Ill. Admin. Code tit. 8, pt. 700, app C, exh. A
In its role as the State's builder, the Capital Development Board (CDB) provides technical assistance to user agencies in constructing new or rehabilitating present facilities. The CDB is given site selection and land acquisition authority by the General Assembly on selected major new construction proposals. All other land selection and acquisition involvement by the CDB requires the input of user agencies and is usually limited to technical evaluation of user proposed sites for suitability for the facility under consideration.
Because of the construction role it plays for user agencies, the CDB does not "own" land in the traditional sense. Site selection and land acquisition by the CDB occur on a project by project basis only, and are accomplished as part of the Agency's capital construction responsibilities. Ownership of land by the CDB continues only for the duration of construction of capital facilities. The completed facility and site are then transferred to the user agency or the Department of Central Management Services.
The following description of CDB procedures highlights those steps which involve site selection and land acquisition. Capital project development varies slightly for different types of agencies. For the majority of projects, the CDB role in site selection is secondary to that of the user agencies. Often, agencies acquire land for projects prior to CDB's administration of the project. This is especially true for school districts with local boards, including elementary and secondary schools, area vocational centers, and community colleges.
In other instances, an agency may have identified but not purchased a potential site prior to CDB administration. In these cases, the CDB may approve and then acquire the site for the agency.
For a small number of projects, the CDB has administered site acquisition from the identification of potential locations through site selection and final purchase of the land. The final determinant as to the extent of the CDB's involvement in land acquisition is the appropriation legislation passed by the General Assembly.
In relation to site selection and land acquisition, user agencies can be grouped into the four basic categories listed in 8 Ill. Adm. Code 700.Appendix C: Table A.
The CDB land acquisition activities related to each of these groups (8 Ill. Adm. Code 700.Appendix C: Table A) are identified in 8 Ill. Adm. Code 700.Appendix C: Table B, which describes the CDB's "Project Development Process." As shown, the extent of the CDB's involvement in site selection and land acquisition varies according to user and type of project. In most cases, assistance is provided to user agencies in the form of programmatic review of the planned facility, technical evaluation of a proposed location, and review of site appraisals. Findings of the CDB's reviews are then given to the user for further consideration. Actual land acquisition is accomplished by the user.
In addition to providing technical reviews of proposed facility locations, the CDB can also approve and acquire user proposed sites, or select and purchase sites for a user agency. These situations usually arise in conjunction with a major new facility to be constructed.
The agricultural impact of the CDB land acquisition procedures are normally minimal by virtue of the limits of authority granted to the CDB, user agency involvement, and the type and location of land usually acquired. In those cases where the CDB has been solely responsible for land acquisition or has approved and acquired a user proposed location, many of the sites have been located in urban, center-city settings. Acquisition of such sites in the future will result in minimal, if any, agricultural impacts. However, an adverse agricultural impact can occur in those instances when rural sites are acquired by the CDB or by the user agencies for new facilities.
Future adverse impacts on agricultural land can be minimized by instituting policy changes in the CDB site selection and land acquisition procedures. A description of the mitigation measures is provided in 8 Ill. Adm. Code. 700.Appendix C: Exhibit B, as they relate to the various types of CDB user agencies. The measures comprise the CDB's basic Agricultural Land Preservation Policy.
(June, 1987; revised)
Ill. Admin. Code tit. 8, pt. 700, app C, exh. A