Story posted Wednesday, November 4, 2009
Village, Township Let County Know Why They Oppose Townhome Plan
Glenview and Northfield Township trustees added their voices to a petition with 260 signatures opposing a plan to turn a single-family home into multi-family town houses in an unincorporated area bordering Glenview.
At their Tuesday, Oct. 20 village board meeting, Glenview trustees passed a resolution they will send to Cook County to formally oppose the proposed property conversion. The home located at 602 Glenshire Road is in unincorporated Cook County, kitty corner to the village's corporate limits. While the village does not have regulatory authority over the property, because it is within one and a half miles of the village's border and a formal objection has been lodged, a supermajority of at least three fourths of the Cook County Board will need to vote to approve the measure.
Developer Howard Gladan said he bought the property with the intention of developing a single-family residence on the property, but said plans changed with the severe downturn in the real estate market.
Northfield Township Supervisor Jill Brickman spoke to Glenview trustees at the meeting on behalf of the township saying the township's sewer system would not support a multi-family housing unit.
Village President Kerry Cummings said she did not find the project "unique" enough to qualify for a county zoning variance. Trustee Scott Britton said he feared that if the property was allowed it might set a precedent for more multi-family units. Referring to Gladan's proposed change of use because of the economy, trustee Debby Karton said, "This board not in business of subsidizing people's choices."
Other concerns raised by Brickman and neighbors signing the petition were safety, parking and traffic as there are no sidewalks in the area.
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