Wheaton's Church of the Resurrection want massive complex

At this moment it's just a vast snow-white plain with only sporadic trees and animal tracks breaking the void.

But leaders of Wheaton's Church of the Resurrection want to turn a 21-acre former mink farm on the border between West Chicago and Winfield into a massive church complex. One that would someday feature a 1,500-seat sanctuary, administrative offices, small chapel and retreat center with overnight accommodations for 24 people. The church is purchasing the land for $3.3 million.

It's the magnitude of the proposal that has raised the hackles of residents in the adjacent estate neighborhood of WestWin. They're campaigning to either derail the project or at least scale it down.

"You mean there's something going on over there?" joked DuPage County Board member Linda Kurzawa, who represents the district where the property is located. "I didn't notice from the 200 e-mails I've received in the last week."

Church leaders say they've made concessions to neighbors to help blend the complex into the neighborhood and promised to scale back some of the worship plans.

"We're not about intruding, even though it seems like that because it's a big change," said church spokeswoman Margaret Philbrick. "We really want to serve the community."

Still, neighbors complain the anticipated bell tower peak of 85 feet, along with parking lot lights and hundreds of more cars would detract from the neighborhood.

"It just doesn't work," said neighbor Robert Whitney. "There are all sorts of problems, the least of which is the fact that the property was underwater in September. Where does that rain water go if the land is all paved over?"

But the biggest sticking point so far seems to be traffic. Purnell Road would serve as the church property's main access point. But the two-lane thoroughfare controlled by Winfield Township is less than ideal to opponents of the church's plan. They charge that traffic heading into the church property would cause backups on Winfield Road and even possibly Route 59.

Church lawyer Scott Pointner said the church has a plan to solve the Purnell Road problem. The church proposes adding a right-turn deceleration lane as well as a left turn lane on Purnell at the entrance. Then once on the grounds, motorists would have four options for finding parking spots to further avoid congestion on Purnell.

"We've worked very hard to respond to everyone's questions and concerns, and a large part of the concerns are based on incomplete and faulty information," Pointner said.

The property owners tried to sell the parcel to the DuPage Forest Preserve District, but they were offered about half of the appraised value. Negotiations broke off in 2003, forest preserve officials said.

The church project was rejected by the county board's development committee earlier this month, and it was expected to be up for a full board vote Tuesday, but it was never put on the agenda.

The three District 6 board members who represent the district where the property is located all say they are opposed to the project's in its current state. Board member Dirk Enger said he is trying to get the two sides to meet again before the issue makes it to the board. Other members said the proposal needs a lot of changes to make it work.

"This is 10 pounds of potatoes in a five-pound bag," Kurzawa said. "There's a reason this property has been undeveloped for such a long time."

However, the project has some allies on the board who also serve on the development committee. Board member Patrick O'Shea said the objections to the church proposal are all based on conjecture and preliminary plans.

"Right now the church is only seeking approval for a conditional use for that area as a religious facility, and I have heard no testimony whatsoever at the hearings objecting to that," he said. "I've heard a lot about ancillary issues, but we aren't asked to vote on that - yet."