Earlier this summer residents of Wintergreen Subdivision in Normal were surprised by a notice they received about changes in plans being made for their neighborhood. The notice informed them that duplexes were being planned for their single family residential subdivision.
Mixing duplexes with single family homes is not out of the ordinary. However, such higher density dwellings are usually located along the arterial street adjacent to the subdivision or along the entrances to the subdivision close to the arterial. In this case the higher density units are proposed near the rear of the subdivision that backs up to Interstate 55.
To say the owners of the $250,000 to $500,000 homes in the neighborhood are upset is a huge understatement.
According to the Regional Housing Market Analysis prepared for the Bloomington Normal Economic Development Council there will be a need for a minimum of 2500 new single family homes over the next 10 years. That’s a rate of 250 new houses a year.
Over the past three years developers have produced only 150 houses a year. But that’s changing. As of July, Normal had approved plans for 80 new homes. And that leads to why the developer is proposing duplexes in Wintergreen.
According to the analysis, Bloomington Normal deals with 12,800 newcomers a year. This is a big part of the rental market.
The analysis also says, “Data further highlights the importance of having a quality rental housing stock to accommodate new migrants to the region during the initial “renter lifecycle” while the household becomes acclimated to the community and potentially seeks a more permanent living option in the for-sale market.”
Many newcomers are from the east or west coast and they are used to paying higher payments for housing. They look for places to rent with the amenities they desire. They can and will pay high rents before buying a high end home and relocating to it.
The Wintergreen Subdivision was on the agenda at the August 4th Normal Planning Commission meeting. Approximately 150 people attended the meeting. Many were concerned about the proposed change for their neighborhood.
Town officials told the planning commission that the proposed 26 attached units could help with the community’s current housing shortage. Patrick Hoban, CEO of the Economic Development Council of McLean County, and Charlie Moore, president of the McLean County Chamber of Commerce, spoke supporting the duplexes.
Homeowners in the neighborhood are concerned that duplexes will reduce their home values. Their concerns include traffic, drainage retention and the capacity of Prairieland Elementary School.
The duplexes will sell for $320,000 to $450,000. The impact of the traffic generated by 26 new residences is negligible. Also the latest proposal adds only 4 homes to the original number of homes planned. So the impact to the retention pond and Prairieland Elementary School would also be negligible.
The commission voted unanimously to recommend the new preliminary subdivision plan and related zoning changes saying they had certain criteria they had to go buy that was met and public input wasn’t part of that criteria.
That is not to say the public input was wasted. Because the public input occurred at the planning commission, the town council can consider it.
The Normal Town Council later placed the item on its August 15th agenda. However the item was removed from the agenda prior to the meeting.
Currently Town Manager Pam Reece is in discussion with the developer.
