately 1,600 other housing units being developed in Mundelein that will also bring additional students to the high school.

Q: What are the costs associated with the influx of new students from Ivanhoe?

A: The operating expenditures associated with the increased number of high school students from the Ivanhoe development are estimated at $6.37 million. These costs do not include any capital expenditures. And while District 120 already has plans for capital improvement projects, those expansion projects are being funded by current taxpayers via a building bonds referendum.

Q: What are impact fees?

A: Impact fees are one-time payments to help cover school districts’ capital and/or operational expenses prompted by a new development.

Q: How could the absence of a fair and reasonable impact fee structure impact school districts?

A: Without the addition of more students and no funding to pay for capital projects, schools may experience increased class sizes, reduced educational programming and the use of mobile classrooms.

Q: How could the absence of a fair and reasonable impact fee structure with the developer impact taxpayers?

A: The anticipated property tax revenue generated from new Ivanhoe Village homeowners will not cover large capital costs for the enrollment influx of hundreds of students, such as additions and new buildings. While District 120 already has plans to expand and improve portions of Mundelein High School, those expansion projects are being funded by current taxpayers via a building bond referendum.

Q: Have we attempted negotiations with the developer?

A: Officials from School Districts 79 and 120 have attempted to negotiate with the developer to no avail. After months of requests, our first and only negotiation meeting was held on Jan. 22, 2025 and ended with an agreement to meet again. Instead, we received a letter from the Wirtz Family attorney accusing the two school districts of acting in bad faith. We provided the information necessary for substantive negotiations to occur. Again, a disappointing letter was received, declining any further negotiations with the two school districts.

Q: Do we have all the information needed from developers?

A: No. School Districts 79 and 120 are still waiting on the Ivanhoe Development Corp’s final projected unit development plan that outlines the number, type of units and the sequencing in which they will be built.

Q: Is the Village legally restricted from requiring one-time impact fees to cover school construction costs or operational expenses?

A: The Village has options. It has the ability to not approve the PUD until both the developer and schools are able to negotiate. The Village could also require a lower housing density within the PUD to offset some of the costs.