Paving paradise?: Historic Barrington neighborhood opposes District 220’s plan to buy land for parking
A Barrington neighborhood with a rich history is gathering petitions to stop Barrington Area Unit District 220’s plans to buy four properties to provide parking for its new auditorium.
The district approved contracts in August to buy 502, 506 and 510 W. Main St. and 112 N. Hager Ave. at a cost of $985,000. Closings are expected next month, and the district is asking for village board zoning approval.
Residents of the Walnut Grove neighborhood told Barrington village board members Monday they oppose the rezoning from single-family residential to public lands.
The residents have collected more than 150 signatures, and several plan to speak at the District 220 school board meeting Tuesday.
They say the district’s plans endanger a neighborhood with deep roots in Barrington's history — some of the homes date back to the Great Depression and include Sears kit homes built by Barrington High School shop students.
“There is always an ongoing conversation in our community about having enough parking at the high school,” not only for students and staff during the school day, but for after-hours activities, District 220 Superintendent Craig Winkelman said at the Aug. 19 school board meeting.
During the recent referendum, as the district was considering expanding the auditorium, the district received feedback about adding parking to accommodate the increased seating, he said.
However, Walnut Grove residents who voted for the recent referendum that made the auditorium possible say they were blindsided by the district’s decision. They worry about future land acquisition on their block and are a decline in property values.
Residents suggested the district use about 10 acres of buildable land it owns.
A neighborhood meeting hosted by the school district is scheduled for Dec. 10 via Zoom. The village plan commission hearing is tentatively scheduled for Jan. 13.
“No public comment or public meetings on the project have been held yet,” village Director of Development Services Jennifer Tennant said. “All of the public input on this project is still in front of us.”
Hager Avenue resident Dawn Mass, who lives in a home built in 1925, told the village board the high school’s encroachment on the neighborhood would change the feel of a quiet small town neighborhood within walking distance of the downtown and the high school.
“This place is special to us,” she said. “If we start to lose residential properties one by one, we will lose the scale and character of our neighborhood permanently.”
Hager Avenue resident Margaret Van Duch said the school district’s zoning amendment request would constitute spot zoning, removing viable affordable housing stock.
“It signals that residential zones bordering school property are not protected, but rather serve as land banks for future institutional expansion,” she said.