A last second change of vote by planning and zoning commissioner Bruce Hanson created a split 3-3 result, leaving the Polo Club Subdivision with no recommendation, positive or negative, as it goes to Naperville City Council.
The development drew criticism from residents when its public hearing was first opened on June 20.
Chief concerns were the high density of the project, the impact that high density would have on School District 202 and on already congested local traffic, and the plan’s potential to create cut-through traffic.
Since that meeting, developer DR Horton has met with Plainfield School District 202, and had another neighborhood meeting.
They also reduced the amount of units in the project from 723 to 702, agreed to expand 119th Street to three lanes, and to lengthen the Book Road extension from Hassert Boulevard all the way to 119th.
“In round numbers the cost of those two road improvements exceeds 4 million. That would be our burden, not the city of Naperville’s,” said Danielle Dash, who does land acquisition for DR Horton.
Many residents were satisfied with the traffic improvements, but there were still concerns about the high density of the project.
DR Horton is requesting R3A zoning for Polo Club, which is proposed to have 6.4 households per acre. That’s over twice as dense as the neighboring R1A-zoned subdivisions with between two and three households per acre.
“What I’d like to ask is that you really examine whether this needs to be zoned as R3A, making this development extremely dense,” said neighboring resident Beth Quint. “This project should really be more in line with neighboring communities and zoned as R1 or R2 which would alleviate many of the concerns.”
According to DR Horton, the high density of the project is necessary to both include a diverse range of housing types – apartments, townhomes, and detached single family, and to help pay for the off-site improvements.
“You’re talking about millions and millions of dollars. There has to be a means to support those types of improvements, those means are home sales,” said Steve Bauer, an attorney with Meltzer, Purtill & Stelle LLC, and DR Horton’s legal counsel for the case.
When put to a vote, commissioners Fessler, Morin, and Losurdo voted for the project, while commissioners Margulies, Hanson, and Martinez voted against it: a 3-3 tie.
The proposal will now head to City Council for final approval.
Naperville News 17’s Blane Erwin reports.
