The Cook County Board delayed a vote on an Orland Township residential development to give the developers more time to settle their differences with Orland Park officials, who object to the number of housing units in the plan.
Almost a year ago, a condominium project featuring 36 units was voted down by the Orland Park Village Board because it exceeded the village’s local zoning guidelines, which allow from 20 to 33 units on the 10-acre site. Since then, the group of developers, known as Spring Creek Place Joint Venture, dropped plans to annex to Orland Park and has been pitching a plan with double the number of units to county officials.
Last month, the county’s Zoning Board of Appeals approved the 72-unit condominium plan, as well as an additional neighboring project featuring 49 single-family homes on 20 acres. The single-family home portion of the plan has since been changed to 30 homes on about 11 acres.
While the unincorporated development has bypassed the village’s direct scrutiny, the project is still subject to the village’s indirect control because of the protest Orland Park filed with the county. The County Board is now required to have a super majority, or 13 affirmative votes out of 17, to approve the development.
The developers are proposing to build six three-story condominium buildings on 10 acres northeast of 163rd Street and Wolf Road, just outside village borders.
The village claims the plan constitutes a “drastic deviation” from the local comprehensive plan and would overtax community facilities, create severe traffic problems and diminish nearby property values.
The developers have maintained that the plan is compatible with the surrounding zoning and density and cite the 1,500-acre Spring Creek project that was negotiated after a 2-year legal battle that resulted in amendments to the village’s long-range comprehensive plan.
Spring Creek features 4,195 single-family homes, townhouses, condominiums and apartments on a dozen separate parcels between 135th and 175th Streets and from 108th Avenue to Will-Cook Road. While the overall density is under four units to the acre, some parcels feature a higher density.
Cook County Commissioner Peter Sylvestri, chairman of the county’s building and zoning committee, said a vote on the project was “deferred so the developer and the village could discuss the overall plan more closely and in 30 days there’ll be a decision made,” he said. In the meantime, a new comprehensive zoning map for all of Cook County is in the works to settle discrepancies between the guidelines of local municipalities and the county.
Orland Township Supervisor Wayne Mraz, who has been organizing a letter-writing campaign to persuade the county to reject the project, said he believes at least five commissioners will vote no. “The votes are there to stop it. The village of Orland Park is in the driver’s seat.”
