Plan Commission Votes 7-1 in Favor of Catherine Alice Gardens Proposal

After a more than five-hour, marathon meeting, the Palatine Plan Commission voted 7-1 Tuesday night in favor of moving forward a proposal to build a 33-unit apartment building at 345 N. Eric Drive. 

The proposed location, which formerly housed a manufacturing use, has been vacant for 11 years and remains zoned for manufacturing. The building would be demolished, and the property zoning changed from manufacturing to an R-3 residential use. That issue was one of many concerns voiced by dozens of people during public comment on the issue, including plan commission member Jane Robins, who cast the sole dissenting vote. 

"This is a land-use issue, I am concerned that we are losing a future opportunity because manufacturing is starting to make a comeback," Robins said. 

"It is a great idea, just not there," was a phrase that repeated throughout the night, both in whispers between people seated in the audience, to those who spoke in opposition to the project in front of the more than 100 people in attendance. 

The model is classified as permanent, supported housing, which is recovery-oriented for both people with physical and mental disabilities, said Jessica Berzac, a consultant to UP Development, LLC. who is the developer of the potential $10.5 million project. 

Concerns from the nearly two dozen people who spoke out against the project ranged from the perceived negative affects on property values for homeowners near Eric Drive and Cornell Avenue, to increased traffic, and safety issues for children who live in the neighborhood or who attend the Illinois Shotokan Karate Club at 327 N. Eric Drive. 

Berzac, who attended neighborhood and community meetings held on March 12 and May 18, respectively, addressed some of the issues during her presentation. 

"Services will be wrapped around tenants; there will be an application process and background checks are conducted," Berzac said.  "There will be a large percentage of people who are not approved to move in because they either need more services than we provide or don't require as much support."

For some residents, Berzac said, they will graduate into a more independent living situation, while others could stay up to 15 years or until the end of their lives. She placed the average stay at the apartments across the board at 3.5 years.  

She added when looking at projects across the country, property values actually went up around similar developments.

A traffic engineer testified that the site would be a low generator of traffic, because many of the residents will not own vehicles, and even at peak demand times, the number of cars in the lot will top out in the teens. 

Despite the answers to most concerns, people in attendance didn't appear swayed. Even after Berzac, and other professionals involved in the project addressed them, people lined up to lobby the plan commission to vote against the proposal. 

Business owners questioned why a residential use would be placed adjacent to heavy industrial business uses. 

"I am asking you to support me, as a long-standing industrial business owner, do not bring residential into an area where there is significant truck traffic and other industrial uses," said Tony Tenuto, a business owner in the industrial area. 

And while there was strong opposition to the project, there were others who fully support it. 

"Both personally and professionally, I support this project and look forward to partnering with this group," said Sharon Langlotz-Johnson, Palatine Township supervisor. 

Langlotz-Johnson added that services provided by the township, such as the PACE bus and the TRIPP program, both can assist future residents at the apartment complex with transportation, both in and out of the township. 

A Palatine mother of a 37-year-old man who has mental disabilities and lives in her basement, said this type of project is something she has been hoping for. 

"I fear for my son, when you look at the alternatives, we have so little for so many," she said. "I fear for my son."

The proposed timeline, if it is ultimately approved, would include final engineering, design completion and architectural drawings by the fall of 2013, closing on the property by the summer of 2014 and construction finishing up by the summer of 2015. 

"By September of 2015, we will have a stabilized occupancy," Berzac said. 

The proposal will now go before the Palatine Village Council's Community, Economic and Development committee on July 8.