District 102 concerned about proposed Buffalo Grove subdivision

Buffalo Grove's planning and zoning commission will consider a proposal to place more than 220 homes on the 50 acres known as the Link Farm, near the intersection of Buffalo Grove and Aptakisic roads.

The Buffalo Grove village board this week sent to the commission a concept plan for Link Crossing, which calls for a mix of single-family homes and townhouses on the site.

The proposal, presented to the village board Monday by K. Hovnanian Homes, already is facing opposition from Aptakisic-Tripp School District 102 board members, who expressed concern about the number of additional children the district could absorb.

James Truesdell, the homebuilder's land acquisition adviser, said the development primarily would be marketed to Buffalo Grove's aging population looking for smaller homes in need of less upkeep. He said the homes would be in the 2,000- to 3,000-square-foot range.

"We're trying to come up with a community that would be designed for people who are living in Buffalo Grove, living in the area, who are looking for this type of move-down, age-targeted program, where you would have maintenance-free living," he said.

However, Truesdell said some of the townhouses would be three-story structures aimed at younger professionals.

District 102 school board President Ellyn Ross said the Link Crossing proposal is just one of several new residential developments bringing more children to the Lake County portion of Buffalo Grove.

"(This is) one of six developments that are coming into District 102, and we have to look at this as a global situation that we are faced with in the coming years," she said. "We have a possible increase of students of 25 percent. We are at capacity at the present moment, so with all the new students that we are going to have to serve, this is a financial impact and operational impact as well as a capacity issue, so we as a board are looking at where we are going to house a possible 400 new students."

Ross said developers of the nearby Easthaven subdivision projected it would have about 23 students, but the homes already have added 40 children to the district's enrollment.

Trustee Jeffrey Berman noted that two other housing developments in that part of the village - the Mirielle and Tenerife subdivisions - similarly were marketed to older residents, but became popular with young families wanting to live within the Stevenson High School boundaries.

"I know that you have marketing concepts and plans, but as the old phrase goes, the best laid plans of mice and men often go astray," he said.

"I would hope that as this process moves forward, that you will reach out and work with the school districts, in particular, who have expressed concerns," Berman added.

Truesdell said that the plan would be submitted as a Planned Unit Development and would contain "deviations" from village zoning requirements. The lots for the single-family homes, he said, would be smaller than ordinary, for example. He added the developer is looking for 20-foot setbacks throughout the area for the townhouses. The idea, he said, is to cluster the homes around the open space and create a streetscape.