Residents object to rentals at River's Edge in Vernon Hills

A developer's plan for the second part of a residential development in Vernon Hills has drawn opposition from current homeowners who don't want to see rental units added to the community.

Access to a parking garage also is a concern, as a number of residents from the River's Edge community are expected to voice their objections Tuesday following the 7 p.m. village board meeting at village hall, 290 Evergreen Drive.

Weiss Development Co. received village approval in 2005 to build Rivers Edge as two buildings of 40 units each between Milwaukee Avenue and the Des Plaines River.

Units from the first building were sold as condos. Plans for the second building languished until earlier this year, when Weiss suggested a revised plan the village anticipates will include rentals.

That has angered some owners in the first building, where condos sell for $500,000 and up. Those buyers believed the eventual second building would be a mirror image of the first.

"Basically, we're taking the hit on the property values because they're going to go down," said David Saltzman, secretary of the River's Edge homeowners association. "All we're trying to do is protect our investment."

According to information presented to the village board, Weiss said market conditions would not allow for construction of the previously approved 40 units in a second building.

Instead, a plan for 60 units - later reduced to 59 - was discussed by the village's advisory planning and zoning commission last February, March and April. The commission ultimately recommended against the plan, citing density and parking concerns.

Since then, Weiss reduced the proposal to 52 units and added parking spaces. Provisions also were included to separate the existing building from the shared parking garage, but homeowners want a completely separate entrance to indoor parking.

"We don't want renters to have access to our condo building," Saltzman said.

The plan is subject to 14 conditions, including construction of a path from Rivers Edge to the Des Plaines River Trail.

Another condition would give the village the authority to approve a future conversion to condos.