Buffalo Grove board approves annexation, rezoning for 33‑home ‘Hibberry Club’ development

The Village of Buffalo Grove on Jan. 20 approved an annexation and development agreement and associated rezoning that clears the way for a 33‑home subdivision proposed by MI Homes, to be called Hibberry Club.

The board voted to adopt Ordinance 2026‑15 (approval of the annexation and development agreement), Ordinance 2026‑16 (annexing 20311 North Wland Road) and Ordinance 2026‑17 (rezoning to R‑7, a special use permit for a planned unit development, and approval of a preliminary plat and related variations). Trustee Ottenheimer moved to approve the ordinances; the motions were seconded and approved by roll call.

Why it matters: the project converts roughly 8.6 acres (plus a separate 0.9‑acre parcel with an existing single‑family home) into a 33‑lot single‑family community, including a roughly 1.1‑acre stormwater detention area, connections to nearby sidewalks and bike paths, and homes ranging in size from about 2,360 to 2,732 square feet. The developer told the board the proposal aligns with the village’s comprehensive plan and said Planning & Zoning recommended approval Dec. 17, 2025, subject to conditions in the staff report.

Developer commitments and fees: Miss Woods, the village’s Director of Community Development, said the draft annexation agreement has a 20‑year term and contains financial commitments by the developer. The agreement, as described in the packet, calls for cash contributions to the Buffalo Grove Park District and to School Districts 125 and 102, reimbursement to the Longrove Fire Protection District for any real estate tax payments the village makes related to the annexation, and an annexation fee of $1,500 per subdivided lot for six lots. Miss Woods said the developer agreed to increase the per‑unit impact fee to $4,459. A total dollar figure for the District 102 payment was stated in the packet but was unclearly rendered in the audio transcript and is therefore not specified here.

Developer presentation: Julie Workman, attorney for MI Homes, described the company’s local experience and introduced the project team, including Anna Sutton and Steve Wland. Workman said the proposal includes three floor plans and five elevations to avoid monotony, and that the homes would target dual‑income households, young families and downsizing residents who wish to stay in Buffalo Grove. She said demolition could begin this winter if approvals are final, earthwork in spring and construction would take about two years, with a model home planned on Lot 2 by summer or early fall.

Public‑safety and traffic concerns: trustees questioned traffic impacts, changes to the Wland Road crosswalk and emergency access. MI Homes’ traffic consultant told the board the added trips would produce a negligible change in Wland Road traffic (estimated at under 1 percent) and the developer said a southbound turn lane into the community would be lengthened. On fire access, Chief Kane told trustees the developer provided geometric analyses showing that fire apparatus can navigate the proposed cul‑de‑sac.

Neighborhood outreach and buffers: MI Homes said it held a neighborhood meeting in October with property owners within a 350‑foot radius. Responding to neighbor concerns near the soccer fields, the developer proposed a wood perimeter fence along most of the site (with heavier landscaping on the island side) to preserve a buffer between homes and the existing recreational space.

Schools: Workman and Miss Woods said the developer met with School Districts 102 and 125 and agreed to increase contributions to District 102 above code requirements; MI Homes used conservative assumptions (counting units as four‑bedroom) for student generation when calculating the payment. The parties expect to memorialize the District 102 payment in a written agreement; the transcript did not clearly render the total amount pledged to District 102 and that figure is therefore listed as not specified in the record here.

Board action and next steps: with questions addressed and staff recommendations in the packet, trustees approved the ordinance series by roll call. The public hearing on the annexation remained open until final action (the board later closed the hearing and voted to annex and rezone the parcels). The board then moved into executive session under the Illinois Open Meetings Act for matters relating to review of closed minutes and collective bargaining; public business concluded for the evening.

Quotes from the meeting: "We are really excited to be here to present our plans for Hibberry Club," said Julie Workman, attorney for MI Homes. "We take a deep amount of pride in the quality of the homes that we build and we really try to build communities where people want to live."

"We've done the geometrical math on that and we've confirmed that fire trucks can make that turn on the cul‑de‑sac," Chief Kane told the board when asked about emergency access.

What remains unclear from the transcript: several numeric values in the packet were garbled in the audio record presented at the meeting; most notably the transcript did not clearly render the total dollar figure described as payable to School District 102. The text above reports only figures that could be reliably transcribed (per‑unit impact fee of $4,459 and an annexation fee of $1,500 per lot for six lots); the village's official ordinance packet should be consulted for precise totals and final wording of the annexation and development agreement.

The board approved the ordinances and closed the public portion of the meeting; it then moved into an executive session at 7:39 p.m.