The South Barrington Park District Board of Commissioners voted at its meeting Sept. 27, 2023 to cancel the land sale it was in the middle of with Plymouth Brethren Christian Church. The meeting was held at the Park District Community Center in South Barrington. (James C. Svehla/Pioneer Press)
By Pioneer Press staff | Pioneer Press
The pending sale of land by the South Barrington Park District to a small, relatively unknown church group grew into a resident upheaval that included a lawsuit, but ended Wednesday with cancellation of the purchase, uncertainty about what’s next and the resignation of a park board commissioner.
At issue had been the sale of Park District-owned land to Plymouth Brethren Christian Church, a faith organization that, according to its website, started in England in the 19th century and currently has 50,000 members worldwide.
Pete Perisin, president of the South Barrington Park District Board of Commissioners, speaks during the park board meeting Sept. 27, 2023, at the Community Center in South Barrington. (James C. Svehla/Pioneer Press)
Shelby Elias, who had been vice president of the South Barrington Park District Board of Commissioners, resigned from the board Sept. 27, 2023, just hours before the board meeting at the Community Center in South Barrington where commissioners voted to stop a land sale to Plymouth Brethren Christian Church. (James C. Svehla/Pioneer Press)
The official purchaser, Fourth Avenue Gospel Building Inc., with an address in Schaumburg, was set to buy the approximately 34 acres of land located at Bartlett Road and Route 59/Sutton Road — also known as “Area N” — for $1.7 million. The sale had been expected to finalize last month.
But Wednesday, the park board voted 4-0 to cancel the sale.
The decision came during the board’s regular meeting. But a special meeting had been held immediately before the regular one, and it was mostly closed session. While it is unknown exactly what was discussed in that executive session — which the board is not immediately required to disclose if it is to talk about such things as pending litigation, acquisitions or personnel matters — it is believed commissioners reviewed the land sale.
“The park district will refrain from additional comments due to ongoing litigation,” read a Park District statement issued Thursday morning.
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