After previously tabling the project, the Orland Park Village Board pushed forward Monday with a 20-unit housing development on the 14100 block of 108th Avenue.
Village officials took into account some concerns raised by residents about the Bridlewood development, shortening and relocating a planned walking path and adding more evergreen trees along its boundaries.
“I appreciate the staff and the developer and the board working through some of the issues,” Mayor Jim Dodge said. “I think there’ll be pretty strong demand for this kind of project.”
Earlier this month, residents including Brandon Hubby, who said he lives on Old Tamarack Lane near the proposed development, raised concerns about plans to raze 50 trees located at the top of a hill that serves as an area focal point.
“None of the residents in that neighborhood are for this — we’re all against it,” Hubby said during the Nov. 3 meeting. “When do the residents wishes, who have been here for two or three decades paying property taxes, count more than an outside developer?”
Northbrook-based developer Richard Turk agreed to add 18 evergreen trees along the south and east boundaries of the development “so there’s more of a wall,” said Orland Park Development Services Director Steve Marciani.
“They increased landscaping pretty significantly,” Marciani said.
A planned walking path was also shortened and moved away from the Old Tamarack neighborhood on the eastern edge of the property to extend from a point between two planned houses, Marciani said.
Trustee Cynthia Nelson Katsenes expressed lingering concern over parking. She said if parking spaces within the development fill up, people might park their vehicles on 108th Avenue, which could be dangerous as there is poor line of sight along the hill.
“Is there any way we can include no parking on 108th Avenue?” Katsenes asked village staff.
Marciani said it is up to the Parking, Traffic and Advisory Committee to consider whether to add a “no parking” sign to the portion of 108th Avenue within the village’s jurisdiction.
The Bridlewood development will cater to older adults, with the board voting Monday to rezone the property from E-1 estate residential to R-3 residential.
R-3 residential properties include 450 square feet of private green space adjacent to each unit and 20% of the development as common open space. Density cannot exceed 2.5 dwellings per acre, according to the village.
Permits and rezoning were approved 7-1, with Katsenes voting against the project.
Snow plowing for DMV
The board also agreed to cover costs of snow removal at the building housing the Illinois Secretary of State’s Orland Park driver services facility, owned by a nonprofit organization that offers day programs to individuals with developmental and intellectual disabilities.
Orland Township voted to end its lease with the secretary of state’s office in July, transitioning to a new space within Communities Transform Futures, or CTF Illinois, in September. Village Manager George Koczwara said because the township only granted the secretary of state’s office the required 90-day notice to vacate and find a new location, it was unable to budget for snow removal services at CTF Illinois.
The secretary of state’s office intends for two-thirds of the parking lot owned by CTF Illinois to be used by DMV patrons, according to the village. The village agreed to pick up the bill for snow removal services from Nov. 15 to April 15, estimated to cost up to $37,000.
“Of course, it depends on snow and what kind of season we have,” Koczwara said.
The agreement was approved 4-3, with Trustees Katsenes, William Healy and Michael Milani voting against it.
Healy expressed frustration about the nonprofit seeking “a handout” from the village, and Katsenes brought up that “the state has way more money than the village of Orland Park does.”
“I think this sets a very dangerous precedent,” Katsenes said.
Other trustees brought up how the motor vehicle office at 18230 Orland Parkway is only temporary, and the secretary of state’s office is looking for a permanent location before the one-year, zero-cost lease at CTF expires.
Trustee Joanna Leafblad said paying for snow removal at CTF offers a service to residents “who are going to be using that facility and won’t have to worry about having to walk through snow or ice to get to the door.”
ostevens@chicagotribune.com
