Fewer Surprises From La Grange Developers? It May Happen

LA GRANGE, IL – La Grange is poised to move developers' plans out of the backrooms and more into the spotlight.

In January, resident Jonathan Robinson asked the village to start taking video of zoning meetings and requiring developers to meet with neighbors about their plans.

For the first time Tuesday, the village took video of a Plan Commission meeting and posted it online, with officials calling it a pilot project.

And the commission recommended neighborhood meetings to take place before public hearings on developments.

Robinson lives next to a proposed condo complex that the Village Board approved in January. The project means the demolition of Jackson Square at 112 E. Burlington Ave., which is considered a historic building.

The village knew about the proposed development for nine months before letting residents in the loop. The notice for the originally planned public hearing arrived 15 days beforehand.

The developer, Dan Spain, who owns La Grange's The Elm restaurant and lives in La Grange Park, did not hold a neighborhood meeting.

At Tuesday's commission meeting, members debated over whether to add more specifics about the types of meetings that developers should hold.

Member Jeff Hoffenberg argued that developers should be required to hold the sessions in La Grange or neighboring towns, not a more distant suburb such as Oak Park.

"If a company wants to come here and develop in La Grange, come here and hold a meeting," he said.

And if they don't want to, he said, "then don't develop in La Grange."

Robinson, the resident, said the village didn't need to draft specific rules about the meetings. When the local condo developer failed to hold such a session, he said, that was "the biggest red flag in the world."

A structural engineer, Robinson said he is often called to Chicago and finds that developers talk with neighbors all the time about their projects.

"It's rare for a developer not to care about the community," he said.

Charity Jones, the village's community development director, said she agreed with Robinson about meeting rules.

She said if a developer fails to show a good-faith effort with the meeting, the commission can tell the developer, "Before we continue with this hearing, go back and hold a real neighborhood meeting."

The commission voted unanimously to recommend requiring such meetings.

Afterward, Robinson thanked the members.

"As this village moves toward a more dense world, we need to make sure that we are putting safeguards in place," he said.

The commission's recommendation goes to the Village Board.

Few towns require neighborhood meetings. Elmhurst is among those that do.