Joliet mayor partner in housing project that needs city approval

Mayor Terry D’Arcy is part owner of land slated for a proposed Joliet housing development that needs city approval.

D’Arcy said he would not vote on the project, which will need City Council approval.

“I’m in it (enough) that I would have to recuse myself,” D’Arcy said.

D’Arcy is part-owner of the 44 acres next to his car dealerships on Essington Road.

D’Arcy said he and a partner bought the land as part of an acquisition to allow for the addition of his Hyundai dealership on Essington Road.

The current plan to build houses on the site is not the first residential proposal for the site, he said.

“We’ve had several other opportunities to move the land,” D’Arcy said. “They wanted more density than was allowed.”

Density refers to the number of residential units allowed per acre of land.

The plan for single-family houses at 2200 Essington Road goes to the Plan Commission for review on Thursday.

The land is now zoned for business and multi-family development.

Developer D.R. Horton, which bills itself as the nation’s largest home builder, wants the land rezoned for single-family housing.

Horton’s plan is for 120 two-story houses that would range in size between 2,000 and 2,600 square feet.

The builder is seeking a reduction in city building standards to allow front sections of the houses to have 25% brick or stone instead of 50%, according to a city staff report on the plan.

City staff recommends approval of the variation. saying it is “comparable to existing houses in nearby subdivisions.”