A homebuilder looking to construct 94 duplexes on forested land near two water towers on 75th Street has won preliminary approval from the Naperville Planning and Zoning Commission.
Commissioners endorsed Pulte Homes’ plans for the duplex development, called Naperville Ridge, after more than two-and-a-half hours of deliberation Wednesday night.
The subdivision is proposed for roughly 32 acres of unincorporated land, which the DuPage Water Commission declared as surplus and plans to sell. News reports listed the purchase price in a potential deal with Pulte as $14 million.
Pulte representatives described Naperville Ridge as an “enclave” of low-maintenance living that would appeal to empty-nesters looking to downsize. Project attorney Caitlin Csuk said the project is “thoughtfully designed,” with 55% of the land remaining open space to preserve about 11 acres of wetlands.
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“The whole project is specifically planned to preserve and improve the quality of these natural features,” Csuk said. “We’re making preservation of the critical wetlands the absolute highest priority.”
Several neighbors disagreed. Fifteen nearby residents addressed the commission about the project, with all but two of them opposed. Speakers cited issues including disturbance of wetland habitats, loss of trees, density of duplexes near existing large-lot homes and traffic problems.
Neighbor Thomas Frost, who lives in the unincorporated Waynewood subdivision south of the property, described the proposal as “exactly the kind of sharp, incompatible change” that zoning codes are designed to prevent.
Fellow Waynewood resident Otto Guedelhoefer said three duplex buildings totaling six units are designed to back up to the property where he’s lived for four decades.
“Within that 40 years, we have seen remarkably little change — up until now,” Guedelhoefer said. “The changes that are being discussed now are fundamentally dramatic.”
Naperville Ridge would require annexation into the city of Naperville, which the city council will consider separately, as well as zoning to an R2 district for low-density multifamily housing and a conditional use to allow the proposal to be processed as a planned unit development.
Pulte also is seeking permission to build an eight-foot-tall fence along some sections of the property as a buffer — when six feet is the typical height limit — and to to plant fewer parkway trees than required by code.
“Nothing in this proposal is for the benefit of existing residents,” Waynewood subdivision resident Rita Treonis said.
Yet nearby resident Bill Walsh said he’s happy about one change Pulte has made to Naperville Ridge plans. The developer won’t build an access road from 77th Street on the south side of the property, Csuk said. An emergency access lane will be there for emergency vehicles, but the only access for future residents would come from 75th Street.
“In general, I am fully supportive of this development,” Walsh said. “By continuing to expand the housing stock, it expands the property tax base, putting less pressure on existing property owners.”
DuPage County Board member Lucy Chang Evans, whose District 3 includes the property in question, was the other speaker who took a more accepting stance.
She clarified a misstatement by several neighbors, who incorrectly called the land a forest preserve. She said neighbors can take some solace in the fact that the site is proposed for housing, rather than an industrial water treatment facility, which the water commission could have built there if not for purchasing land in Northbrook for that purpose.
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“I really sympathize with all of these residents,” Chang Evans said. “I hope their new neighbors are good neighbors, and I hope this development is responsible.”
With a positive recommendation on a 4-2 vote from the planning and zoning commission, the zoning-related issues for Naperville Ridge now will head to the city council for consideration.
Marie Wilson is a freelance reporter for the Naperville Sun.