Sept 19, 2002

Silance. That was the immediate response from other village board members after Dave Delgatto motioned to enter the Trees on Broadway development to a vote. After waiting a few seconds Village President Brusek said, "If we don't get a second the motion will die." Silence.

The three hours preceding Delgatto's motion were filled with words, often very heated and emotional. Approximately 60 citizens crammed the audience seating area and overflowed into the hallway at Richmond's municipal building where the regular board meeting took place on Wednesday, September 18, 2002.

The Trees on Broadway is a 47 acre parcel of land situated at Broadway Road and Route 173. On July 3, 2002, the zoning board recommended approval for the annexation and rezoning to residential use. That is when the sparks began to fly.

Rommy Lopat and John Drummond, whose house is adjacent to the Trees on Broadway property, organized resistance to the annexation. To try to convince the village board to consider stalling the project, they brought in experienced land planners and attorneys to present a case against the annexation as proposed by Robert May, the developer and owner Bell. According to Lopat and Drummond, the primary reason Bell wants to develop the Trees property is to create a connection to the 1,100 acre Tamarack property which needs an entry and exit point on the north side.

Though clearly frustrated by the repeated objections to the annexation which were often duplicates of previous statements, Brusek allowed all to be heard. Peter Bell, the owner of the Trees on Broadway and the Tamarack development which is adjacent on the south side, was peppered by questions about how the Tamarack development fit into the equation. After skirting the issue for some time Bell said, "If you want a real neighborhood it will have to be connected. I'm not trying to build island communities." When pressed
about the issue of traffic congestion on Broadway, Bell said, "Tamarack will have many ingress and egress roads. Fifty five homes will not have a great impact on traffic." .

Bruce Hunter, a former village president, said, "Unless a community claims ownership to a development, there will be problems for a long time." He cited the area behind Van's Food store as an example of this. "It's always been a development," he said, "not a neighborhood." Speaking directly to the whole board he said, "As you make your decisions you must make sure that the community buys into the development. The new developments will add at least
3,000 new people to the village. Input from the community is not criticism!"

A potential traffic jam which could be created by cars entering and leaving the developments was the primary focus of objections. The main issues discussed were th safety for the children and maintenance of Broadway Road. Many people insisted that a detailed traffic analysis would be the wisest route before the board approves or rejects the annexation decision.

Eric Mayer, a member of the Planning Commission said, "The board listened to the Planning Commission's recommendations and did not approve the Trees development at this time. We were impressed, though, with some of Peter Bell 's efforts."

After the meeting Brusek said, "The board is looking for clarifications."

John Drummond said, "This is an example of true democracy. The people came to the board with their issues. The board listened."

According to Village Attorney, John Roth, the issue is far from over. "The board could take a vote on this issue as early as the next meeting," he said.

After the meeting, cautious optimism prevailed among the people who would prefer a long look at the annexation before approving it.