Hoffman Estates narrowly approves plan for smaller homes in subdivision
Residents of the 10 homes in Hoffman Estates' Devonshire Woods Estates subdivision were disappointed Monday by the village board's 4-3 vote allowing CalAtlantic Homes to build smaller homes on 38 of the development's 45 remaining lots.
The homeowners hoped to change at least two village trustees' minds since last week's 5-2 vote recommending approval, but were able to persuade only Trustee Michael Gaeta to join colleagues Gary Pilafas and Gayle Vandenbergh in voting no.
"I can sympathize with (the residents)," Gaeta said Monday. "My house is down (in value) just like theirs. They made good points."
Devonshire Woods Estates homeowner Carl Mahr said he and his neighbors only recently received pricing information on CalAtlantic's planned models - starting prices of $360,000 for the smallest 2,170-square-foot home and $420,000 for the largest 4,400-square-foot structure.
The existing homes range in size from 3,900 to more than 5,000 square feet and were valued at about $700.000 when built seven to eight years ago.
Work on the subdivision abruptly stopped when original developer Dartmoor Homes defaulted on its loans in 2009. The remaining lots southwest of Shoe Factory Road and Essex Drive on the west end of the village were acquired by Oxford Bank and Trust.
A few developers have come and gone over the years, but until now the village board agreed with residents' demands for homes similar in size to the existing properties, Mahr said.
But CalAtlantic's argument that the housing market has shifted away from such large homes persuaded a majority of the board this month.
"I know this has been a challenging process," CalAtlantic's Vice President of Land Omar Rodriguez told village trustees Monday. "We have spent a lot of time and effort trying to put together the best proposal we could. And that's what you see before you today."
Mahr disagreed, saying the market currently is sustaining larger homes in other parts of Hoffman Estates. CalAtlantic's proposal could have been made palatable if one model - a 2,576- to 2,653-square-foot split level - had been removed from the proposal. He said it looks awkwardly like a small house trying to appear larger.
Some of his neighbors said removing that option still would not have been enough to win them over.
Mahr and fellow Devonshire Woods residents Craig and Susan Daun said they planned to talk with all their neighbors soon to discuss what further options, including but not limited to litigation, they might have to block the plan.