Developer offers 962‑acre La Fox plan with 900 homes and large greenbelt; Campton Hills board to consider annexation

David Patzelt of the Chodine Group told the Campton Hills Board of Trustees on May 20 that his firm has the subject property under contract and is seeking the board’s feedback on a concept land‑use plan and whether the village would be interested in annexing the land.

“The property consists of approximately 962 acres,” Patzelt said, and the concept plan shows roughly 900 residential units, a large greenway and neighborhood clusters around the La Fox Metra station.

The plan presented places the highest‑density units (townhomes) closest to the train station and mixes lot widths from about 50 feet to 100 feet across neighborhoods, Patzelt said. He said the proposal preserves what he described as roughly 440 acres of open space north of the Mill Creek Greenway and that, in total, the development as now drawn would yield “in the range of 55 to 65 percent” open space.

Why it matters: the property spans nearly a square mile south of Route 38 and north of Kesselinger Road and has been proposed for development repeatedly over the past 25–30 years. Annexation into Campton Hills would make the village the primary local reviewer and decision maker on zoning, public infrastructure and development standards, a change from county review if the land remains unincorporated.

Board members and local civic leaders pressed for infrastructure details, and Chodine and community representatives emphasized conditions they say have been negotiated or requested in preliminary talks. Patzelt said the developer expects to pursue an annexation agreement and a planned unit development (PUD) if the village signals interest; he said the developer will only close on the property after it has a development approach acceptable to neighbors and the municipality.

“Everything north of that area would be open space,” Patzelt said of the Mill Creek Greenway on his map, and he told trustees his team has set setbacks including about 100 feet of green setback along Harley Road and a 200‑foot buffer north of the Dillon Field subdivision.

Representatives of the La Fox civic groups urged the board to accept the plan as a way to secure more local control and preserve open space. Drew, a La Fox Civic Organization board member, supplied density comparisons that he said showed the current proposal at 0.93 dwelling units per acre and described that figure as lower than past proposals. “The current proposal that’s being discussed, here is 0.93,” Drew said.

Dr. Zander, a La Fox Civic Association officer, said the community’s feedback favored no commercial development inside the residential parcels and supported open‑space connectivity. “With about 60% open space, the parks and the train stations will be connected by pedestrian trails,” he said.

Village staff described the draft annexation approach as conditional and subject to multiple technical studies. Carmen (village staff) said the draft annexation agreement under discussion would operate as a conditional annexation, and she described terms the village and developer have been negotiating: unit caps, setbacks, public‑safety contributions, escrow for professional review fees, and creation of special service areas (SSAs) to fund road and stormwater maintenance.

Carmen said the draft includes a clause to let the property owner disconnect the land from the village if a PUD later fails to receive village approval, language the developer requested. “The annexation…considers, let’s call it a conditional annexation,” Carmen said.

Trustees and staff identified infrastructure issues that must be resolved before annexation or final approvals: sewer and water servicing, Mill Creek Water Reclamation District capacity and any required wells or water‑tower improvements; access and intersection design on the future Bunker Road extension and Kesselinger Road; coordination with the Kane County Highway Department (KDOT) on roundabouts and access; and fire‑ and police‑service siting.

On sewer and treated wastewater, Patzelt said the Mill Creek Water Reclamation District is the preferred provider but that other sanitary districts have expressed interest; he described prior planning efforts and said an engineering study with the district is planned to define water and wastewater needs. He said no untreated wastewater lagoons or cells would be sited on the proposed open‑space areas.

On roads, Patzelt and trustees said Kane County prefers roundabouts for the Bunker Road extension; Patzelt said KDOT has indicated it will limit new curb cuts and require the developer to share a major intersection for the train‑parking areas, neighborhood access and any potential fire‑station location.

The developer, Chodine, and La Fox civic leaders described outreach meetings with five La Fox neighborhoods and said they have discussed donation or sale of open‑space parcels to forest‑preserve or conservation partners. Patzelt said the draft annexation would give open‑space groups the right of first refusal to acquire the lands at the price the developer pays; if no group takes ownership within a stated period (the draft references a roughly three‑year window), the developer would reserve the right to relocate planned units onto that acreage rather than add units above the 900‑unit cap.

Public‑safety and maintenance financing were flagged as specific conditions. Carmen said the draft would create SSAs to maintain roads and stormwater facilities and to provide a backup funding mechanism if the homeowners association does not maintain common areas.

What happens next: staff told trustees that if the board indicates interest, the village will present a draft annexation agreement for formal consideration and, if that is approved, the application would then be referred to the Planning & Zoning Commission for PUD review. No annexation ordinance or vote was taken at the May 20 meeting; trustees asked staff to bring a draft annexation agreement and to continue technical coordination with Kane County, the Mill Creek District and fire and police agencies.

Ending: Trustees said they appreciated the detail and asked staff to return with a formal draft agreement and engineering studies. Patzelt said the plan is conceptual and subject to change as technical reviews and public input continue.