After a proposed residential development near Buffalo Grove created concern with both neighbors and a nearby school district, the project developer is planning to work with both parties and possibly modify the project, officials said.
School officials with Aptakisic-Tripp School District 102 are waiting to see a trimmed-down proposal after developer K. Hovnanian Homes initially proposed building 214 residential units, including single-family homes, villas and rowhomes, on 50 acres near Didier Farms in an unincorporated area on the northeast corner of Aptakisic and Buffalo Grove roads, and also the new Easthaven subdivision.
District 102 would like to work with the national construction firm on a package of impact fees that would help offset the cost of educating the new students coming from the proposed development after receiving an initial offer from K. Hovnanian, according to district board members.
Neighbors near the area also showed up to a pair of commission meetings on the proposal last month, expressing concern that the project would bring too much traffic to the area and overcrowd the neighborhood.
“Our small little 1.8-acre park is busting at the seams,” resident Rani Sharma said of playgrounds near the proposal.
Representatives with K. Hovnanian now are planning to meet with concerned neighbors and possibly present them with a revised plan on May 16 at District 102’s Meridian Middle School in Buffalo Grove, delaying a previously scheduled meeting on May 17 with the Buffalo Grove Planning and Zoning Commission, village officials said.
The commission now plans to discuss the proposal on June 21, said Chris Stilling, community development director for Buffalo Grove.
If the commission ultimately approves the development, the Buffalo Grove Village Board would still have to discuss and vote on the proposal, he said. The property is currently unincorporated, but Buffalo Grove would annex it if all of the involved parties agree on a plan, village officials said.
Representatives with K. Hovnanian did not return calls requesting comment.
But the project developer already has offered to address some of District 102’s concerns, but officials at the school district would like to see how the proposal changes before moving forward, said Stacey Bachar, assistant superintendent for business services at District 102.
“Nobody can truly predict what’s going to happen with those numbers,” Bachar said. “Anything could happen.”
The developer’s first draft of the proposal, called the Link Crossing development, included plans for 70 single-family houses, 73 two-story villas and 71 three-story rowhomes.
Using a formula crafted in 1999 by Ehlers and Associates Inc., a financial advisory company for local governments and state agencies, District 102 is predicting the development could bring in about 82 new students if the 214 units were built as originally proposed, Bachar said.
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District 102 officials already have been planning a multi-million dollar renovation to their four buildings to accommodate future student growth. And like some of the neighbors near the proposal, school officials believe the developer may be underestimating the number of people who would move into the new development, Bachar said.
The Ehlers formula takes into account that multi-family housing tends to produce fewer kids than single-family homes, she said.
“I really think that they’re underestimating how many people will come here,” Bachar said.
With Meridian Middle School immediately east of the proposed development, K. Hovnanian have approached district officials with a package to compensate District 102 for the expense of the children the development could attract.
Under the 214-unit proposal, K. Hovnanian offered the district $310,000 in impact fees and another $620,000 specifically for construction, school officials said.
The firm also would give the district an acre along Brandywyn Lane, next to Meridian Middle School. Bachar said the space could become be used for several purposes, including a possible new parking lot.
The offer also would allow the district to shift stormwater retention onto the Link Crossing development, freeing another acre on the Meridian Middle School property, she said.
But thinking the proposal may be downsized in the future, District 102 board members have declined to take a vote on the offer to wait and see how K. Hovnanian modifies its proposal with the village, said board member Pelleg Graupe.
“We’re comfortable with the formula, but we want to see how things play out,” Graupe said.
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