The city has dropped one of its reasons for opposing a proposed 94-home subdivision, but that admission will unlikely change its overall position on the project.
Public Works Director Tom Talsma said the city is no longer interested in building open-air water reclamation ponds on about half of the 50 acres proposed for the Fox Run subdivision.
West Chicago developer Airhart Construction is seeking to buy the property from Waste Management to build luxury housing on what was formerly the site of a girls school along Illinois Highway 25, south of the Chicago and North Western railroad tracks.
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Talsma said the property is too close to existing homes for the location of lagoons. His department is continuing to investigate the feasibility of switching from a wastewater treatment to a land-application sewage system, he said.
Other potential lagoon sites include property at neighboring Fermilab or on state-owned land west of Peck Road, Talsma said.
Meanwhile, the City Council’s Development Committee is recommending denying Airhart’s petition, a vote that Chairman William Bezanson said is a signal officials want to negotiate with the developer for a different plan.
“The process is really just starting,” Bezanson said. “This particular plan may not be what is eventually approved.”