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Residents press safety, trees and lot-size concerns as developer revises Parksmith Run plan
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Summary
Residents at the Oswego board meeting urged trustees to block motor-vehicle connections and press D.R. Horton for larger lots, more buffering and protection for mature trees as the company updated a 2007 Parksmith Run concept to add single-family homes and modify townhome counts.
Oswego — Neighbors pressed the village board on traffic, safety and tree preservation Tuesday as D.R. Horton presented an updated concept plan for the long‑planned Parksmith Run subdivision.
Several residents who live near the proposed site west of Orchard Road said the development’s new street connections would route additional traffic through narrow, sidewalk‑free neighborhood roads and create dangerous crossings for children. “I don’t let my kids go in this intersection because there’s absolutely nowhere for pedestrians or bike riders to go,” said Ryan Zaborowski of Lynnwood, who identified the intersection of Anna Maria Lane and Ricker Drive as particularly hazardous.
The developer’s representative, Chris Funkhauser, described the project as a modernization of a 2007 annexation agreement and said the current concept increases single‑family lots and reduces townhomes in parts of the site. He told trustees the proposal would build roads to municipal standards, include detention ponds and a park site sized near the park district’s guidance. “This is a vacant piece of property currently. When this piece was left in 2007 they thought it would be turned pretty quick,” Funkhauser said, adding that the site’s nursery history means many trees are nursery stock rather than native forest: “This is not a forest. This is all nursery.”
Neighbors challenged that characterization and asked whether mature canopy trees could be preserved or transplanted. Funkhauser said there is no inventory yet and that the annexation agreement allows removal, but the builder is willing to study transplanting and to work with the park district and village staff on landscaping and buffers. He said the park district preferred a roughly 4–5 acre neighborhood park and that the developer could provide land plus cash.
Traffic control questions were deferred to the Illinois Department of Transportation for permission at Route 34 entrances; Funkhauser said IDOT would determine whether a signal is required. Board members raised safety tradeoffs about connecting larger arterial roads to narrow local streets and sought options that would prevent a “thru‑traffic” shortcut while preserving emergency access.
Following public comment, trustees signaled they prefer removing the motor‑vehicle connection at Lewis Street while retaining a pedestrian connection between the neighborhoods to preserve access for children and emergency services. Funkhauser said the developer would work with staff on a pedestrian‑in‑lieu‑of‑vehicle solution.
Trustees did not take a final vote on entitlements Tuesday; Funkhauser said the team will return for preliminary and final PUD amendments if the board advances the concept. Residents were advised to submit outstanding questions to village staff for written follow‑up or to raise them at the developer presentation and subsequent planning commission review.
What’s next: The developer will continue conversations with village staff and the park district, prepare a preliminary landscape plan and return to planning staff and the commission for detailed review, including traffic studies and any requested lot‑width adjustments.