'Coordinated redevelopment' suggested for area near Elmhurst Hospital
A plan for the future of York Street and Butterfield Road in Elmhurst took some turns this week to address residents' concerns about development of the unincorporated area near Elmhurst Hospital.
An initial draft of redevelopment plans for the area north of the hospital included calls for multifamily housing, including assisted living, and for properties to be annexed to the city.
But the plan - developed with the help of a consultant - didn't specify how redevelopment or annexation should occur, leaving West Yorkfield subdivision residents worried it could come through a piecemeal approach that would make it difficult to sell their homes.
The new version of the plan heading to the city council for consideration Dec. 3 calls for "coordinated redevelopment" as part of a comprehensive strategy that will encourage consolidation of parcels. It says the city has "no desire to proactively annex properties," and if annexation does occur, it must include consideration of finances, schools and stormwater issues.
Changes to the draft were approved Monday by the three aldermen on the city's development, planning and zoning committee after staff members worked with consultant Houseal Lavigne Associates, committee Chairman Mike Honquest and West Yorkfield resident Dan Cusack to come to an agreement.
Cusack said assurances against piece-by-piece development gives neighbors confidence that officials will pursue redevelopment strategically and take neighborhood priorities into account.
"They were much more specific in the concerns that need to be addressed before any development happens, so we were pretty happy with that," Cusack said. "We're pretty happy with the fact that they paid attention to us, that they made these changes."
Before any development could occur, the plan now requires a traffic impact analysis and reviews of stormwater management and demographic forecasts.
Honquest said including wording to guarantee such reviews is the best the city can do when no developer has come forward.
"It's a framework for what could potentially happen in that area," Honquest said about the plan, which could gain council approval by late December. "Until we get a developer, there's a lot of hypothetical scenarios, and the neighbors understand that."
Subarea plans being developed by the city also cover four other sections of town: York and Vallette streets, the Lake Street corridor between Route 83 and York Street, a one-block area at First and York downtown, and the intersection of North Avenue and Route 83.
If the city council approves the plans, they will serve as an update to the 2009 comprehensive plan and as a guide to developers. Honquest said the plans also could lead the city to approve new streetscape or landscaping projects before developers come forward.
Cusack said he's pleased he and his neighbors - and the incorporated Elmhurst residents they enlisted to call aldermen on their behalf - were able to create satisfactory changes. He called it good practice for the future of an area now described in the plan as "a mix of different uses and scales that do not necessarily work well together."
"When an actual developer comes in with some sort of a plan or something starts moving here," Cusack said, "we'll be much more prepared for the next round."