While the recent approval of the
Links Crossing development by the Village Board raises questions by residents
who live in proximity to the development, the reality is that developments like
Links Crossing may be a major part of future development in the village.
The Village Board raised more than a
few eyebrows with its unanimous vote giving the go ahead to the Links Crossing
plan despite a Dec. 6 recommendation by the Planning and Zoning Commission (PZC) to
deny.
The vote by the Village Board may
have countered the PZC, but the action did not counter plans for development in
the village. These plans were detailed during the Board’s Jan. 8 Committee of
the Whole meeting.
At that meeting, the Board heard an
update on the development of the Lake-Cook corridor. While there seems to be a
common belief that the key for an enhanced Lake-Cook corridor is a new Town
Center, Domenic Salpietra, Vice President and Regional Leader of Planning for
HOK, which is developing ideas for the corridor, noted that the work his firm
is doing is not a “specific development project” but one which is looking at
the entire village. Salpietra called it “more of a vision.”
The vision, he said, is broken down
in three stages, but only to identify various aspects and not establish a
chronological order. For example, step No. 3 of the plan focuses on residential
development. Salpietra noted that a key to this aspect will be multi-unit
housing including condos and townhomes. He told me after the meeting the target
will be millennials. Salpietra said millennials who now call urban areas home,
may, within 10 years, find a better life balance in the suburbs. He said what
may make the trend reversal attractive is the development of retail,
residential and office space.
While that plan addressed the Lake-Cook
Road Corridor it was clear that as the village moves forward with development
plans, the nature of Buffalo Grove will change, something that many residents
can’t seem to fathom. Comments by residents at public hearings and Village
Board meetings often focus on how long they have lived in the village and the
fact that because the village was a certain way when they moved in, it can’t
change.
As Robin Williams once said in the
old Mork and Mindy show, “Reality, what a concept.”
Change can be difficult to
accept. However, it’s inherent to just
about all aspects of our lives.
Thirty years ago, we flocked to malls; now we flock to our
computers.
Forty years ago we sat in our cars
while an attendant filled our tanks and cleaned our windshield; now we pump and
go.
As the late Jim Croce sang in the
song Recently that “The future is
tomorrow 'Cause the past is gone.”
Welcome to the future.
While aging Baby Boomers feel snug in
their single-family detached homes, they may be looking for something smaller
as the near retirement.
On the opposite end of the spectrum
are the millennials. While they currently flock to urban areas and have a
care-free lifestyle, planners say it may not be long before they call suburbs
home.
This is why presentations to the
Village Board by planners – not developers – are addressing the need for ways
to prepare for potential trends. It appears large single-family homes with
large yards, etc. may not be the focus of long-range plans for suburbs.
A generational thing? Possibly. It
appears that the comments of many residents who spoke at the Jan. 22 Board
meeting may have been a case of, to quite Yogi Berra, déjà vu all over again.
Generations before us may have said the same things – whether about housing,
transportation, or even telecommunications. Fortunately, or perhaps
unfortunately, previous generation didn’t have social media where they could
throw unfounded and pointless barbs at decision makers. Change is inevitable
and, as was the case for neighbors near Links Crossing, not welcomed.
Expecting corporations, government
agencies, civic servants and legislators to stay in a time warp and not look
toward the future is unreasonable.
The Links Crossings plan is not perfect.
No plan is. However, it’s possible – if not probable – that future plans will
be similar. Municipalities, like corporations, need to look at the trends. It
appears that the nation’s retailers have not. All it takes is a glance at
vacancies at large malls, downtowns or, as Buffalo Grove residents are quick to
point out, strip malls. What once was a panacea is now a struggle. Major
retailers who apparently thought bigger was better are finding the opposite to
be true. Businesses who scoffed at the idea of online shopping are scrambling
to join the parade.
Residents, as difficult as it may be
for some, need to look beyond the comfort zone that is their little corner of
the world.
Croce was right; the future is
tomorrow because the past is gone.
