Saving a rare fen near unincorporated Dundee Township has become an election issue as all three challengers running for West Dundee Village Board are vowing to reject a controversial housing proposal.
The contention emerged after the Village Board essentially gave a vote of confidence to a proposal by Pulte Home Corp. when it sent the proposal to the Planning and Zoning Commission.
Pulte plans to build 314 single-family homes and a 28-acre commercial development on 232 acres of open space between Sleepy Hollow and Randall Roads.
Village President Larry Keller said opposition to the plan has decreased in recent weeks as Pulte has touted the economic advantages of the proposal and committed to protect the fen and an underground recharge area.
However, the three candidates–John Cronin, Glen DeCosta and Andrew Yuscka–see their election to the board as the only way to stop the plan. The three challengers and incumbents Susan Berna and Margaret Jefferson are vying for three available seats.
“The feeling here is that the only way we’re going to get this thing blocked is through the April 13th election,” DeCosta said. “A lot of people are frustrated over the board’s unwillingness to listen to serious opponents of the proposal.”
Yuscka added: “Why give up all that beautiful land for 28 acres that may not generate profitable revenue? It deserves to be protected in its entirety.”
Cronin also is concerned that the problem of overcrowding at School District 300 will be exacerbated if the housing proposal is approved.
“We’re in a financial crisis as it is,” he said. “Bringing 300 more students into a district that is bursting at the seams is not the answer.”
Trustee Paula Lauer was the only dissenting voice when the board voted 4-1 to move along the Pulte plan.
“The best thing for the area is to leave it in its natural state,” Lauer said. “I’m not sold on the level of protection that a developer can provide, especially one who has no track record of doing something like this.”
However, the other village trustees like the proposal because it expands the village into the growing Randall Road corridor with the 28 acres of land set aside for commercial development.
Nature lovers say the entire site should be left as open space because it contains a 3 1/2-acre rare wetland that both sides agree should be protected at all costs because there are only about 130 acres of fen land left in the state.
Keller said there continues to be a vocal minority who insist that preservation and construction cannot co-exist: “Some people believe that any construction will cause a demise of the fen. There’s not much we can do about that.”
Village trustees had considered allowing the Dundee Township Open Space District to purchase the land, but a contract signed by the district and the landowner, Thomas Galvin, did not directly state that the 28 acres of commercial property would be annexed to West Dundee.
DeCosta and Cronin argue that a boundary agreement states that Elgin will not develop the property in any way, and that Sleepy Hollow will not develop it as commercial property. In addition, Dundee Township Supervisor Jim Peterson said Galvin has never talked about annexing anywhere else except West Dundee.
Jefferson said any plan that gets the village into the Randall Road corridor should be considered.
“One of the key components that we’re seeking is balanced development in our residential and commercial base,” she said. “Randall Road is a strong commercial base.”
The challengers are skeptical of a fiscal impact study by Pulte Corp., which shows the village could make as much as $131,000 a year in tax revenues if the development plan is approved.
“Pulte is pulling wool over a lot of people’s eyes,” said DeCosta.
The Planning and Zoning Commission will hold a public hearing March 29, and the Village Board will decide on the matter in May at the earliest, Keller said.
