by Hank Brockett
7/26/01
Their 118-acre land, known by all as Cagwin Farms, received approval for its preliminary plan and rezoning recommendation. Soon, the cattle farm will give way to 329 single-family homes and 299 townhomes.
"It's a relief," said Jean, outside the board room where other matters dominated discussion.
"It's been a long time going. We're seeing the light at the end of the tunnel."
She'll touch that light when she doesn't have any more meetings like this to sit through.
That probably will be at the end of September, when she, her husband and most likely family and friends will be on hand for the final engineering approval.
The vote was 6-2 in favor of the preliminary plan from developer Ryland Homes.
Alderman Kelly Turner, in favor of the plan, said because the city was bound to the annexation agreement, action had to be taken soon.
"If we don't agree to this, the density will be much higher and the impact much greater," he said.
The current plan details a density of about 3.1 properties per acre.
The comprehensive plan aims for a density of about 2.5, a point which influenced Alderman Denise Clements to vote against the plan.
"It's a very dense subdivision ... and those are issues that need to be addressed," she said.
The vote capped a night where annexation was the buzzword, and sides were clearly marked.
Aldermen approved two annexations that could bring in more office-research zoning opportunities for the city.
The Pasquinelli property annexation allowed for the annexation of the March property, located north of 143rd Street, south of Archer Avenue and west of the Interstate 355 tollway land.
Opposition came from both school officials and residents worried about a clause in the Pasquinelli annexation that states if the I-355 extension has not been agreed to in five years, developers can instead develop residential areas at three units per acre.
This caused alarm for representatives from Lockport Township High School and Homer schools, who fear too much residential development without any additional aid will greatly hinder efforts to teach children effectively in the next five to 10 years.
"It will worsen our financial situation," said William Young, Homer superintendent. "That is not (the council's) fault. That is a fact of funding."
For instance, with the Cagwin farm plan, those homes could cause the deficit in Homer to skyrocket through 2011 without any commercial areas to help out.
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