A proposed 94-unit duplex residential development proposal planned for undeveloped land along 75th Street has advanced to the next step in a review process after receiving a favorable vote from the Naperville Planning and Zoning Commission. The vote came after panelists heard a chorus of concerns from nearby residents.
At a meeting Wednesday, June 3, commissioners voted, 4-2, in giving a positive recommendation to the potential project, which has become known as Naperville Ridge. It is situated on the south side of 75th Street, west of Gladstone Drive.
DuPage Water Commission currently owns property
Naperville Ridge could occupy a 32-acre site that currently is on land the DuPage Water Commission owns and has been deemed surplus property. The land sale was discussed at a DuPage County Board meeting last summer.
The Pulte Home Company is contract purchaser of the site, which currently is in unincorporated DuPage County and near the municipal limits of Naperville and Woodridge.
Caitlyn Csuk with the Naperville-based law firm of Rosanova and Whitaker is representing Pulte on this proposal and served as the project spokesperson at the recent meeting with commissioners.
“This community is proposed as a low-maintenance community, meaning that there will not be exclusive private yards for the homeowner,” Csuk said. “The HOA will handle all landscaping, snow removal, and exterior maintenance for the homes.”
In her presentation, Csuk also addressed Pulte’s planned removal of trees and the impact on the natural vegetation. She indicated more than half of the site — an estimated 55% — is slated to remain open space preservation, based on the plans.
“About 14 acres of this site suffers from damaged, knocked down, or toppled trees from the 2021 tornado,” Csuk said in elaborating on the tree management plans. “We’re doing our best to preserve the trees that we can, which is actually over 1,300 trees, not including the trees that we’re proposing to plant as well. We’re also making preservation of the critical wetlands the absolute highest priority here.”
All of the duplex units throughout the site will not have age restrictions, according to the company.
DuPage Water Commission land under consideration for development, image courtesy Google Street View @2025 Google
Nearby neighbors sound off with concerns
The Naperville Planning and Zoning Commission received more than a dozen written and verbal comments on the project proposal. Speakers shared a number of concerns. Among them: the impact of removing trees at the site, traffic impact, the development’s compatibility with the surrounding area, and the density of the proposal.
Thomas Frost, who lives in an unincorporated area adjacent to development, said the project proposal could add increased pressure to local roads and bring other impacts to the area he lives within.
“This will destroy our privacy buffers, our wildlife corridors, increase noise … and could create drainage problems onto our properties,” Frost said.
In written comments, Arjun Gupta outlined multiple reservations, including the long-term impact the development could bring on the broader area.
“Building 47 duplex homes on land that includes wetlands raises serious questions about long-term sustainability, drainage, and flood risk,” Gupta wrote. “Wetlands serve critical ecological functions, and once they are filled or disrupted, the consequences are irreversible.”
DuPage County Board member Lucy Chang Evans, a Naperville resident who represents District 3, also spoke to commissioners. Chang Evans pointed out the land is not protected land owned by a forest preserve, and indicated, at first blush, she views Pulte’s plans as “responsible.” She also acknowledged the neighbors’ concerns, describing them as “distressing.”
Chang Evans also raised another issue about Naperville officials’ broader efforts to bring affordable housing options into the city.
“I love living in Naperville, and we are victims of our own success,” Chang Evans said. “Everyone wants to live in Naperville now, and so we need more housing. I hope my kids can grow up and still come back to Naperville, so we do need more housing.”
Craftsman style duplex rendering, courtesy Pulte Homes
Commissioners weigh in on the project plans
Commissioners voted, 4-2, in support of the proposed development. Of the members in attendance, commissioners Shafeek Abubaker, Meghna Bansal, Derek McDaniel, and Whitney Robbins voted “yes” to an affirmative recommendation to the decision-making city council. Commissioners Allison Longenbaugh and Courtney Naumes voted “no.”
While giving her final thoughts before the vote, Longenbaugh described the decision before commissioners as “honestly, kind of a tough one.”
“I appreciate everything I’ve heard tonight, from both sides, from both the petitioner and the residents,” Longenbaugh said. “There is a lot of information. I have learned a lot here. … Based on what I have learned tonight, I am really not prepared to recommend approval on this petition.”
While he acknowledged validity in the speakers’ concerns, McDaniel explained why he was going to move the proposal forward with a positive recommendation.
“At some point, (the land) is going to be developed,” McDaniel said. “That’s the reality. Really, what I would like to do, more than anything, is ensure that this parcel remains in Naperville, which means we have more control and oversight over how and what’s developed on it.”
Abubaker said he, too, was comfortable advancing the proposal with a “yes” vote, based on the information shared.
“I will be supportive of this project,” Abubaker said. “I believe it represents a thoughtful development proposal — large open space preservation, moderate density, and strong environmental restoration.”
Before the vote was cast, Robbins urged the council to dig deeper into the neighbors’ concerns and said expressed hopefulness fewer trees ultimately will be removed if and when Naperville Ridge moves forward.
“This one’s a tough one for me, because I heard the residents loud and clear,” Robbins said. “But I also heard the petitioner, and you guys showed up tonight. You have done a lot of work, and a lot of things that we ask, from a planning and zoning standpoint, you’ve done those things. I think you’re still doing those things.”
In addition to taking up the commission’s recommendation, the city council will have to vote to annex the land into Naperville’s municipal limits for the project to move forward.
Image courtesy: Pulte Homes
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