Neighbors of proposed Charles Farm development voice concerns

The rustic way of life of La Fox could be in for a drastic change if development plans for more than 2,000 new residential units are approved by the city of St. Charles.

Atlanta-based developer Pulte Homes has submitted a concept plan application and annexation request to the city for Charles Farm, a 970-acre housing development consisting of a 967-unit senior living community, 846 single-family homes, 198 townhomes and 15 acres of commercial development.

As the city considers the plans, La Fox community members feel like their lifestyle, and in some cases livelihood, hangs in the balance.

Settled in the 1840s, La Fox is an agricultural community centered on the Union Pacific West line railroad. It has about 600 residents in the 4-square-mile area bordered by Route 38, Keslinger, Brundige and Harley roads, according to the La Fox Civic Association.

The property at the center of the issue is in Kane County’s Blackberry Township between Elburn and Geneva. It is owned by North First I, LLC, and under contract to be acquired by Pulte.

The quaint, quiet atmosphere in La Fox isn’t just something the residents love about their homes. It is part of the business model for several of the local farms and event venues in the area.

Rustic Road Farm is located at 1N292 Brundige Road, right on the southeastern border of the proposed Charles Farm development. As proposed, the Del Webb community would be built along the south, west and north sides of the farm’s property line.

Marc Bernard and his husband, Luis, have owned Rustic Road Farm and lived on the property for 12 years. He said he purchased the property after visiting Heritage Farm down the road and being blown away by the beauty and energy of the area.

“The farm, the area, the people that came there, it has this energy that brings people together,“ Bernard said. “It’s so close to Randall Road and the cities and yet when you go over the railroad, it’s like you’re in a different area. That would be a shame to lose. We really feel like we’re temporary caretakers of this property.”

Rustic Road Farm raises goats, chickens, pigs and cows and grows many kinds of vegetables all year round in its four greenhouses. It hosts a farm stand from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. every Wednesday, Friday and Saturday throughout the year.

The farm also allows people to come and hold baby goats, which Bernard likened to free therapy.

“To lose all of this or to have it swallowed up inside a development is a shame, not just for us but for all the families that come to Rustic Road to see that,” Bernard said.

Bernard said he hopes his property will remain a farm forever, but the Charles Farm development stands to threaten that future as the wide open space surrounding his farm would become a retirement community.

“All that beautiful rolling acreage that’s around our farm will be gone if this goes through,” Bernard said. “It would completely change the business. ... What is very important for us, and so many people that come there, is the energy that’s been created there and I think you’re going to lose that and I think that would be a shame.”

Bernard said he is not against developing the land in La Fox, but is against the density proposed in the Charles Farm plans.

“We’re not anti-development. All we’re saying is develop with a sense of the entire community,” Bernard said. “We understand we need to grow, but we don’t need to grow at the expense of everyone in the area.”

Bernard said if that land is to be developed, there has to be a balance between providing new homes and respect for the natural beauty and existing homes in the area.

This is not the first time the La Fox community has bumped heads with developers over this property. La Fox Civic Association President Drew Frasz has been working to prevent high-density developments on the site for decades.

In the late 1990s, another planned community of more than 2,200 homes called Grand Prairie was proposed on 1,200 acres centered in La Fox and developers sought annexation into St. Charles. In 2000, community members banded together to form the La Fox Civic Association and successfully defeated St. Charles’ annexation with support from several local governments.

Developers agreed to work with the association and Kane County and after four years of reworking the plans came to an agreement called the Settlements of La Fox community, which would have built 1,275 dwelling units on 1,200 acres.

The Kane County Board approved Settlements of La Fox in 2007, but the recession of 2008 put the plans on hold until they eventually expired after years of inactivity.

In 2014, a plan to annex the eastern portion of the project to St. Charles called the Bluffs of St. Charles was successfully opposed and the land later was purchased by the Kane County Forest Preserve.

Pulte obtained a contract to purchase the remaining 970 acres and is proposing the highest-density development to date for annexation into St. Charles.

“The totally disappointing thing to us is Pulte has never once approached our community to ask for our input or how we felt about it,” Frasz said. “This plan is so atrocious. It’s offensive to our community in every way, especially to our historic district.”

Frasz said the La Fox Civic Association would support a project about half the size of Charles Farm and densities similar to those they agreed upon with developers of Settlements of La Fox. He said ideally the city of St. Charles would deny the proposal with prejudice and ask them not to return, but at the very least they would like to see a plan that protects the historic districts and provides some transitional lots between the existing homes and residential developments.

”You’ve got land investors that don’t live over here, you’ve got a mega-developer from Atlanta and they’re using a land planner from Texas and they’re carving up our lifestyles out here,” Frasz said. “It’s frustrating when you know there’s somebody down in Austin, Texas, just looking at a map and drawing all this on it, not knowing anything about the area.”

Frasz said annexation seems like the ideal way for a developer to get a project like this done as all the decades of work the civic association and the county have put into the area would go out the window. While community members have been scrambling to get in touch with St. Charles alderpersons, they feel as though annexation would take away their say in the matter.

“We have no representation,” Frasz said. “Our community would be changed forever and overseen and voted on by people we don’t know, don’t vote for and don’t represent us.”

