Although still early in the planning process, a proposed development that would annex 970 acres of the rural La Fox community into St. Charles has already seen significant opposition from area residents, businesses, organizations and elected officials.
An early concept plan for the largely-residential development known as Charles Farm, which is being proposed by national home builder Pulte Homes, was presented to the St. Charles Plan Commission on Wednesday.
That plan shows dense areas of residential development with over 2,000 units, roughly half of which would be within a Del Webb active adult community, and 15 acres of commercial development with 40% of the land set aside as open space.
Wednesday’s meeting, which was for information and discussion only, took place at St. Charles City Hall.
It was attended by so many area residents that officials had to direct people to overflow rooms when the council chambers filled up. Those overflow rooms then also filled to capacity, so residents stood in hallways or in the lobby to watch the meeting on TVs.
Around 30 of those area residents spoke against the project during the meeting’s public comment time.
Many said the high density of the development would destroy the rural character of the area that residents have come to expect and businesses rely on. The area has a history of open space and historical preservation through collaborations between local governments and organizations, and the development would harm those efforts, some speakers said.
Other speakers spoke about the potential traffic, public health and environmental impacts of the development, along with a number of other concerns.
Ahead of the meeting, St. Charles accepted letters about the proposed development. Around 100 letters were received from area residents, the vast majority of which were opposed to the development for similar reasons as those voiced by residents at the meeting.
Local organizations and governments also wrote to the city in opposition to the development or highlighting concerns with the current plan.
These letters came from the historic Garfield Farm Museum, the La Fox Civic Association, Preservation Partners of the Fox Valley, the Kane County Historic Preservation Commission, some Kane County Board members and the village of Campton Hills, which also passed a resolution formally opposing the proposed development.
Wednesday’s meeting was held as a concept plan review, which is a required but early step in the St. Charles development proposal process.
The concept plan review process was designed to allow the Plan Commission, along with the public, a chance to see and comment on early concept plans for any proposed development so that the developer can take those comments into consideration when designing final plans. No votes were taken at the meeting.
A presentation on the concept plan was given by attorney Russell Whitaker on behalf of Pulte Homes. He said the company was looking for high-level feedback on the plan.
The development is proposed on roughly 970 acres bound generally by Route 38 to the north, Keslinger Road to the south, Harley Road to the west and Brundige Road to the east, but the project area makes up only certain portions of the land within that area, according to the presentation.
That area currently sits outside of St. Charles’ city limits in the unincorporated community of La Fox in Kane County.
The 970-acre property is split between multiple township, school and park district jurisdictions. About one-fourth of the property sits within Campton Township and the St. Charles school and park districts, while the rest is within Blackberry Township and the Geneva school and park districts.
In total, Pulte Homes is proposing to build 2,011 residential units on the property split between single-family detached homes and attached homes, according to the concept plan. The development would have a density of just over two units per acre, but that calculation includes the 40% of land set aside as open space.
Whitaker said in his presentation that development would be “clustered” to maximize open space.
An active adult community by Del Webb for people over the age of 55 would make up 967 of those residential units, according to the presentation. It showed that this portion of the larger development would have single-family homes, trails, parks and a central amenity center with pickleball and tennis courts, gardens, indoor and outdoor pools, a fitness center, a yoga studio and more.
“The amenity center represents an upfront $15 million investment in the Del Webb community. It’s an absolutely critical component to establish the social network that underpins every Del Webb community,” Whitaker said.
Del Webb community residents would live in accessible homes specially designed for those looking to downsize, would have snow removal, mowing and general yard maintenance taken care of by a homeowners’ association and would be able to take part in a number of community events, the presentation said.
According to Whitaker, the Del Webb community is a “primary driver” of the Charles Farm plan.
The other 1,044 residential units in the development would be typical of other houses constructed by Pulte Homes, he said. Of those, 846 would be single-family detached houses while 198 would be single-family attached townhouses.
The detached houses in each area would be of a different Pulte Homes style.
According to the concept plan, around 225 of the houses would be in the Spring style, which is the smallest detached house proposed for the development. This style ranges from roughly 1,700 square feet to just over 2,400 square feet and would hold between three and five bedrooms with two and a half to four bathrooms, depending on the specific floor plan, the presentation showed.
Spring-style homes are primarily proposed for the edges of the development, particularly around the La Fox Metra Station on Bunker Road, the concept plan shows.
Almost 400 houses would be in the Meadows style, which ranges from roughly 2,400 square feet to more than 3,100 square feet with three to five bedrooms and two and a half to three bathrooms, depending on the floor plan, according to Whitaker’s presentation.
