Richmond Village Board approves Prairie Hill  

This 224 acre development encountered many difficulties on its way to the final approval. In August, 2002, the village board annexed the 33 acre parcel along Kuhn Road owned by Walter and Kay Thomas. Officials thought development, then called The Classics, was previously annexed but they found the Thomas farm blocked the development from being contiguous to the village. A property must be technically contiguous to be annexed.

Residents of an adjacent subdivision to Prairie Hill took an active interest when the zoning board met to consider final approval. The issues of water retention, tree demolition and increased traffic were the main topics of discussion. In the end, the residents were able to secure a single cul de sac to reduce auto traffic through their neighborhood.

Debra Nelson, a plan commission member, said, “We are stuck with an annexation agreement imposed by a previous board. I am not against development but some issues are still not addressed. It is my job to make sure the developers conform to the village’s comprehensive plan. At the planning commission meeting I made a rookie mistake. I did not put my concerns into the form of a motion. I think we should move forward but we should also do some tweaking.”

Village Trustee Chuck Schultz voted against approval of the final plat. He suggested that there are still questions about the drainage and the capacity of the water retention ponds on the property. He said that a tree survey is “usually required” to approve a new subdivision. A tree survey was not done.

Trustee Dan Deters said, “How many trees will you cut down?” He was told that “as many trees as possible” would be saved.

In other business, the board approved a sign variance for the new shopping center at the corner or Rts 12 & 173.