Round Lake townhouse plan draws detractors

Opponents of 249 townhouses proposed for southern Round Lake got to pepper a developer and his consultants with questions at a public hearing Tuesday night.

About 50 spectators, many from unincorporated Fremont Township, jammed into a meeting room for the Round Lake plan commission/zoning board of appeals hearing.

The potential for additional traffic congestion and negative affects on wetlands from the townhouse project were among the reasons for the opposition.

Under the proposal floated by developer Marc Neuerman, the 249 townhouses would rise near Route 60 and Fairfield Road. Round Lake is being asked to bring 120 acres for the project within village boundaries through annexation. Construction would start in mid-2008.

About 73 of the 120 acres would be wetlands and open space. Neuerman's Rosemont-based NBG Land Partners would improve the wetlands as well as construct new parks, trails and four areas where residents and visitors could view nature.

John Cuneo Jr., who lives on Chardon Lane near the proposed townhouses, was among the skeptical Fremont Township residents who spoke at Tuesday night's meeting. He questioned the idea of creating trails in the new subdivision.

"Is it practical to have walking trails in a swamp?" Cuneo said.

Wetlands consultant John Ryan said cattails and other undesirable vegetation have taken over where NBG Land Partners seeks to build the 249 townhouses. He said upgraded wetlands would be created, in part, by using herbicides to rid the area of the undesirable plants -- a point that drew some concern from the crowd.

If built, the development would offer clusters of two-story townhouses. The trails would be open to the public and also connect the subdivision.

"We believe that our plan brings an extraordinary benefit to the community," Neuerman said.

Round Lake village board members will get the final word on the proposal after receiving a plan commission recommendation.