'Dirty' La Grange Site Sparks Resident's Concern

LA GRANGE, IL – An old industrial property is listed as a possibility for multifamily housing in La Grange's long-term plan for growth.

That prompted the concern of a resident who lives nearby.

The property in question is northeast of 47th Street and Bluff Avenue, which started as a gas plant more than a century ago. In the late 1990s, the state determined the site had contaminated soil.

On Monday, the Village Board approved a long-term comprehensive plan, which includes a proposed zoning map. The industrial site is now zoned as commercial, but the plan calls for allowing condos or apartments there.

The plan itself doesn't change zoning; the board must enact new regulations.

East Avenue resident John Pluto pointed to state documents from the 1990s that indicated problems with the industrial site in question.

In the late 1990s, the state informed owners Nicor and ComEd that "no further remediation" was needed, but imposed certain restrictions – among them, no digging without a safety plan to protect workers and no removal of the asphalt in the parking lot.

In one letter, the state Environmental Protection Agency informed the owners, "If converted to residential use, a five-foot barrier of clean soil must be maintained in the 'area of concern.'"

The state's letter must follow the title of the property.

"You're giving somebody the idea that they can put a big housing development in there, but they can't because the property is dirty," Pluto told village officials. "You shouldn't be granting (multifamily) zoning for that property."

Village President Mark Kuchler said the village wasn't granting zoning.

"We're talking about potential future uses. I know you disagree with that," he said.