The Winfield Plan Commission has closed the door on a developer hoping to build a 407-home residential subdivision called Gates of Winfield.
The commission on Thursday, during a public hearing that lasted nearly an hour and drew a standing room only crowd, unanimously voted against a zone change request from LBL Development, LLC development manager Steve Kil.
The property sparked controversy in mid-January, following State Sen. Rick Niemeyer’s Jan. 8 proposed but never presented bill seeking to disannex a portion of the land located in the town of Winfield.
Winfield officials at the time posted a message on the town’s Facebook page challenging it and asking residents to contact Niemeyer’s office to voice their concerns.
The public hearing, at Kil’s request, included a zone change from agriculture to planned development for mixed use for 400 acres in the southwest portion of Winfield, roughly south of 121st Avenue, west of Gibson Street and southwest of the new Taft Middle School.
Plans, as presented on Thursday, included 407 residential lots to be located on 129th Avenue and an unspecified number of industrial lots off of 121st Avenue.
Kil told planners he wanted to proceed with the proposed Gates of Winfield, seeking a zone change request only, then a primary plat approval later, with engineering costs playing a major part.
“Since we don’t build housing, we can’t show you any housing. That’s why we don’t have any renderings,” Kil said.
Plan Commission President Jon Derwinski, reading from a three-page response to Kil, said in part: “After a thorough review of the petitioner’s submission it is abundantly clear that this proposal is not ready for approval. In its current form, it is incomplete, unclear and demonstrates a concerning disregard for the town’s established codes and public processes. I agree that we should deny this petition, and I will outline the specific, documented reasons for this recommendation.”
Those included failure to coordinate with state and federal agencies, a missing drainage plan, ignoring agreed-upon changes, and a pattern of overreach and disregard for town code.
Several residents at the meeting spoke against Kil’s request, including Winfield resident Mike Schreiber, who said the proposal was “very sketchy.”
“I’m totally opposed to it,” Schreiber said.
Duane Alverson, a Lake County Highway Department engineer, said he was opposed to the project because the roads in the proposed area are old gravel roads and substandard and would need a great deal of work.
“Those roads would not take any construction traffic,” Alverson said.
Winfield resident Tom Hruby, who said he owns property near the site, said he’s not against any development but the proposal by Kil needed more details.
“This is an enormous plot, without any details,” Hruby said.
Crown Point resident Susan McKendry said she was opposed to the proposal since part of the property is in a floodway and it is adjacent to a wastewater treatment center.
She said she traveled to Indianapolis earlier this year to appear before the legislature to protest the disannexation bill.
“The developer operated in an unscrupulous manner, not caring for residents,” McKendry said.
In other business, the plan commission approved a zone change request from agriculture to planned development residential for Todd Kleven, who serves as director of land acquisition for Lennar Corp., based in Schaumburg, Illinois.
The commission, in conjunction with the zone change, also approved primary plat approval for the 146-lot subdivision to be named Heron Landing.
The development is located at the northwest corner of 117th Avenue and Gibson Street on 81 acres. The high-end houses would be 2,900 square feet with an average cost of $500,000. All the homes would feature a three-car garage, Kleven said.
Kleven said his company, which is developing the Aylesworth subdivision off of 109th Avenue, will be a good partner with the town, contributing $450,000 toward the construction of a roundabout on 117th Avenue.
He said if plans are approved, developers would be moving forward as soon as the weather allows.
Several residents, who live in nearby established subdivisions, questioned the effect the construction would have on their properties while work was underway.
Joanne Smith, who serves as a homeowners association president in Wyndance, asked about stormwater concerns, traffic flow and if there will be sufficient emergency services once the new subdivision is built.
Additionally, the plan commission approved an April 14 public hearing for Todd Olthof of Olthof Homes, which is proposing a 328-home and townhome subdivision called Copperstone on 121 acres at 5601 E. 117th Ave.
Deborah Laverty is a freelance reporter for the Post-Tribune.
