St. Charles aldermen candidates disagree on impact of apartment project

The vote this week by St. Charles aldermen to approve a 670-unit apartment complex with a potential retail element secured the future for the former St. Charles Mall. But some of the future faces of the city council believe Shodeen's Prairie Center project is not the best deal for one of the last major land parcels available for redevelopment in the city.

Incumbent Second Ward Alderman Art Lemke was one of the four "no" votes on the project at Randall Road and Route 38. In an interview before that vote with the Daily Herald editorial board, Lemke said he could not support the project because Shodeen's plan didn't address the concerns aldermen voiced during Shodeen's other efforts to redevelop the land.

"We gave them some real clear direction," Lemke said. "What they came back with, I was not impressed."

Lemke believes there will be a significant increase in traffic on Prairie Street and the surrounding neighborhood roads. He supports adding senior citizen housing to the community, but not at the cost of the overall density Shodeen wanted.

"The density was just about what it was when the last council voted 'no,'" Lemke said. "Something still needed to be done here with that plan."

Lemke's challenger in the Second Ward is former mayoral candidate Jake Wyatt. Wyatt said the city negotiated the deal from a weak position. City officials should have worked toward buying more time with the bonds coming due on the tax increment finance district on the site so aldermen weren't backed into a corner, he added.

"I'm getting the impression that Mr. Shodeen and his staff think he's got the big bucks that can hold us hostage and force us to make a decision that's not in the best interests of the development of the area and the best interests of the city," Wyatt said. "We need to not be afraid to stand up to the developer and say, 'Go back to the drawing board and come up with something else.' We're not puppets."

Residents of the city's Fourth Ward are guaranteed to have a new alderman. Longtime city council member Jo Krieger decided to run for city treasurer, freeing up her seat. Seeking to replace her are David Pietryla and Lori Vitek, who have contrasting views of the Prairie Center project.

Pietryla said he would have voted "no" on the plan. He believes the residential density is too high, but he supports the senior housing. Pietryla said residents in the Fourth Ward he's spoken to don't support the plan, and his main goal is to be responsive to residents of the ward.

"We should have sat down at the table again with Shodeen until we got something closer to what the residents of the city want," he said. "The residents are telling me they haven't been listened to. I don't want that to happen under my watch."

Vitek uses a different measuring stick. She said the opposition to the Prairie Center isn't anywhere near what city officials saw when Shodeen presented its Towne Centre project for the same property. She said many residents don't want a vacant space as the city's western gateway. She believes the project can be good for seniors in providing a new housing option, good for schools in easing falling enrollment and good for the local economy.

"I believe commercial is driven by people," Vitek said. "We need people for developers to want to bring restaurants and retail to the city. And I want to see that. If we bring in some new residential, with some families, we might be able to drive some of the commercial back to downtown and along the corridor on Route 38. That would impact businesses positively. I do agree with the majority of the city council that we need to do something out there."