Boeger Place loses support of Arlington Heights trustees

While Boeger Place, the proposed apartment complex for people with mental illness, continues to be a hot issue in the Arlington Heights Village Board election, the April 5 results will probably not change any immediate future the project might have.

Of the five people running for four seats on the board, four are on record as opposing the project, where emotions are strong on both sides. The fifth is thought to be sympathetic but says due to the Boeger proponents' lawsuit against the village he cannot comment.

The current village board voted 4-3 last May to reject the controversial project that would have been built south of Dundee Road and east of Arlington Heights Road. Now, as the election approaches, Boeger Place has lost or is losing two of the three votes in favor.

Carol Blackwood, who was appointed to the village board a year ago, voted for Boeger Place in May, but says she no longer supports that project. Thomas Stengren, another trustee who voted yes, is retiring from the board.

Mayor Arlene Mulder, the third yes vote, is not up for election this year. Neither is Thomas Glasgow, an attorney who recused himself because he has done business with KinderCare, which has a day care center next door to the site where the apartment building was planned, or Joseph Farwell, who was absent the night of the vote.

Groups behind the proposed 30-unit building south of Dundee Road and east of Arlington Heights Road never resubmitted a proposal after the village board rejected the plan, which had been approved by village staff and recommended by the Arlington Heights Plan Commission.

Instead the developers have sued the village in federal court, charging violation of the Fair Housing and Americans with Disabilities acts.

Michael Sidor, making his second run for the village board, seemed sympathetic to Boeger Place and is believed by outspoken people in the village to support the project. But he said because of the current litigation it would be “irresponsible for me or any other trustee candidate to go on the record.”

Bruce Green, chairman of the Arlington Heights Plan Commission, opposes the project, saying the building was too large for the site, and it is bad policy to grant “extreme” zoning variations.

The other two incumbents, Thomas Hayes and John Scaletta, voted against the project and stand by their votes.

None of the candidates question the need for this type of housing.

Blackwood said she voted for the project because Arlington Heights needs affordable housing.

“Affordable housing is a priority for this village,” said Blackwood. “That hasn't changed.”

Her written statement for the Daily Herald says: “Today I would not be able to support their project on that site based on information and activities that have occurred subsequent to the May 2010 meeting.”

The main problem is that the developers did not negotiate with village staff members and neighbors to try to work out concerns that trustees and neighbors had expressed, then resubmit an application, she said. It also would have been a different issue if the neighbors had supported the project, Blackwood said, adding statements the developers made about support in the area were not accurate.

“My mind change came when the working together broke down,” she said.

Blackwood said she thinks there are other properties in Arlington Heights where the project would work, especially by rehabbing or razing existing buildings, but she said the group's funding seemed to be for new construction.

Sidor said the lawsuit was unfortunate because “both sides missed an opportunity to take a step back, sit down and try to find common ground. It makes the divide so much greater.”

He also said as a private citizen he was not privy to any executive session discussions or information that the trustees had and has decided “not to comment on issues currently in litigation.”

Green, who like Sidor is seeking his first term on the village board, said he only objects to the project because the building was too large for the site, and it is bad policy to grant “extreme” zoning variations. He said the developers were calling for 88 percent more apartment space than the zoning would allow, and the site was half the size it should be. Other zoning issues include the amount of available parking.

“They need to find a piece of ground that fits their need, and it's a great project,” said Green.

The other two incumbents who are on the ballot, Thomas Hayes and John Scaletta, voted against the project and stood by their votes in their written statements to the Daily Herald.

Hayes said due to the lawsuit he could not say much.

“While the village has always strived to accommodate those with special needs, the current proposal does not fit the chosen site,” he said.

And Scaletta said: “It (the board's) was the correct decision as to the proposal as presented due to the excessive number of variances requested by the petitioner.”

Project: Zoning issues include amount of parking