Developers want to build 241 single-family and town homes on 67 acres of former Nokia property but face opposition from neighboring property owners, who say the development’s too dense and will produce too much traffic.
Plans for Naper Commons, which Pulte Homes is proposing for a site at Naperville and Warrenville roads, were presented to the Naperville Planning and Zoning Commission this past week.
The project calls for a park in the center of the subdivision, a pond on the south side and paths that would link to trails in the Danada and Herrick Lake forest preserves. About one-third of the property would remain open space, with the town homes being built on the south side and the single-family homes on the north.
Homes would be marketed to millennials, empty-nesters and homebuyers looking to upgrade, said Rob Getz, Pulte’s vice president of land acquisition. Some town homes would cost less than $400,000, he said.
“The comment that we hear over and over again is (existing subdivisions) feel too much like the subdivision that they grew up in,” Getz said of millennial homebuyers.
“They say they’re looking for more public areas to gather with their neighbors, they want the homes closer together because they’re looking for a more urban feel.”
About a dozen people spoke against the development, an online opposition petition signed by more than 3,600 people was presented to the commission, and about two dozen written comments were submitted, including statements from the Fairmeadow and Danada Woods homeowners/neighborhood associations.
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Because of the length of the meeting, which went past midnight, the commission continued the discussion to its Feb. 3 meeting.
Among those speaking at the meeting was Dean Grant, who lives in the Fairmeadow subdivision east of the proposed site and objects to the idea of creating a more “urban” type of subdivision.
“(Developers) kept referencing living qualities of Chicago,” Grant said. “Since when does Naperville want housing like Chicago?”
Other neighbors, like Ted Berger, said they thought the subdivision had too many homes on too little property. Four homes would be built west of his Fairmeadow house under the plan, he said.
“It’s extremely dense, it’s excessive. Two homes might be reasonable,” he said.
There also were concerns raised about the impact Naper Commons would have on the nearby forest preserves, traffic and stormwater flow and on a berm that’s particularly popular with residents.
“”We acknowledge that if we are to have to neighbors to the west, residential zoning is preferable to some other options,” said Rebecca Rogers, president of the Fairmeadow Neighborhood Association.
“(But) I have small children who are learning to ride their bikes and who are learning traffic safety on these roads. A cut-through (road through Fairmeadow) would be beyond uncomfortable or inconvenient for us; it would be unsafe and concerning,” she said.
James Butt broached the subject of stormwater management in his written comments.
“Stormwater issues are very complicated at this site. There are many public entities involved and much was done over 40 years ago and the county has lost much of the original documentation and personnel (who) originally worked on the issue,” Butt wrote.
“Any changes in the development area could cause flooding problems for Danada Woods, Fairmeadow, Indian Hills and (the village of) Lisle,” he said.
Russell Whitaker, an attorney representing Pulte, said the developer would come to the February meeting with more information on that point.
“We definitely have some work to do with the (DuPage) forest preserve district,” he said. “We’ve agreed to meet with (attorney Mark Daniel and his clients, who are nearby residents), so we’ve got a number of things we want to work on.”