Critics push back against Libertyville project
Opponents of the largest residential development proposed for Libertyville in many years are reaching out to potentially thousands of people to rally them behind the cause.
Residents from several neighborhoods near the proposed Oak Trails subdivision west of Butterfield Road and south of Lake Street are on the contact list as opposition to various aspects of the plan intensifies.
A public hearing that began Sept. 26 will resume Jan. 9, in part because of a stream of messages to village leaders and members of the advisory plan commission. "Our goal has always been to have the public give input," Mayor Terry Weppler said.
Retired marketing executive Phil Brown, who lives within 250 feet of the site, is the architect of a grass-roots avalanche of emails, personal letters and social media posts opposing the housing plan. The missives cite the key issues as traffic, impact on schools and a view that this long-undeveloped area is the wrong place for a dense subdivision.
Brown got involved after receiving a registered letter in August about a public hearing on the proposal.
"If we didn't step in and raise our voice, it still would have been hidden under a bushel," he said.
Brown has provided village email addresses and messages to more than 2,000 people.
At issue is a proposal by Roanoke Development Group for 148 single-family houses on land owned by the Catholic Bishop of Chicago south and east of Pine Meadow Golf Club.
Concerns have included a proposed access and traffic signal at Lake Street, which now ends at the golf course; traffic the subdivision would generate; and the number of students to be added to schools in Libertyville Elementary District 70 from this and other planned residential developments in town, officials have said.
Developers asked for the initial continuance to pursue discussions on proposed access and a traffic signal at Lake Street. Roanoke co-founder Pete Kyte said the company is working on getting a signal installed there, which should address traffic issues. The proposal also will generate economic benefits for schools, he added.
"They are investigating their access opportunities," said John Spoden, director of community development. "You have a lot of things coming together at that corner."
Oak Trails would be the largest new residential subdivision in Libertyville in a generation or more.
"We oppose this development for many, many reasons," Brown said, adding that adverse effect on property values and safety are among the opponents' other concerns.
Since Sept. 26, Roanoke has revised its traffic study and fiscal impact analysis for Oak Trails, which would have a market value of $109 million when complete. The village will hire an expert to review that information, Spoden said.
The 40-acre property is part of the expansive grounds of the University of St. Mary of the Lake seminary and campus.
In 2010, the village changed its comprehensive plan and created a new housing classification to allow for future development east of the golf course, but it would have to be rezoned to accommodate Roanoke.