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‘A lot of due diligence’: After revisions, 15-home subdivision approved in Lake Zurich

A 15-home subdivision has approvals to proceed in Lake Zurich after incorporating several changes based on talks with neighbors and village officials.

As planned, Meadow Wood East will be built on eight undeveloped acres east of Rand Road and north of Miller Road, with five models and prices starting at $600,000 and up.

Originally planned for nine, single-family lots, developers sought to resubdivide the property into 15 lots, rezone it and secure other approvals.

The advisory planning and zoning commission recommended approval last October and the village board considered the proposal Jan. 6.

However, the request was continued for issues raised by the board regarding potential impacts on the residential neighborhood to the south that needed to be addressed.

In response, the site plan was revised and returned to the board Monday.

According to village materials, changes include repaving Manchester Road; improving stormwater management to comply with current Lake County requirements; adding a 6-foot high composite fence with landscaping as a screen for residents to the south; and, building new homes with designs focused on energy efficiency and sustainability.

The initial plan was for the land buyers to do the site work and then offer lots to custom homebuilders to complete. But village trustees were concerned the open-ended schedule would create unnecessary confusion and inconsistency in design.

“After considering our options and with feedback from potential developer/builders it became very clear that the only way to control the community consistency and schedule was to build the houses ourselves,” contract purchaser Mike Naumowicz of Niles informed the board.

He said his team is experienced in marketing and construction and could complete the new subdivision within two years of the site being graded and utilities and roads completed and inspected.

Homes will range from 2,013 square feet to 3,747 square feet. Four of the five models are two-stories and one is ranch style, which would have taller roof lines and other features.

“It doesn’t look like a typical low-slung ranch,” Jeff Letzter, president of Aspect Design Inc., of Volo, told the board.

Trustees said they appreciated the concerns of the board and neighbors were taken into consideration resulting in revisions and a unified direction for the project.

“You can tell there was a lot of due diligence and deliberate kind of changes in modeling, which I appreciate,” said Trustee William Riley.

However, not everyone was on board as the requested approvals passed by a 4-2 vote, with trustees Greg Weider and Mary Beth Euker against.

Weider said he thought the homes were attractive but had concerns about lot size and neighborhood disruption.

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