'I don't want to be a NIMBY': Arlington Heights board wants apartment plan revised
Is it the right fit?
That was the question around Arlington Heights village hall this week about a proposal for six-story, 136-unit apartment building with ground-floor restaurant across from a neighborhood of historic homes on the northern edge of the downtown.
After a nearly three hour back-and-forth late Monday among residents, village officials, the developer and their consultants, six of the nine elected village board members said they wouldn't approve the $66 million redevelopment at 116-120 W. Eastman St. as proposed, sending the plan back to Compasspoint Development for further revisions.
"I have wrestled with this project from the day I found out it was going to start its way through the process, because it is literally in my backyard, and I don't want to be a NIMBY," said Trustee Robin LaBedz, referring to the phrase Not in My Backyard.
"I just don't think it fits," added LaBedz, who lives on nearby Fremont Street.
After its initial proposal was rejected by the advisory plan commission in May amid neighborhood opposition, the developer agreed to shorten the building height from seven stories to six, reduce the number of units from 150 to 136, add more brick to the facade, enclose the parking in a garage with one floor below ground, and increase the first floor setback from less than a foot to 10 feet.
But after months of internal discussions at village hall with the community development department and meetings with the Historic Arlington Neighborhood Association - representing some 625 homes to the north - this week marked the first time the village board got to chime in.
Many on the elected panel said the distances from the building to the property line should be even greater. Under the current proposal, the structure is set back 10 feet on the ground floor, 20 feet on floors 2-5, and 50 feet on the top floor.
"I want it to be compatible. And I want it to be comfortable," said Trustee Jim Tinaglia, who lives further north in the HANA neighborhood. "I'm afraid it may not fit as nicely as it should for this piece of property because of where it is and because of what is directly across the street."
Trustee Scott Shirley added that a pool deck proposed to face west would be more palatable to the neighborhood if it faced south toward downtown, to alleviate possible noise concerns.
"This doesn't have to be developed right now, as far as Arlington Heights is concerned, at least as far as I'm concerned," Shirley said. "It's been sitting that way for God knows how long, and I don't see any immediacy to developing this property."
But Mayor Tom Hayes, who along with trustees Tom Schwingbeck and Wendy Dunnington favored the project as is, said only about five houses along St. James Street would see the building directly. The site, currently two 3-story office buildings, is also bordered by an AT&T building and Village Bank and Trust in the downtown business zoning district.
"This is an opportunity for us to develop an area that is really asking for redevelopment," said Hayes, noting the recent revisions earned the endorsement of the plan and design commissions. "You're looking right now at vacant office space."
Bernie Citron, an attorney for the developer, said the latest proposal meets village zoning code for density and height.
"What more would you have us do?" he asked.
The board agreed to continue the proposal to allow the developer and village staff more time to work on plan revisions, but it's unclear how long that process could take.