Residents urge delay or redesign, citing shadows, traffic and transparency concerns

Scores of River Forest residents addressed the Development Review Board during both an organized group presentation and individual statements. The objections clustered around three themes: process transparency, scale/massing, and operational impacts.

Debbie Borman, speaking for a group of objectors, accused the village and developer of compressing the timeline and limiting review of alternatives: "That raises important questions about transparency and process." Individual neighbors who live directly behind the site described wintertime shadowing that would leave their yards in shade much of the day and said the proposed garages and surface parking sit too close to their property lines.

Concerns extended to traffic and parking: opponents argued the traffic study concentrated on Madison Street rather than neighborhood alleys and warned that an 88–100 vehicle household increase could shift circulation into nearby residential streets. Residents also said the packet lacked key financial details (sale price, rents and certain pro‑forma numbers) and questioned whether the TIF structure and tax projections were sufficiently transparent. Several asked the DRB to require additional independent analysis or to continue the hearing to allow more time for public review.