09/23/2026
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Since the late 1990s and to the present (with a major interruption in the era of 2008 crash), Plainfield has relied, to a significant extent, on growth to fund our quality of life. Development pays impact fees, provides park and school sites, and directly improves roadways. As we try to manage growth to ensure the preservation and creation of green space and our quality of life, and as we are cognizant that growth is finite, what are we to do to sustain our high quality of life for the next generation?
My constant answer is that we must continue to create a diversified tax base. Unbridled residential growth is the most burdensome development. We want as much retail growth as we can attract, but it is limited. I am happy to report that our retail sales taxes have outstripped real property taxes under my watch. (Woodman’s coming soon!). I have pushed hard for industrial growth in our warehouse district to provide real estate tax revenue and jobs as the industrial warehouse sector is the most robust area of growth right now and has focused on the west 143rd Street corridor (as limited and defined in our 2024 Comprehensive Plan). Industrial growth does not put more students in our schools nor does it burden our parks, library, police or fire departments. This has come with concern over traffic etc, but this industrial growth has also funded road and trail improvements among so much more. Please do note our ban on data centers is distinguished from ordinary industrial growth.
If we fail to take advantage of this growing sector now, we are sacrificing our children’s Plainfield for short term political expediency. I care deeply about our community and will take the political risk to plan correctly, not for me and my generation, but for generations to come. We cannot fail them.