The largest house style is proposed to be the Estate, which ranges from around 3,100 square feet to nearly 3,900 square feet with four to six bedrooms and two and a half to four and a half baths, depending on the floor plan, the presentation showed.
Unlike the other house styles, which only have two-car garages, the Estate style would offer up to three- or four-car garages, according to the presentation.
The concept plan shows that Meadows and Estate houses would generally be close together in neighborhoods.
A new roundabout would be constructed on LaFox Road to support the new development, and the 15 acres of commercial development proposed for the development would surround that roundabout, Whitaker said in his presentation.
In addition to parks, stormwater management and other open space, Pulte Homes is proposing a “conservation area” of more than 80 acres around Mill Creek and Johnsons Mound Run, both which cross through the property. Whitaker said the company recognizes these areas as “significant natural resources that dictate special attention.”
Pulte Homes’ general goal around the creek is “ecological uplift,” so the company would be removing invasive species and establishing native habitats, including native plant habitats that would improve water quality, according to Whitaker.
The idea is to create walking paths along the north side of the creek for the public to use and to set aside the south side for natural habitat, he said.
During his presentation, Whitaker said Pulte Homes’ plans for the 970-acre property are in line with the city’s plans for its future, especially because of its focus on housing for older adults, and are consistent with county-wide plans for growth in the area.
The development as presented would only be built if it was annexed into St. Charles because it needs city utilities, according to St. Charles Director of Community Development Russell Colby. He said this portion of the proposal will be discussed in more detail at a City Council Planning and Development Committee meeting in October.
Before Whitaker’s presentation, Colby told the Plan Commission that it was city staff’s opinion that the concept plan does not take into account historic preservation efforts put in place by Kane County in the area.
“Revisions would be needed to make the site plan fit the context of the property and provide compatible transitions around the entire site,” Colby said.
Many of the residents who spoke at the meeting, including Drew Frasz, president of the La Fox Civic Association, had similar concerns about the development’s impact on the La Fox area’s rural character, open space and historic preservation efforts.
Frasz said the development’s density is not compatible with the area because it ignores the character of the area, ignores a history of preserving open space and even ignores the city’s existing plans for the area, which call for rural residential development with houses on one-half acre or larger lots.
However, the La Fox Civic Association is not against development in the area, he said.
In the past, a different development called Grand Prairie was proposed for the area and was brought before St. Charles for annexation, but it was denied by the city after resident pushback, according to Frasz.
He said the association then went directly to the developer to work together on a plan called the Settlements of LaFox that would match the area’s character, and that plan was approved by Kane County, but it was never built because of the 2008 financial crisis.
Pulte Homes should scrap their current plan and start over again, this time with community input and without an annexation request, Frasz said.
“A reasonable, happy ending of a right-sized development is possible, but it does not go through St. Charles, with all due respect,” he said.
Letters written by Kane County officials urged St. Charles to deny the annexation request so that Pulte Homes will come to the county for approval instead.
One of those letters was signed by Kane County Board members Anita Lewis, Bill Lenert, Ron Ford, Leslie Juby, Michael Linder, Bill Roth, Mark Davoust, David Young, Deborah Allen and Rick Williams.
That letter said that the proposed development “is not a natural extension of the city of St Charles’ boundaries, relies on questionable contiguity, interjects an urban style development in a rural area, and would negate 25 years of planning with the LaFox area residents who have championed smart growth initiatives for this area.”
It also said that St. Charles should reject the proposal so the county “can continue to work on a plan with the developer and the LaFox and Mill Creek communities, that preserves open space, the Mill Creek greenway, and provides appropriate buffers between communities.”
The letter from the Kane County Historic Preservation Commission said that “approving Pulte Homes’ request to annex to St. Charles, is an approval to overpower and perhaps destroy a preserved part of the county’s history that residents, commissioners and planning staff have worked for years to protect.”
Those protections come through the La Fox Historic District, which was the first of its kind in Illinois, and the designation of Brundige Road as one of four Kane County Rustic Roads, which works to protect the road’s rural look, according to the letter.
Owners of a number of local rural businesses, including Heritage Prairie Farm, Rustic Road Farm and Weathered Ways Farm, said at the meeting and in letters that the development would have a significant and negative impact on their businesses, particularly because of the area’s loss of rural character.
“A development like this will not only affect those living right up against it,” Ashley Keller, owner of Weathered Ways Farm, said at Wednesday’s meeting. “Your entire community will watch as this development obliterates some of the most gorgeous land this county has to offer, and with it, the agritourism farms enjoyed by so many in St. Charles and the surrounding communities.”
rsmith@chicagotribune.com
