HOUSING BILL WOULD ADD DENSITY, NOT AFFORDABILITY
Officials in Springfield are considering a bill that deserves Naperville’s attention. It’s called the BUILD Act. As I read HB 5626, it would require our city to allow six- and eight-unit buildings on lots currently zoned for single-family homes “by right.” That means no public hearing, no council vote, and no formal opportunity for the neighbors who live there to weigh in.
Here are the implications if this proposal becomes law. Our average residential lot in Naperville is about a quarter of an acre. Under the bill, when a home on your street sells, a developer could tear it down and put up as many as eight market-rate units in its place. Every part of our community would be affected, from the Historic District to White Eagle, from Cress Creek to Country Lakes.
I’m not against housing, and the conversation about affordability is one worth having. My concern is that the bill as written mandates density. It does not address affordability.
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Last fall, the General Assembly eliminated parking minimums near our train stations, which already covers much of our downtown and the Route 59 corridor. Adding density on top of that, without addressing parking, means cars spilling onto residential streets.
The bill does include some infrastructure money, but from what I’ve reviewed, not nearly enough to cover the real impact to our roads, our schools and our utility systems. Those costs would fall to Naperville taxpayers.
Naperville’s character wasn’t built by accident. It was built over decades, through careful planning, through public hearings in our council chambers, and through residents who showed up and stayed involved. That process matters, and I don’t believe it should be set aside by Springfield.
Property rights matter. So does the right to be heard.
If this act moves forward, your neighborhood will change and you won’t have a say because the bill takes those rights away.
So I’d ask two things of my fellow residents. First, read the bill for yourself. Then walk into your yard and imagine six- or eight-unit buildings going up on the lots around you.
If you don’t want that future, contact your state representative and senator today and tell them where you stand.
Scott Wehrli
Mayor, City of Naperville
COMMUTE TO CHICAGO DOESN’T HAVE TO CAUSE ‘BURNOUT’
I’m writing to comment on the “Local Commuters Feel the Grind” article in the Sunday, May 3, edition of the Naperville Sun.
I read the article several times to make sure I was understanding it because it was unclear if the burnout was coming from commuting via train or commuting via car. I came to the conclusion that those commuters who are choosing to drive to Chicago from Naperville are, of course, experiencing one- to two-hour commutes one way, thus creating their own burnout.
Comments about the space available at Metra stations for parking should lead those driving to the city to pivot and take the train. Parking is ample; express trains take 33 minutes. I walk to the train from my home and then to my office. My total commute per day is three hours. I have the added benefit of walking four miles per day.
Stressful commuting via the train comes from people who, once on the train car, can’t decide if they want to go to the top level or sit on the main level, thereby creating a jam at the entrance to the cars. The commuter who wants to sit/stand on the stairs to the upper level also creates chaos because if someone wants to go up, they have to be asked to move so another person can use the stairs.
It has always been my experience that commuters who want to sit/stand on the stairs are the first ones on the train. I recommend they wait until others have boarded and then use the stairs as their commuting spot. This would free up a lot of the human traffic jam inside the cars.
Once on the car, just sit down! I have made my own commute less stressful in that I purchase a paper ticket I can put in the ticket holder and sit back and read my book or doze off. I don’t have to be waiting for the conductor to come and activate the Ventra app.
Brenda McDowell, Naperville
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