In the summer of 2004 a sign went up at the end of River Road announcing a zoning hearing for a zoning change for the parcel of land on the southeast corner of Rte 120 and River Rd.  A small local developer who had partnered with a larger Wisconsin based developer had a plan for 82 homes on 22 acres.

I had only lived in the area for 2 years, yet I already had been affected by the unique character of the River Road area.  My wife and I had just celebrated the birth of our first child, a son.  We were thrilled to have found such an idyllic place to raise our family.  I knew that 82 homes on 22 acres at the entrance to this area would forever change the nature of the road: Traditional building and development would forever ruin the road.  This was of great concern to me, as was traffic, safety of the 120/River Road intersection, and the over-development of this unique and special area, before anyone realized what had been lost.

I attended the zoning board meeting and was shocked by the presentation the developer gave.  They proposed a “cluster” development, by this they meant that the homes were literally packed onto every inch of the site.  The homes were called luxury, but in reality they were standard tract homes.  I took the opportunity to speak at the hearing and I suggested that the board ought to take the opportunity to look at the whole area and come up with a cohesive and sensible plan for the development of the whole area before allowing this subdivision to get underway.  I pointed out that there was a one time opportunity to impact how the entire area would grow before ground is broken on any project.  I detailed how unique and beautiful the area is and that this development would set a dangerous precedent for all the undeveloped acreage, dooming the community to a lowest common denominator type of development.  Once the floodgates of development opened, there would be no turning back.  The zoning board voted to approve the project.

In order to follow the project, I learned how the system worked. The next step in the process was to go before the City Council for approval and annexation.  I was on the board of directors for my subdivision, so I called our president and the other board members to get a read on what everyone felt about the development on River Road. Everyone opposed the development, but had a feeling of inevitability about it.  They were interested in trying to convince the City to modify the project, or better yet, get them to delay action on it until a cohesive plan could be created.

Next I contacted the various other boards on River Road, as well as anyone who lived on River road but not in an organized subdivision. We formed a community organization called The River Road Planning Group, which I became the de-facto leader of.  I arranged a meeting with the City planning and zoning office and we began to devise a plan of attack to prevent this subdivision from getting underway. We hired a lawyer with a lot of experience with zoning issues. The wheels were definitely moving forward.

Around this time I received a call from a “neighbor” who was interested in what was happening on River Road.  While he did not want to see a lot of development in the area, he could not be visible in opposing the development.  He did, however, want to help “unofficially”.

In January 2005, my “neighbor” introduced me to George Ranney.  George and his wife Vicky were the primary force behind Prairie Crossing, a large conservation community in Grayslake, IL.  In addition to Prairie Crossing, George started a company called Chicago Metropolis 2020.  This is a consulting firm that specializes in responsible development of urban and suburban communities in metropolitan Chicagoland.  He also had an organization called Liberty Prairie Conservancy.  LPC was created to steward the undeveloped land of Prairie Crossing and about 5000 adjacent acres that they had helped put into permanent conservation.  LPC helps land owners put land into conservancy and then manages the land and that their board had recently authorized them to look to the River Road area for new land to conserve and manage.

George and I agreed that as the developer of Prairie Crossing and as a leader of smart growth, a letter from George to the editor of the Waukegan Sun could help our cause.  George wrote a letter espousing a smart growth position and reinforcing our position regarding the unique features of River Road and the limited opportunity for planning a cohesive community that balanced development and open space.

After that, we had our first community meeting, 30-40 people attended and 10 volunteered to be on the steering committee to help organize our efforts, handle mailings, and attend City Council meetings.

At the next City Council meeting, I made every effort to impress upon the Council that they had a rare opportunity to have an impact on one of the jewels of not only Lake County, but Waukegan as well. I tried to persuade them to take this opportunity to come up with a master plan for the area that would take advantage of all the unique features that the area had to offer.  The Council tabled the decision for a few months. Meanwhile the zoning department expressed their desire for the development to reduce the number of homes from 80 to 60 and also the developer would have to pay for the road improvements and other infrastructure as well.  This is when the first developer withdrew from the project, it was March 2005. 

We had won, we had defeated the project.  But we all knew that it was only a matter of time before something else came along.

