The adopting Ordinance (No. 23-052) for The District at Veridian (Case No. Z2208-08) was approved with several conditions related to the roadways. The roadways throughout The District were approved with the understanding that they would be privately owned and privately maintained. As such, three conditions in the ordinance were tailored to include language related to a “Private Streets Agreement” to help ensure that these private roadways would be maintained to typical village standards, provide the village with a mechanism to recoup expenses associated with potential maintenance, and allow reciprocal access rights across private roads. Below are the three related conditions as listed in the original Staff Report and Ordinance:

1.      A Private Streets Agreement will be required prior to the issuance of a Land Development Permit for the proposed private streets or any associated utility infrastructure, although grading may be authorized by the village prior to the agreement. Such agreement will cover minimum maintenance standards, public utility easements, underground volume control/detention, landscaping, lighting, snow plowing, etc.

2.      A dormant Special Service Area (SSA) will be required prior to the issuance of a Land Development Permit for the proposed private streets or any associated utility infrastructure. The SSA will cover volume control/detention, private street maintenance and shall predominantly mirror the requirements of the Private Streets Agreement with added mechanisms needed to recoup any maintenance costs for private streets or any associated utility infrastructure incurred by the village. Reimbursement by the petitioner shall be required for the development, public notice, recording, etc. of the SSA. The SSA shall be established prior to release of the Land Development Permit bond or issuance of the first building permit, whichever is sooner.

3.      Prior to the issuance of a Land Development Permit for any of the proposed private street(s) the petitioner shall provide a draft cross-access and shared parking agreement or similar instrument to the village for review and approval which provides ingress/egress to the roadways and shared parking across all lots within The District. Prior to release of the Land Development Permit bond, the cross-access and shared parking agreement or similar instrument shall be recorded with Cook County against all effected properties within The District.

Recently, the developer has been in discussions with staff regarding the nature of these roadways and if they should be private vs. public streets. While these discussions are ongoing, the developer would like to start construction on these roadways and associated utility infrastructure this fall, in advance of inclement weather, to remain on schedule for erecting the first building in Spring 2025.

Since the roadways are proposed to be constructed to village standards, staff does not have concerns about advancing this work while the details of the streets agreement are worked out. Therefore, staff is recommending to amend these three conditions from the original ordinance to provide more flexibility in determining roadway type (private vs. public) as well as allowing this work to proceed while the streets agreement is being finalized.