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POSITION PAPER ON THE 4th AVENUE STATION TOD STUDY
First let us say that we greet you in the spirit of cooperation and partnership. All of the undersigned care deeply about Naperville. It is the place we have chosen to live and raise our families. We work here, shop here, worship here, our children attend school here. The news of a major study that has the potential to forever affect the way we live is something we take very seriously.
We are not here to object to the redevelopment of the properties currently owned by the cityor of the nearby commercial properties. If done with care, and on an appropriate scale, we feel development on these properties could be an asset to both the immediate neighborhood and the city as a whole. We hope any development proposed for city or commercial properties will be thoughtfully, creatively and sensitively designed so as to be in harmony with the current residential area surrounding it.
This said, we have some serious concerns about the Transit Oriented Development Study and we feel that these should be voiced now, at the beginning of the process, so they may be taken into consideration from the outset.
We wonder whether those who have put this study in motion realize and appreciate the singular nature of our Metra station as it relates to its surroundings. Our station is essentially unique, as it exists in a vibrant residential neighborhood, as opposed to the central business district context in which most Chicago area Metra stations are located.
This fact alone requires that the study not be based solely on the typical TOD concepts.
We ask if the fundamental TOD design premises listed below apply to Naperville:
* Creating residential developments in the downtown area near the train, as a way to bring life and economic activity into a moribund downtown area.
* Using those new residential developments near the train to encourage increased ridership of under-utilized trains.
* Reducing traffic congestion by encouraging people to live near the train, instead of driving significant distances.
We feel that none of these key TOD principles apply to Naperville. We already have both a thriving downtown and neighborhood. We already have the second busiest train station in the Metra system. If we do end up generating significant additional ridership, how are we going to get them onto trains that are essentially already full?
The TOD principle of increasing density by the train station as a fundamental mechanism to avoid sprawl is simply not applicable here. It’s a little too late to be talking about avoiding suburban sprawl in Naperville. The desire for single-family homes on large lots has already stimulated Naperville to develop over a large geographic area. Can homeowners residing far from the station be convinced to relocate, simply to avoid commuting to the train? Is the city really going to follow the TOD concept of reducing parking spaces as an encouragement to move closer to the train? Does anyone really think the commuters will tolerate this?
If this is not carefully done, we could end up with the worst of both worlds: suburban sprawl and a hi-density train station area, each creating its own type of congestion, where the two opposing forces compete for a seat on the train. Even if the train capacity is somehow increased to service the station, does it make sense to add all this increased ridership to the second busiest station in the Metra system, when there are other nearby stations able to handle a significant increase?
The area under study consists largely of a long-established residential neighborhood, with streets designed to handle the residential traffic volumes of the immediate area. Over the years the growth of Naperville has resulted in some of these local streets morphing into neighborhood connector and collector streets, even though they remain sized as local streets. We suggest that the traffic load in the area has already passed the level for which these streets were designed. The creation of any significant TOD would ultimately require a substantial enlargement of the existing street grid, thereby radically altering the character of the neighborhood.
Most importantly, this is a not a moribund downtown that needs revitalizing; this is a vibrant, economically healthy, residential neighborhood, containing a housing stock with a combined estimated value of over $500 million dollars.
On the north side of the tracks there are approximately 50 new or extensively remodeled homes valued in excess of $800,000.00 each. These homes alone, on 6 short streets, have a combined value of approximately 45 million dollars. Staff talks about the area being prime for redevelopment. We agree. Many saw the desirability of the neighborhood and, starting 5-6 years ago, they voted with their pocketbooks and invested heavily in this neighborhood. Put bluntly, the time for thinking about alternative zoning possibilities was before this trend began.
On the south side of the tracks the situation is somewhat different. This is an area of lovely older homes, in a wide variety of architectural styles, most of which lie within the boundaries of the 20-year-old Naperville Historic District. Consequently, the teardown activity evident north of the tracks has been held largely at bay. In recent years there has been increased interest and activity directed toward renovation and restoration. Many homes have been updated, added to or otherwise improved, at significant expense. Some homes that had been long neglected and fallen into disrepair have been rescued and given a new lease on life. We expect this trend to continue as people realize the value and irreplaceable nature of these homes. We are pleased that our neighborhood is experiencing this rebirth and look forward to working with the city to implement some ideas we have to further encourage this process. Taken as a whole, the neighborhood south of the tracks offers a rare opportunity to live in an intact, historically and architecturally significant community. This is the last and only place in Naperville where the legacy of the past has been preserved. Surely there is no point in threatening the very existence of this precious heritage.
For all these reasons, we will formally petition the City of Naperville to require that the TOD study exclude the consideration of rezoning, or possible future changes of land use, in all residential areas currently zoned R1 and R-2. As stated above, we support the concept of redevelopment of those parcels currently owned by the city and the nearby commercial properties.
We fully believe that if we all work together, we can create some new and exciting housing and commercial structures that will maintain the character and enhance the fabric of the neighborhood. We look forward to working with you on a project that can be an asset to the entire Naperville community.
ECHO and Park Addition board members.