Geneva aldermen vote 9-1 to approve construction of Emma’s Landing

GENEVA – In a 9-1 vote March 8, aldermen approved an ordinance allowing for the construction of Emma’s Landing, a 45-unit affordable rental townhouse subdivision.

The Elgin-based Burton Foundation, which develops senior and affordable housing projects, proposed the 45-unit townhouse project along Lewis Road immediately south of the Union Pacific Railroad on the city’s far west side.

“I am bursting with excitement for this project,” 3rd Ward Alderman Becky Hruby said. “I could not be happier or prouder to support Emma’s Landing.”

Second Ward Alderman Richard Marks cast the lone no vote.

The two-hour special City Council meeting was a continuation of a nearly four-hour Feb. 22 meeting in which residents of the nearby Sterling Manor subdivision questioned stormwater drainage, traffic and the effect of affordable housing on surrounding home values.

After going through questions about stormwater drainage, traffic and buffers between the townhouses and the railroad tracks, the majority of aldermen supported the development.

Several aldermen gave statements about their support, including 4th Ward Jeanne McGowan, who addressed the first new residents of Emma’s Landing, saying, “You are welcome here. We are glad you are here. And many, many people have been waiting for you and are very happy that you will become Geneva residents along with all of us.”

Fifth Ward Alderman Robert Swanson said he went back over the city’s strategic plan from 1997 that included affordable housing.

“It’s been over 23 years, 24 years, that we’ve been looking to do this,” Swanson said. “The Homes for a Changing Region Report identified a surging demand for affordable housing needs for both seniors and families … and the City Council adopted that in 2014. We approved the incentive program a year ago to help facilitate construction of affordable housing. We thought we would get a development, and we now have one in front of us.”

Swanson said the concerns of neighbors have all been addressed, from flooding to density to the school district to the process, by the Planning and Zoning Commission or the City Council.

Fifth Ward Alderman Craig Maladra said the 45-unit project will allow 18 tenants earning up to 80% of the median income for the area and 27 tenants earning 60% of the median income.

If someone earning even less should pass credit and background checks, he or she should be allowed to live there, Maladra said.

“The key to successful rental property in general is responsible ownership,” Maladra said.

Maladra said he spoke to municipal officials in South Elgin, Gurnee and Sterling about other Burton Foundation developments. They told him the projects were done well and managed well without issues.

“I was looking for a reason to say no and I really don’t see one,” Maladra said.

Second Ward Alderman Bradley Kosirog said those who opposed the project say they don’t feel heard, but they have been.

“I cannot tell you how many who approached me about Emma’s Landing who also confessed they had family members or friends who currently live in or have lived in affordable housing,” Kosirog said. “Some even confessed that they experienced housing insecurity themselves. After those conversations, I was left confused. Why not help those in similar situations? Certainly, they were not judging their own family members and friends, so why would we judge this project that hopes to help those in similar situations?”

Kosirog quoted Ralph Waldo Emerson, saying, “The purpose of life is not to be happy. It is to be useful, to be honorable, to be compassionate, to have it make some difference that you have lived and lived well.”

“I believe my vote in favor of Emma’s Landing will make Geneva a better place,” Kosirog said. “I believe my vote in favor will make Geneva more diverse and more inclusive.”

Third Ward Alderman Dean Kilburg offered three quotes from the movie, “Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby.”

“If you ain’t first, you’re last.” “Like the frightened baby chipmunk, you are scared by anything that is different” and “You gotta cross over the anger bridge and come back to the friendship shore.”

“We’ve heard enough straw-man arguments to credit and discredit the project to fill a landfill,” Kilburg said. “I’ve got about 350 emails and I think each and every councilman has the same probably with arguments on both sides.”

Kilburg said with all the struggles it took to get the Emma’s Landing project to this point, it was “not a model for Geneva to look to for the future.”

“It’s sad that we really haven’t come up with any suggestions or ideas to improve the process,” Kilburg said. “And I think that is where our failure has probably been. Through all this, we don’t have any answers to do it better in the future. In a sense, what we’ve been told is that, ‘You gotta slug it out,’ and that’s sad.”