Zoning board rejects plan for subdivision on former nursery near West Chicago
A company has suffered a setback in its effort to build dozens of ranch homes on most of the shuttered Planter's Palette garden nursery near West Chicago.
DuPage's zoning board of appeals Thursday recommended that county officials reject a conditional-use permit request from Pulte Homes, which wants to construct an 84-home subdivision that would be called Trillium Farm.
“I just can't approve the petition as it stands,” zoning board Chairman Robert Kartholl said.
The 6-1 vote means the homebuilder must overcome the negative recommendation when it presents its proposal to DuPage County Board members.
An attorney for Pulte declined to comment after Thursday's vote.
The county board's development committee is expected to review the plan on Feb. 18. The proposal then goes to the full county board for a final decision.
Planter's Palette recently closed after nearly 40 years. If Pulte gets permission to build Trillium Farm, the company would purchase 35 acres of the roughly 40-acre property south of Roosevelt and Garys Mills roads and east of Purnell Road.
Pulte representatives say the project would provide more housing options for seniors. But Trillium Farm wouldn't be an age-restricted community, so it's possible the subdivision would have non-seniors and families.
The proposal is facing opposition from neighbors who say the subdivision would exacerbate traffic problems and harm the character of their neighborhood.
Pulte is seeking an exception to DuPage's zoning regulations so the project could have lot sizes as small as 6,900 square feet. That's significantly smaller than the minimum lot the county normally allows in that area.
Opponents say that change isn't consistent with nearby lot sizes and would negatively impact the character and ambience of the neighborhood.
On Thursday, zoning board members agreed the project is too dense. They said traffic is another major concern.
Trillium Farm would have two proposed entrances on Purnell Road. But neighbors say traffic on Purnell already backs up regularly at Winfield Road. Building more homes would only compound the problem, they say.
“We have a road that's already at peak, if not beyond peak,” zoning board member Barry Ketter said. “That's an issue.”