Press Release
FROM: The Hinsdale Monitor; contact Mary Angelo (630) 258-7103, Laurel Haarlow (630)207-6452
April 1, 2008
Hinsdale Residents, Foxford LLC, Find Common Ground for "Hinsdale Club" Development
Hinsdale, IL: On April 1, 2008 Hinsdale Village Trustees are expected to approve a settlement agreement of a lawsuit regarding the Hinsdale Club development that will dramatically decrease the size of the development as originally approved by the Village.
The proposed settlement will result in the following:
- Reduction in condominium and residential units from 271 to 145, a decrease in residential density of more than 46%;
- Reduction in height of an upscale hotel from nine to eight stories;
- Reduction in height of two condominium buildings from eight to six stories;
- Replacement of a third condominium building with 3-story town-homes;
- Reduction in height of three mixed office/retail buildings from three stories to one;
- Elimination of the potential for the developer to convert condominium units to rentals;
- Improved management of increased traffic from the development through enhanced traffic control measures; and
- Agreement by the Village that the Hinsdale Club will not be considered or treated as a precedent for any future developments of similar size and density in the village of Hinsdale.
The Village Board of Trustees approved the Hinsdale Club in April 2007, after recommendations by the Plan Commission and the Zoning and Public Safety Committee. In May 2007, sixty Village residents filed an appeal with Hinsdale’s Zoning Board of Appeals protesting the development’s excessive scale and the 75+ zoning code variances granted by the Board of Trustees. Village President Mike Woerner responded by naming each of those residents in a lawsuit in the Circuit Court of DuPage County. That suit resulted in a ruling that the proper action by the residents would be a claim in the Circuit Court rather than an appeal to the Zoning Board of Appeals. The residents then filed a counterclaim in the Circuit Court against the Village, asserting that under recent legislation they were entitled to a hearing in the Circuit Court to determine whether the rezoning complied with state and local zoning requirements.
“This ultimately forced Foxford and the Village to recognize that the residents would not back down, that we would pursue our legal claims and were prepared to take the matter to the Appellate Court if need be,” said Nick Etten, a Hinsdale resident and attorney involved in the negotiations. “We are all pleased that there will be no more litigation on this matter, because we have agreed to a development that we all can live with.”
Those who have been following the negotiations were quick to react to the proposed settlement. “The residents who came together to fight this massive development really deserve the credit for this agreement,” said Chris Elder, a long-time Hinsdale resident. “The Village Board should not have approved the Hinsdale Club in the first place because the scale was totally inappropriate for this community and the promised economic benefits were tenuous at best. It took the dedication of all these residents and the financial contributions from people across the Village to secure a better development.”
Another resident involved in the suit expressed her gratitude for community support. “When the Hinsdale Club was approved a year ago, my late husband Tony and I felt betrayed that the trustees ignored the residents and seemed eager to deliver for Foxford,” said resident Mary Baldwin. “I am thankful for the many residents who are vigilant and who will take a stand to insure that all new developments respect Hinsdale’s heritage.”