Trustees approve preliminary LaFox PUD; debate centers on truck routing, SSA maintenance and affordable housing

The Village of Campton Hills Board of Trustees on Dec. 2 approved the preliminary planned unit development (PUD) for LaFox of Campton Hills, a project described in the record as roughly 962 acres north of Kesselinger Road and south of Illinois Route 38. The approval followed extended discussion about traffic, maintenance responsibilities, conservation design and the village pproach to affordable housing.

Trustees raised multiple concerns during debate. Trustee Kim said she wanted assurances that heavy-truck traffic would remain on major routes and not use neighborhood roads such as LaFox Road. "So gravel, anything that everything that's heavy...it remains on Route 38 or Kesselinger," she said, urging contractual language that discourages truck routing over village-maintained local roads.

Chief Levand said enforcement options are limited on county and state roads but that the village could ask the developer contractually to route heavy loads to appropriate arterial roads and that Village staff would coordinate with the county and state departments of transportation on access points.

Trustees also discussed a contingency mechanism for maintenance of open space and common areas if a homeowner association (HOA) fails to perform. The draft conditions describe a backup SSA (special service area) that the village could activate to levy funds for maintenance: "If the SSA is activated as a backup, then the village would be performing the maintenance...but it would be coming through funds that were levied through the SSA," the attorney explained.

The project prompted a larger conversation about the village ffordable-housing obligations under state law, including how the statutory threshold is calculated and what the village must include in implementation plans. Staff and the attorney said the village is on the state isplayed nonexempt list and must submit an updated plan; the planning & zoning commission will provide recommendations on affordable-housing revisions in January.

After discussion of conditions and follow-up coordination (including more work with the village engineer and KDOT on access), trustees voted to approve the preliminary PUD. Several trustees asked staff to ensure the final PUD includes clarified truck-routing provisions, conservation-design language, and explicit maintenance funding mechanisms if the HOA cannot perform.

What the approval does and does not do: The vote advances the PUD from preliminary approval toward later final approvals; site-specific entrances, final engineering and certain traffic controls remain subject to review by the village engineer and external road authorities. The board did not adopt any ordinance that obligates the village to finance maintenance from the general fund; the backup SSA would be a levy mechanism if activated.

Next steps: Staff and the applicant will continue technical coordination on ingress/egress, wetland delineations, and SSA/HOA language; the planning and zoning commission will continue follow-up as needed.