Geneva City Council OKs townhouse annexation, development

The Geneva City Council and Mayor Burns voted to approve an annexation agreement for a proposed townhouse development of 24 units.

Called Prairie Grove, the approximately 5.75 acres of vacant land along Peck Road between Prairie View and Heartland drives would offer 18 single story ranch units with a mix of two and three bedrooms and six two-story units, each with three bedrooms, City Administrator Stephanie Dawkins said at the Jan. 21 City Council meeting.

In all, nine alderpersons – with one absent – and Burns voted to approve developer FD Fund II LLC’s four requests.

First Ward Alderperson Anaïs Bowring was absent.

In addition to the annexation, they approved an ordinance granting an amendment to the city’s Comprehensive Plan for the property to be single family attached residential instead of single family residential; a zoning map amendment to medium density residential from rural single family residential; and a resolution granting a preliminary and final plat of subdivision.

The Planning and Zoning Commission unanimously approved all four requests at the Jan. 9 public hearing.

But they also heard objections from neighbors that the project was too dense and the single entry and exit through Peck Road was too dangerous.

Kristin Louapre said she was speaking on behalf of her father, Anton Purkart, who lives on Peck Road.

“In the last 50 years, Peck Road has become a drag race NASCAR,” Louapre said. “It is horrific. ... I don’t care if this only adds 10 cars, you’re asking for an accident in that location. ... For people turning left, there’s going to be accidents there.”

Ken Klank, who lives in the 300 block of Willowbrook Way, said he understood the density.

“If you’re the building, you want to maximize density to maximize profit,” Klank said. “Who doesn’t like making money but not at the expense of others.”

Klank asked the commission to deny the application and “give us something that is single family.”

Lynn Means, the senior transportation engineer with consulting engineers BLA Inc., said the traffic from the proposed development “will have a minimal impact.”

As to the public’s concerns, Means said Peck Road is not a residential road.

“It is – sadly – a mini Randall Road,” Means said. “A minor arterial roadway, so it does accommodate a higher volume of traffic volume and it does accommodate a higher traffic speed and it does provide a greater restrictions by county standards by number of driveways and access.”

Commissioner Rebecca Holoman said she understood the concerns.

“But I also feel like ... there is no project that makes everybody super happy,” she said.

At the City Council meeting, Fourth Ward Alderperson Amy Mayer said she received a lot of correspondence from constituents who opposed the project. She noted the R6 zoning designation is not the densest designation.

“This is not high density residential,” Mayer said. “This is townhomes. And R6 means that each one has just under a quarter acre of the site, that is very far from high-density residential housing.”

At the end, Mayer said, the public will see a “property that is improved over what is there now, which is an unkept wooded area.”

“This will turn into an asset for the community,” Mayer said. “My history in Geneva tells me that almost every development that is proposed in Geneva is opposed by the neighbors, including ... Pepper Valley ... Fisher Farms was opposed.”

Mayer said part of the city’s Strategic Plan is to provide Geneva with more housing diversity.

“This fits into that very well,” Mayer said.