Western Springs officials, facing an audience packed with residents upset over trees slashed to make way for a new residential development, said the state environmental agency told them the cuttings would not have disturbed the land slated to be tested for contamination.
Residents had questioned the timing of the tree-cutting on the former Timber Trails golf course and whether it violated an agreement the village and developer had made to test the soil for pesticides.
Brian Taylor, a vice president of the developer, Dartmoor Homes, said Monday that the company had a permit to cut trees. And village officials said an additional two dozen or more trees were scheduled to be felled in the next week or so.
Village officials said they would hold off on tree transplanting until the preliminary soil testing, scheduled for later this week, is completed. Test results will be submitted to the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency.
Still, concerned residents, including Village President-elect John Lynch, hurled accusatory comments at the board about the timing. Trees were cut late Friday and were being chipped on the site Monday.
“I know it was legal, but it was wrong,” said resident LouAnn Grabowski, wiping away tears.
“All the trees that provided shade on my property were destroyed,” Lynch said. “The 17th green you can see from my back yard has been destroyed.”
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Before the workshop meeting, trustees, acting as the Board of Local Improvement, passed a recommendation to impose a special assessment on the Timber Trails project to pay for infrastructure improvements, including a new fire station. An amount was not available.
A public hearing on the assessment proposal, which was part of the annexation agreement, was set for April 25.
The controversy over the tree cutting is the latest skirmish in the long battle over development of the former golf course. Dartmoor Homes won approval last month to build a 338-unit housing development on the property at Wolf and Plainfield Roads, which the company bought in September for $45 million.
Residents opposing the project’s scope and the number of trees that would be lost formed a group, Save the Timber. The group negotiated with outgoing Village President John Kravcik for tests to determine if the soil was contaminated by pesticides. As part of an annexation agreement with the village, developers agreed not to disturb the soil and possibly disperse any contaminants until samples were tested.
By cutting about 50 trees on Friday, the company did not violate the annexation agreement, Taylor said. Construction crews were ordered to leave stumps until the soil tests are completed, he said.
Taken by surprise, members of Save the Timber confronted crews on Friday, and some reportedly threw rocks. Ellen Raymond, group president, said the timing was planned to prevent possible legal action, something Taylor denied.
“We didn’t get our permit issued until Friday afternoon,” Taylor said, adding tree-cutting could not wait because of the construction schedule.
The cutting came three days after Kravcik lost his re-election bid to Lynch, whose property abuts the development. Kravcik said he and Lynch were notified at the same time that cutting could begin Friday.
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Angela Rozas is a Tribune staff reporter, and Jennifer Taylor is a freelance reporter.