'Severely Invading': La Grange Developer's Plan Criticized

LA GRANGE, IL – A La Grange couple told village officials Monday that a developer's plan for a residential complex is violating setbacks from nearby houses.

Kiersten and Jonathan Robinson, who live on Seventh Avenue, were referring to a proposed 39-unit downtown complex. It would replace the Jackson Square antique mall at 112 E. Burlington Ave.

The developer, meanwhile, told Patch on Tuesday that he aims to be a courteous neighbor. He plans a four-story structure with underground parking.

At Monday's Village Board meeting, Kirsten Robinson described the proposal to reduce setbacks as "severely invading" such rules.

And her husband said it appears the village has no precedent for the developer of such a tall building changing the setback against a neighboring house.

"It appears that this village has either run out of adequate places to respectfully place these (tall buildings) or we have come to a time when developers are insisting on adversely affecting the neighboring properties to create the economics in a building they want," Jonathan Robinson said.

Such a move, he said, should put every resident on alert that a developer could be coming to adversely affect their properties.

In October, the Plan Commission approved the development. The Village Board plans to vote on it when the developer meets several conditions.

"You are the last ones to stop it," Jonathan Robinson told the board.

In an interview Tuesday, developer Dan Spain of Five South Six LLC said the village's long-term plan designates a couple of areas for high-density residential development. Jackson Square is one of them, he said.

The proposed setbacks, he said, are substantially greater than those for many other multifamily buildings.

If the property remained commercial, the development would be allowed to go to the lot line, Spain said.

"We're trying to be courteous neighbors and have setbacks and take that into account," he said.

Spain is perhaps best known locally as the owner of The Elm restaurant.

In a statement, Spain said the side yard setback of the building's terrace on Seventh Avenue to the neighboring property on the south would be 11 feet. The actual proposed building side yard setback to the neighbor's lot line would be 18 feet, he said.

The side yard setback of the terrace on Sixth Avenue would be 7 feet off the lot line, Spain said, while the building setback on Sixth, for the most part, would be 14 feet off the lot line.

Currently, the multi-story building side yard setback on Sixth has a side yard setback of only 3 feet, Spain said.