Naper Commons subdivision plans revised ahead of Wednesday's public hearing

Developers have revised a proposal to construct single-family homes and townhouses on a portion of the Nokia property in Naperville, hoping to address community concerns over how the project could impact surrounding properties.

Updated plans for the controversial Naper Commons subdivision include a reduction of 12 total units, bringing the density to 66 townhouses, 118 "Meadows Series" houses, and 43 larger homes in the "Estate Series," according to a letter from Russ Whitaker, an attorney representing Pulte Home Company LLC.

Additional open space and "significant buffer yards" between surrounding properties have been incorporated into the altered neighborhood layout, planned for a vacant 67-acre parcel at Naperville and Warrenville roads, he said. Project leaders have been in contact with county and federal agencies to ensure the development will not endanger local wildlife or negatively impact contiguous forest preserve property.

The revisions are Pulte's latest attempt to gain support from planning and zoning commissioners, some of whom said during a Feb. 3 meeting they fear the project is too intense for the site in question. The public hearing is set to continue Wednesday.

"Our team has consistently worked to provide practical answers to questions and incorporate community feedback into updated plans that maintain the integrity of the development concept for Naper Commons," Whitaker said. "(We) believe we have reasonably addressed all the issues that have been presented."

But representatives from the adjacent Fairmeadow Neighborhood Association say they don't believe their primary concerns have been remedied. More than 7,000 people have signed the group's online petition opposing the project.

"Our neighborhood feels the latest changes don't improve the proposal's density, scope, innovation or creativity in any truly meaningful ways," resident Jen Banowetz said. "The houses remain tightly packed, green space and yards are minimized, streets are crowded, and open space is seriously lacking."

Though the transitional space around the proposed development "may have moved slightly in the right direction," she added, Pulte's updated plans do not include various suggestions poised by neighbors, such as maintaining a berm between the two subdivisions.

Whitaker said he believes the development team has been "consistently striving toward compromise." About 36% of the site is now dedicated to open space, he said, pointing to a 55-foot landscaped buffer between the Fairmeadow subdivision and a 25-foot easement with native plants bordering the Danada Forest Preserve.

Naper Commons is designed to offer a unique urban environment with a "heavily amenitized" 2-acre park and gathering space at the heart of the community, Whitaker said. The goal has been to "provide something a little different in character" on the property, he said, which is nestled between the Nokia office campus, forest preserve land, and residences.

"We are the transition point between that more intensive and less intensive use, and I think that needs to be acknowledged," he said. "We think this project is a home run."