Plan commissioners have approved a plan to build 166 townhouses on land opponents believe should be preserved as open space.
Commissioners voted 5-0 after a four-hour hearing last week to recommend approval of Town and Country Developers’ final site plan for the property. Town and County hopes to construct a subdivision on 33 acres at the southeast corner of Highland Avenue and 31st Street, and to construct a model townhouse on the parcel. Townhouses in the subdivision would sell for up to $200,000, the developer said.
Many residents have said they want to maintain the area, which lies adjacent to the Lyman Woods nature preserve, in its natural state. Town and Country has said the forested area on the parcel is of poor quality. More than 3,200 residents signed petitions filed last month to put a referendum issue on the March 19 ballot asking voters whether the Park District should kick in about $3 million from a 20-year bond issue to help buy the land.
Some residents said they believe the village allowed developers too much leeway with their plans. But Ken Rathje, senior director of community development and planning for the village, said officials were “actually trying to tighten up some of our restrictions.” And although residents might not like the proposal, “there’s no maneuvering going on. There’s no legal reason not to recommend this.”