A controversial plan to build 22 town homes on 6 acres along Naperville-Plainfield Road now is poised for development, despite months of opposition from neighbors fighting to keep the land open.
The City Council on Tuesday voted 5-4 to rezone the land for multifamily residential use after efforts to try to buy the property jointly with the Naperville Park District and DuPage County Forest Preserve District failed. Both entities said the site did not meet their criteria for a land purchase.
Instead, council members put a 12-month stipulation on the approval that states if another party steps up to buy the land for open space within the next year that the developer, Crestview Builders of Naperville, would be obligated to sell it.
“I support the town homes,” said Councilman John Rosanova, adding that the city can’t spend tax dollars to save the land.
Councilman Douglas Krause argued for the open land, suggesting the land be bought by the city and sold to the Park District in the future.
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More than 1,000 signatures from neighbors were submitted urging the council to keep the land open. The site features mature trees and two large ponds.
Thomas O’Hale, a resident, wanted the council to keep the land zoned for single-family residential because he plans on running for election to the Park District Board in the spring. He suggested that a new park board might be swayed in joining with the city in purchasing the land.
In other business, the council urged developers of a proposed shopping center anchored by a Whole Foods grocery on 75th Street just east of Illinois Highway 59 to take two weeks to reconsider how the buildings on the property are situated. Council members worry about its affect a residential neighborhood next to the 27-acre site.