Despite resident objections, Buffalo Grove board approves plans for 187 homes

Despite overwhelming opposition from neighbors and a 6-2 negative recommendation from the village's planning and zoning commission, Buffalo Grove trustees Monday unanimously approved plans for 187 homes on the 50-acre Link Farm property.

The planned Link Crossing subdivision will include 119 two-story townhouses among the single-family residences in the development near Aptakisic and Buffalo Grove roads, north of Didier Farms.

Neighbors who packed village hall Monday left outraged in wake of the vote.

"The good news is that we can vote all these people out of office, unlike the federal government," resident Mike Garfield said. "This is ridiculous."

Opponents of the plan, including former Village Presidents Jeffrey Braiman and Elliott Hartstein, argued that it included too many homes for the 50-acre parcel on the north side of the village.

"You still can't escape the intense density," said resident Jennifer Murillo, whose property borders the development. "This is a quality of life for our neighborhood issue."

But trustees said they believe developer K. Hovnanian Homes has responded to the concerns raised since the plan first was floated in April 2016.

K. Hovnanian's Jon Isherwood and attorney Lawrence Freedman said the New Jersey-based homebuilder reduced the number of planned units from 222 to 187 and replaced 73 three-story townhouses with 50 two-story townhouses.

They said they've also doubled the size of a park space and will make a $625,000 donation to Aptakisic-Tripp School District 102, more than double what is required.

Trustee Andrew Stein said he initially shared residents' concerns about density but noted that the number of homes has been lowered and the plan shows "a nice transition going from lower density single-family detached homes to townhomes."

Trustees also agreed that the mix of townhouses and clustered single-family homes aimed at millennials and move-down older buyers fills a void in the village.

"This is less dense than other similar subdivisions in Buffalo Grove, including neighborhoods across the street from it," Trustee Joanne Johnson said.

She added that it conforms to the village's comprehensive plan, which calls for two to four homes per acre on the site.

"It is a fact that in Buffalo Grove we need diversity in our housing to attract millennials to fill open tech jobs within our village boundaries," Johnson said.

"And we need to find housing for our empty-nesters who want to stay near family but don't want the responsibility of maintaining a home. What we do not need is more of the same type of housing that we already have."