Village officials say they object to the high density of a nearby town home development in unincorporated Cook County but last week they approved the final plans because they learned that the County Board had already approved the project.
The Village Board voted 5-1 to approve the 10-acre, 69-unit Alpine Heights town home project at 165th Street and Wolf Road. Trustee Kathleen Fenton voted no, he said, because “even though we don’t have any control over it, I don’t like the density of it.”
The development features a density of 8 units per acre, which is higher than the four to six units per acre normally allowed for multifamily developments.
According to village attorney Kenneth Fricker, “any property within one and one-half mile of Orland Park’s boundaries is within its planning jurisdiction, but the village does not have zoning powers. We don’t have control over the zoning question, but the plan itself has to be submitted to the local municipality for its approval.”
In this case, the original plan for 67 units was approved more than two years ago by the village and the county. The land sat vacant until earlier this year when the property changed hands, and the new developers were able to acquire a small one-third acre parcel to add two more units to the development, Fricker said. Apparently, the county approved the revised plan as a minor modification back in May, he said.
With the county’s approval already in place, developers’ attorney Matthew Klein said he needed only to have the village sign off on the plans.
