A proposal to build a subdivision that would have nearly doubled the number of homes in South Barrington has been officially withdrawn by the developer after more than a year of negotiations failed to resolve density issues.
The development proposed by James Investment Co. of Northbrook initially envisioned 1,080 townhouses and single-family homes on a 615-acre tract owned by Klehm Nursery.
The number of homes officially was pared down to 990 units in an attempt to appease trustees unhappy with the high density, but even an informal offer made earlier this year to build only 600 units was met with less than enthusiasm by the Village Board.
Typically, about 30 new houses are built in the village each year, officials said. One acre is the smallest lot size allowed by South Barrington’s zoning ordinance, and lot sizes of two acres or larger have been generally preferred by the board. The James proposal would have set aside 207 acres for a golf course and another 25 acres for commercial development along Higgins Road.
Even if the project went ahead with only 600 homes, the remaining 383 acres would have required a density of almost two homes per acre.
“They’ve not had a lot of positive feedback from our side to suggest that the changes they made to the proposal were acceptable,” said Bruce Trego, South Barrington’s development coordinator.
The Klehm property is bounded by Higgins Road, Illinois Highway 59 and Bartlett Road, with Bartlett Road and Route 59 converging at the northernmost point.
About 50 acres is within South Barrington’s boundaries and another 60 acres or so is in Barrington Hills. The rest is unincorporated and would have been annexed by South Barrington under the proposal. Barrington Hills had not yet been consulted on the plan.
Representatives from James Investment could not be reached for comment. They withdrew their petition without giving a reason, village officials said.
“They really haven’t told us why they withdrew, but I would be happy for them to come back with another proposal,” said Patricia Graft, South Barrington’s village president.
A possible solution for the company to build the number of units it wants would be to build a cluster of high-rise condominiums at one end of the property, which would allow the majority of the development to conform to village zoning, Graft said.