By the time summer rolled around another sign went up for an annexation hearing for the same property.  I went to the city, pulled all of the documents and started all over again. This time around the same local builder had partnered with another large developer.  The plan was for 42 homes, still in the standard format but this time with trails (sidewalks) and a pond (detention) as well as water and sewer connections for the City. The last was a big deal for the City; a new water and sewer line would complete the “loop” and open the gates for new growth. The only way to get the water to the site was to gain access from a private family or from IDOT along 120, neither was granting access.  We had them tied up again.

All the while I had been pushing the master plan concept on the City.  We were finally informed that if we wanted a master plan for the area, then we should create it. If we got a plan together and submitted to the City by spring of 2006, the City would delay action on the proposed project.

So we began to put together a plan with the help of Applied Ecological Services (AES) and Skidmore Owings and Merrill (SOM). First we set about determining what, if any, natural resources were in the area that were sensitive or endangered, and what green infrastructure we had to work with.  We were able to study about 75% of the land from 120 to 137 and from the Des Plaines River to 94, an area we called the North River Road Planning Area.

AES identified all the natural areas and prioritized them, then SOM took the areas we identified as sensitive and created a master plan that was based on concepts of interconnected green infrastructure, walkable communities, and organic growth from the existing subdivisions.  The net result was a plan that had a backbone running north and south with several east-west areas connecting the spine to small walkable communities.  The plan was beautiful.

No one supported the plan. We had spent countless hours designing, planning, and drafting this beautiful plan.  We had involved the City, the Parks District, Forest Preserve District, Stormwater Management Commission, the Des Plaines Watershed District, and numerous other agencies in creating a master planned community that could be phased in over a long period of time and respected the natural resources of the community while enhancing the safety of River Road by providing much needed community amenities. At the end of the day there were too many people to please and many who feared limiting their options on their own land. We shelved the master plan, and instead drafted a set of Guiding Principles for River Road.  These eight principles were presented to the City and were adopted in September 2006.  Although they are not binding, they offer the best we could do to protect the River Road Community.

The plan for 42 homes was passed with few modifications and we all waited for the construction to begin.

All this goes toward how I became a developer myself.  It must be understood that during this time we (the residents of the River Road area), were all afraid that any land that came up for sale would be the next domino in the chain of development on River Road. Back in the fall of 2005 I noticed a for sale by owner sign for a 5 acre parcel.  When I called on the property, I found out that the 10 adjacent acres were also for sale. I reasoned that if I owned the 5 acres no one could build on the 10 acres unless I sold my 5 acres. I put a full price offer 3 days after the sign went up. Another offer was on the table so I upped my offer. They accepted.  Now I had to find the money.  Several family and friends kicked in and we formed a limited partnership.

As time wore on, it became increasingly clear that the Master Plan was not going to be accepted.  Not wanting to be “stuck” with the land, I started talking to developers and builders about purchasing the remaining parcels on River Road, beginning with the 10 acres adjacent to our land.  The idea was to acquire the parcels, create a planned development, and then sell the concept to a builder.

After two failed attempts at purchasing the adjacent parcel with two different partners, I finally was able to secure 2 of the 3 remaining parcels that were for sale. I closed in May 2007, almost 2 years after purchasing the first property.

Now of course I owned 3 parcels and all the debt that goes with them. I tried to find a builder to partner with, and after 3 or 4 I was becoming increasingly frustrated. None of the builders understood the land conservation that was critical to this parcel. This got me to thinking about conservation and design.  Although there were many features I liked about Prairie Crossing, there was also many things that I did not particularly like.  I asked myself, what was it about conservation that was so appealing? I realized that land is only one part of the equation and that there was an opportunity to build homes that complimented all the work that the land would require to restore.  There was an opportunity to give people a truly conservation oriented community.  And this led me to learning about green construction.

I felt that the only way to really determine how many green features could be put in to a home, I decide that I needed to just do it.  So I found the house in Libertyville and began the “Greenovation”. I learned that if you are careful, green products are available easily and are not much more expensive than traditional building products.  There are also quite a few tax credits for builders who build green to help offset some of the higher costs. And so I became a builder.

Through it all, my wife has stood by my side and supported my efforts to protect and preserve the area for current and future residents.  She has encouraged me and cheered me on, she has shared in my set backs and in my triumphs.

I am an accidental environmentalist and a conservationist by chance.  I believe in building green, and trying to preserve our diminishing open land.  I believe, because so much is riding on our finding ways to conserve our precious finite resources.