The Portage Plan Commission unanimously rejected a plan to rezone 16.5 acres north of Squirrel Creek subdivision for multifamily housing.
“I’m more than happy to come in and build 40 single-family homes,” but that would bring more people, more traffic and more impact on schools and parks, developer Jack Zausa said after hearing complaints from neighbors.
“I’ll move on and build 1,000 homes elsewhere” if this isn’t approved, he said before the commission’s vote Monday night to forward an unfavorable recommendation to the City Council.
Zausa had sought to rezone the property from single-family low-density to multifamily low-density to allow for 79 affordable, paired patio homes.
“Quality affordable homes, that’s a hot-button issue across the country,” Zausa’s attorney, Daniel Timm, said.
A similar request was denied in 2003.
The original plan for the proposed subdivision included land to the south that is now classified as a wetland.
Among the concerns that neighbors and commission members expressed was that the plat would have allowed only one entrance to the subdivision. Zausa expressed surprise that the plat previously approved for the site didn’t have a secondary access point. He suggested putting a road between two homes for emergency vehicles only.
Timm said the homes would appeal to retired people who want a cheaper cost of living than in Illinois. Young professionals might also buy them for starter homes.
Neighbors expressed concerns that buyers sometime in the future might rent out the homes to people who aren’t as invested in the homes as is the case with owner-occupied homes. Zausa said that’s easily addressed by including a clause in the covenants and restrictions for the homes that they can never be rented out.
Mayor Austin Bonta reminded the commission that the comprehensive plan, adopted in 2009, is going to be redone. It’s supposed to be revised every five years, he said, a point he made repeatedly during his campaign last year.
Doug Ross is a freelance reporter with the Post-Tribune.
