The City Council has approved a controversial town home development for the northeast side that appeared to pit elderly residents against younger ones.
Kackert Associates Inc. of Aurora was granted a special use permit Tuesday to build 39 town homes targeted for sale to senior citizens on 10.8 acres north of Schomer Road, between Mitchell and Church Roads.
The 8-2 vote came five months after controversy that first surfaced over the proposed development in the 100-year-old Marywood neighborhood, which is built around Annunciation Church.
At Tuesday’s meeting, seven residents spoke in favor of it and three spoke against it.
Those opposed to the development, mostly younger residents, said it was too dense, although previous concerns about stormwater drainage seem to have been satisfied by modifications in the plan. Those in favor said it would give senior citizens a place to live after they had outgrown their houses.
The council voted in favor of the proposal after adding an amendment to the resolution that explicitly stated the development was targeted to the needs of senior citizens in the area.
Such language was suggested by Judy Korso, a nearby resident who opposed the project.
In other action Tuesday, the City Council passed a resolution calling for members of the Du Page Airport Authority to be elected, rather than appointed. Du Page residents of Aurora pay taxes to retire the debt of the authority, which runs Du Page Airport in West Chicago.
