Opposition to St. Charles Towne Centre project heating up

Whenever it's time for the city to talk about the proposed St. Charles Towne Centre project, residents who live near the proposed mix of retail, residential and restaurants go into action. Fliers circulate. Phones ring. And neighbors pack the public hearings and bring such an onslaught of questions that it's sparked what will be eight public hearings on the matter come next month.

The extended time the project has had before the city's plan commission - an advisory committee - stems from there being little about the project residents like, and little the Shodeen Corp. can do to address the concerns besides a drastic redrawing of the entire concept.

The residential units in the plan were reduced from more than 950 to roughly 675 since the first version was unveiled in December 2007. There are fewer parking eyesores, more green space and even an interactive fountain has replaced what was once contemplated as an ice rink that the St. Charles Park District didn't particularly care for.

For its part, Shodeen has said the latest plan it's presented is pretty much the final revision the company will offer. The latest plan includes a new quirk, which has resulted in a new list of concerns for residents. Shodeen is asking for a first-ever deviation from the city's affordable housing laws to allow them to create the affordable housing required for the Towne Centre project off-site. That would include converting some of the apartments in other Shodeen developments in the city - Wessel and Covington Courts - into affordable housing apartments as units become vacant. That's a separate, but related, question mark on the project which the city's Housing Commission has yet to even delve into.

Meanwhile, residents are still fuming about traffic, crime, the size of the residential portion of the development, the inclusion of residential development on what is one of the last major commercial parcels in the city and impacts to local schools that are already in various stages of overcrowding.

"I'm fired up," said Larry Norgaard, a concerned St. Charles resident. "I'm still not feeling good about the project. Most of the people I know are not feeling real good about it."

Even if the project takes 10 years to build, Norgaard said the size of the mixed-use development, complete with a hotel, just doesn't make sense for the schools and business that already exist near the proposed site on Randall Road.

"There's many, many issues with this project," Norgaard said. "We just had a bond referendum fail to rebuild several schools. This will bring (to the schools) at least 65 more kids, they're saying, and I think the density will be higher."

Norgaard said the effect on local schools under the current proposal will be costly.

"We're going to push the envelope, and the burden is going to be excessive on taxpayers," Norgaard said, referring to the impact on the school system. "With the commercial part, they're talking about putting high end restaurants in there. We've got high end restaurants already going out of business in St. Charles and Geneva."

Vanessa LaSota agreed that there are many lingering questions residents have on the proposal. She believes residents are just getting started when it comes to having those questions asked and answered.

"Our displeasure is being heard," LaSota said. "We're on the right track with that. But there are many questions that are arising. For instance, they are placing this Towne Centre concept in a city that already has a town center. And it's not splitting hairs to look at issues like traffic circulation."

The next public hearing on the project is at 7 p.m., March 2 at city hall.