Oswego board approves Polo Crossing annexation, rezoning and preliminary PUD; one trustee dissents

After a multi‑hour presentation and questions from trustees, the Village of Oswego Board on Nov. 4 approved annexation, rezoning and a preliminary planned‑unit development for Polo Crossing, a roughly 80.5‑acre residential project on the south side of Wolf's Crossing Road.

The developer team — represented by Carrie Hansen of Schoeppe Design Associates and Tom Drake of the Drake Group — described a revised plan that reduces a previously discussed concept from 345 units to 320 units: 120 detached single‑family lots (86 traditional, 34 "middle market" smaller lots) and 200 attached units made up of 175 townhomes, 10 duplexes and 15 triplexes. The plan includes a 4‑acre park site to be dedicated to the Oswego Park District, a roughly 90‑foot right‑of‑way dedication (about 4.5 acres) for Wolf's Crossing Road, and a 3,000‑square‑foot clubhouse with pool.

Hansen detailed the required and negotiated contributions: a combined land and cash donation to the park district with a cash equivalent of about $808,893.10; a school district land/cash total just under $1,000,000 and impact fees to the school district of $5,666,070.40; an Oswego Fire Protection District impact fee of $243,251.20; an Oswego Library District impact fee of $121,728.80; and village transportation and direct impact fees totaling about $612,800 and just over $1,000,000 respectively. The developer said water connection fees under the new Lake Michigan tap rate would total $1,664,000. Hansen summarized the total cash equivalent tied to the project at approximately $5,576,878 (excluding building permit fees and the real estate transfer tax and excluding valuation of the water easement).

Tom Drake emphasized infrastructure benefits: the team agreed to provide permanent and temporary easements for a DuPage Water Commission 36‑inch transmission main at no cost to the village and to construct the two south lanes of the ultimate Wolf's Crossing Road cross‑section as part of the project’s first phase. "These are long term investments in Oswego's infrastructure," Drake said.

Trustees’ discussion focused on several points. Trustee concerns included the 5‑foot side‑yard deviation sought for 34 "middle market" lots (roughly 10 percent of the project), the product mix and whether the smaller homes would be owner‑occupied or rented (developers said market forces will guide that decision), and school impacts. Hansen provided an estimated student generation of about 170 students (90 elementary, 38 junior high, 42 high school).

Several trustees praised the change from the original concept and the project's architecture and said the developer’s contributions would accelerate Wolf's Crossing improvements. Trustee McCarthy Lang registered the lone "no" votes, citing objections to the proposed close spacing on the smaller lots and asking that the side‑yard deviation be removed or altered before approval.

On formal action, the board voted to approve: (1) an annexation agreement; (2) an annexation ordinance; and (3) rezoning to R‑3/R‑4 with preliminary PUD and subdivision plat and a plat of dedication for Wolf's Crossing. Each of those motions passed by roll call with a single dissent from Trustee McCarthy Lang.

The developer said the townhome phase is planned as phase 1 and that road improvements along Wolf's Crossing are conditioned on issuance of the 60th townhome building permit; the team estimated vertical construction could begin in 2027 and total build‑out would take about two years once construction is underway.

The board did not place owner‑occupancy requirements in the annexation agreement; staff and trustees noted municipalities generally cannot restrict whether units are rented or sold and that the market decision should be determined before final approvals.

Next steps: the village will complete the annexation actions and work with the developer on final engineering, permitting and the schedule for phased infrastructure work.