Woodridge has filed suit against the developer of a subdivision, claiming that the firm has failed to meet deadlines for completing improvements on the property, according to court documents examined Monday.
The suit charges Richfield Inc., a Willowbrook-based developer, with failure to meet all requirements outlined in a subdivision plan agreement made with the village for Richfield Place, on Dunham Road south of 75th Street. The developer has missed deadlines for neighborhood improvements for which it is contractually responsible, including street paving, storm drains, sidewalks and landscaping, village officials and attorneys said.
The suit is the second legal action accusing the developer of failing to meet a schedule drawn up in agreements prior to development of the
subdivision. Two builders, Star Builders and Vintage Homes, also have filed suit against the developer.
A spokesman for Richfield Inc. on Monday called the village
”inaccurate” in its allegations. President Richard Tufo said the responsibility for many of the improvements now contractually belongs to property owners and that the village`s figure of $70,000 is an overestimate of what it would cost to do the improvements on its own.
According to Woodridge Mayor Bill Murphy, the suit was filed after attempts to reach a compromise with the firm failed.
”This has gone on for several months, and the developer is continuing not to move in a timely manner to complete those (improvements),” Murphy said Monday.
”We felt that the things on the list were appropriate to be completed, so we filed the lawsuit,” he said. ”We have attempted to work with the developer. We had formulated a list (of improvements) that has not yet been completed to our satisfaction or to the satisfaction of the residents.”
The village action comes after a request for support from at least two homebuilders in the subdivision.
Joe and Elise Starcevich`s home in Richfield Place is the first one built by Star Builders, a company formed by the couple. The Starceviches said they and their new business are not in financial trouble and that they have not gone into debt getting the work done themselves. However, they said the incomplete status of the neighborhood has hindered their efforts to sell the home at their asking price of $379,000.
Such shortcomings are hard to explain to prospective buyers, Elise Starcevich said.
”But we`re not desperate to sell this house,” Starcevich said. ”We`ve had good offers on the house. We turned them down.”
Tufo pointed out that several custom-built homes in the subdivision have been sold and described the work left to be done as ”finishing touches.” It is customary, and even requested by the village in this case, Tufo said, to wait until a majority of the building has been completed before making certain improvements like blacktopping.
In some cases, the disputed work is not his responsibility, he said. In others, there are ”extenuating circumstances” the village has been aware of all along.
”It is not a question of someone not doing what they`re supposed to be doing,” but one of extenuating circumstances blown out of proportion by litigation, Tufo said.
For example, his firm has not yet paved streets in the area because construction trucks would simply wreck them at this point. He said that work will be done later.
The village is suing to recover the $70,000 it estimates as the cost of installing or completing the public improvements referred to in the suit, said Thomas Good, attorney for the village.
According to the lawsuit, Richfield has failed to install, complete or maintain improvements including erosion control, street paving, street lights, storm and sanitary sewer facilities, water distribution facilities, landscaping and tree planting, monuments and street signs.
The homebuilders said some of the deadlines for improvements passed more than half a year ago.
The second homebuilder involved in the initial lawsuit, Rockwell Larrabee, said he hopes the village action will encourage Richfield to speed up work in the neighborhood.
”Maybe with enough people we can get something done,” Larrabee said. The legal fees, he said, ”will be worth it if it gets the problem fixed.”
Elise Starcevich was not so optimistic. ”No, I don`t think the work will get done soon,” she said. ”A lawsuit could take years.”
Mayor Murphy said that although he is ”pessimistic” that the work will be done quickly, he hopes the lawsuit filed by the village late last week brings about an eventual resolution.
”Hopefully, this might be a trigger to cause the developer to go forward and complete (the improvements),” Murphy said. ”They agreed to a deadline, and they keep putting off. We reached a point in time where we just said,
`Enough`s enough.` ”
