In June, developer DR Horton came forward with a plan to annex and develop the unincorporated polo fields at 119th Street.
The 723-unit proposal with a mix of single family houses, townhomes, and apartment buildings received pushback from residents for its high density and potential safety and traffic impacts.
The proposal was reduced to 702 units before coming to the Planning and Zoning Commission in July, where it got a split 3-3 vote or “no recommendation” positive or negative.
Since then, DR Horton has made some more changes to the plan, including a further reduction of unit count to 637, moving single-family homes to sit adjacent to the south pointe subdivision, instead of town homes, and the addition of 4.25 acres of park land.
But residents with the plan for us group say that these changes don’t really address their concerns.
“We have South Pointe single family homes, High Meadow single family homes, and Wolf Creek single family homes. And then they’re trying to put in here at the polo clubs, single family homes, townhomes, and apartments which are really not compatible,” said Beth Quint, resident of the neighboring Wolf Creek/Sterling Estates neighborhood.
The new plan puts density at approximately 5.75 households per acre, about twice as much as the neighboring subdivisions with between two and three households per acre.
Residents say that high density will have a big impact on traffic that’s already bad – even with DR Horton’s plan to pay for the addition of a third lane to 119th Street.
“That doesn’t do anything for the traffic that backs up from Route 59 all the way to Book Road more often than not on traffic hours,” said Quint.
The forest preserve district of Will County is also concerned about the development and its impact on Riverview Farmstead – which is down the DuPage River from Polo Club.
“We could very well have some issues,” said Forest Preserve President Suzanne Hart. “We have some issues right now even without developments – we have flooding. It’s a flood plain. That raises lots of flags.”
Though DR Horton did not respond to a request for comment, they will be presenting their modified plan at the Naperville City Council meeting on November 7, when council is slated to vote on the project.
Naperville News 17’s Blane Erwin reports.