Frasz said they also are very concerned with the environmental impacts the development will have on the health of the wetlands, Mill Creek and the 18 acres of woods that would be clear-cut to make way for new homes.

“When something like this drops on you, it’s just like a bomb,” Frasz said. “I’ve had people crying talking to me. They’re just shocked.”

The La Fox Civic Association and other organizations and businesses have written letters and petitions to the St. Charles City Council calling for responsible growth and voicing opposition to the Charles Farm development. They have support from Kane County Board members and several officials from surrounding municipalities such as Campton Township and Elburn.

Frasz said ideally the city of St. Charles will deny the proposal and the developers will have to take the plans to the county, where he knows they will work with the association.

“The bottom line is we’ve done it before and we’re convinced we could work with a responsible developer as long as they work with us on those relatively few things that are near and dear to us,” Frasz said. “There is a scenario where we could preserve half of the property and then sit down with a developer and design a 500-acre transit-oriented community that respects all the existing residents like we did before.”

Frasz said while they have a great deal of support from the surrounding community, the speed at which the development is moving is one of their biggest challenges. He said as they are getting letters sent and signs put up, he hopes the community members of St. Charles are able to be informed about the development and what is at stake before it’s too late.

La Fox resident Andy Koczwara bought his dream home and moved from St. Charles with his family in May. He said he bought the property because of the natural environment, open space and close proximity to St. Charles and Geneva with plans to spend the rest of his life there.

“That was the dream house on a beautiful property in a nice and quiet neighborhood,” Koczwara said. “We just loved that location. ... It’s a beautiful, vintage environment with a lot of green open spaces.”

Less than three months later, Koczwara learned of the Charles Farm development plans. He said his family was shocked and saddened by the news.

“It’s going to ruin pretty much everything we have there,” Koczwara said. “Not only us, but all of our neighbors, they’re going to lose that beautiful green space.”

Koczwara paid $825,000 for the home, and while he loves the property, he can’t see his family living there if the new development is built. While he doesn’t want to consider another move, he said the future for him and his family is in limbo.

“I purchased the property because of where it is,” Koczwara said. “It’s next to a forest preserve and farmland and it’s just beautiful. I don’t think, when the construction starts, I’m going to be able to sell the property for the same amount I paid. ... I just don’t know how I’m going to approach that.”

Koczwara is a mountain climber, world traveler, environmentalist and humanitarian.

“My entire life is outdoor living,” Koczwara said. “We are fighting around the world to help save our planet and yet somebody decides for a business to destroy 950 acres of beautiful land. ... It’s just going to lose that sentimental value completely.”

Koczwara is concerned about the amount of new traffic that will be created, the noise, the affects on the school districts and the utilities that will be required, but he said his biggest concern is the environmental impact the development will have on Mill Creek and the thousands of species that inhabit the land.

“The list of concerns are really long,” Koczwara said. “It is shocking and it is sad and it is really hard to accept it.”

Koczwara said he hopes the development will be stopped or redesigned with the local landowners in mind. He said many of his neighbors have lived in the area for most of their lives and the development would destroy the views from their land in every direction and change the quality of life for everyone.

Neighbors of the proposed development aren’t the only ones with concerns. St. Charles School District 303 board members have their own concerns.

After spending most of the past year redesigning their schools’ attendance boundaries to address overcrowding, the Charles Farm development threatens to add an unknown number of new students to the district and other school districts in Kane County.

At an Aug. 26 Business Services Committee meeting, school board members discussed pausing their construction plans until more information on the Charles Farm development are made available. Multiple members raised concerns about the cost they would incur taking on these new students, which they argued the land cash donations would not cover.

Superintendent Paul Gordon said the situation is very frustrating, especially after the board approved the new attendance boundaries in February, which affected thousands of families in the district. He said based on initial estimates and projections from the city, the amount of new elementary and middle school students the development would bring would require some major changes to the district’s construction plans as they don’t have the space in any single school to accommodate the new students.

“This is a very frustrating piece of information to be receiving at this date and time. It’s why administration is strongly recommending the pause,” Gordon said. “We think it’s prudent to pull back, be cautious and be careful because we don’t have a large sum of money to be able to react to this [development]. ... We have some very tight constraints within our facilities. It’s why we have to be very careful with the limited amount of dollars that we have available for any type of additions.”

St. Charles schools are not the only ones that would be affected. The majority of the development is within Geneva School District 304.

Pulte Group’s corporate communications representative Ally Doyle issued the following statement Aug. 26: “We are dedicated to responsible development and are thrilled to establish a fantastic community in Kane County that meets residents’ needs while also preserving the area’s natural beauty. Our plan includes setting aside over 80 acres as permanent, publicly owned open space to show our dedication to environmental preservation and improvement. The tentatively named Charles Farm will showcase high-quality homes from two of our exceptional brands. Our Del Webb development is designed for active adults aged 55 and above who are looking for a low-maintenance lifestyle, and alongside it, there will be Pulte Homes neighborhoods featuring thoughtful life-tested design. We are eager to continue working closely with local authorities, ensuring full regulatory compliance, and engaging with the community to address their needs and concerns.”