'Not Ideal': Western Springs Official Questions Developer's Delay

WESTERN SPRINGS, IL – A Western Springs trustee this week questioned why the construction of a townhome complex may not start until next summer.

At a Village Board meeting, Trustee Philip Nawrocki said the developer told the village the project would start in September.

"We're already two months past that date," he said. "Looking at that open fenced area for over a year is not ideal, and more than one resident has commented on this to me personally."

In February, the board approved the zoning for Burr Ridge-based McNaughton Development to build 29 townhomes at 5600 Wolf Road, replacing a largely vacant office complex that was torn down this year.

Nawrocki, who lives on Park Place across from the proposed development, voted no on all the zoning requests. He was joined once by Trustee Amy Avakian.

Residents in the neighboring Ridgewood subdivision, which includes Park Place, opposed the plan. They feared the effects of flooding in their neighborhood, which already suffers some of the village's worst.

They also said the complex was too dense in an area of single-family houses.

Under the development agreement, McNaughton was to start site work within 180 days. But officials said McNaughton couldn't do that because the Cook County Department of Transportation and the Metropolitan Water Reclamation District had yet to approve permits.

At Monday's board meeting, the board was asked to extend the deadline to June 1.

Nawrocki asked why McNaughton didn't seek the extension before the original deadline in August.

Heather Valone, the village's community development director, said the developer hoped to have the permits in hand by August. And she said the company has had leadership changes. (Its president, Paul McNaughton Sr., died in mid-September.)

"If you ask the developer, they would like to start moving dirt immediately," she said. "They have been diligent in continuously reaching out to both agencies to get those permits moving as quickly as possible."

Nawrocki voted against extending the deadline.

"I'm continuing to vote no on any ordinances brought up on this project," he said.

He was the lone dissenter.