Pulte Homes hit a roadblock in a 266-unit single–family project in West Chicago, two months after the local Plan Commission gave it the thumbs-up.
Aldermen who sit on the city’s development committee voted 3-2 to recommend the proposal be denied after local residents raised concern about everything from traffic to potential flooding and lost farmland, the Daily Herald reported. The Preserve at West Branch, would rise on a 111-acre parcel at Smith Road between Route 59 and Klein Road that’s owned by the same family that owns and runs the adjacent St. Andrews Golf & Country Club
The development would also include a new city park and three detention ponds.
Aldermen James Beifuss, Matt Garling and John E. Jakabcsin voted to reject the plan and Christine Dettmann and Jayme Sheahan voted in favor. Aldermen Melissa Birch-Ferguson and committee chair Rebecca Stout were absent for the decision.
Many residents expressed concern about potential traffic headaches — specifically regarding the 100-foot access road that would connect the southern edge of the development to Klein Road to the east. A local cycling club also presented a petition against the development.
West Chicago Director of Community Development Tom Dabareiner said Pulte Homes made several changes to the proposal to comply with West Chicago zoning and planning requirements.
All 14 members of the West Chicago city council will consider the plan and the development committee’s recommendations before taking a final vote, scheduled for May 16.
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[DH] — Victoria Pruitt