3-01-2022 10:56pm

Roscoe moves ahead with rezoning for townhome development

Michael McGinnis Editor

Mike Wright expresses his opposition to a multi-family development on the edge of his Hawks Pointe subdivision.

Though more than a dozen Hawks Pointe residents showed up at the meeting in opposition, Roscoe's Committee of the Whole voted 3-3 to refer a rezoning recommendation for final approval by the Village Board of Trustees.

The Board will make the final decision on March 15 whether to change the zoning on a 16-acre cornfield on Roscoe Road from the CG: General Commercial District to the RM: MultiFamily Residential District. This would start to open the way for Josh Petry to build The Townhomes of White Oak at Roscoe Road and Old River Road.

However, before that happens, Petry must provide a design review and traffic study, which first must be approved by the Village of Roscoe and Winnebago County.

In fact, the county was already studying the intersection of Roscoe Road and Old River Road, so in the end they may help pay for additions such as traffic lights, without Petry having to bear the full cost.

Village Administrator Scott Sanders told the meeting attendees that the Zoning Board of Review usually doesn't ask for drawings when they get a zoning request. But this time, they wanted to know what kind of multi-family units Petry intended to build.

The tentative drawings show two-story townhomes, four to a group, each with its own garage. The new development would be screened by trees and bushes from the existing single-family homes on Goosedown Drive in the Hawks Pointe development.

Several Hawks Pointe residents spoke during the meeting, asking the Board to vote against the zoning change or at least change it to single family housing instead. They said multi-family housing brings more crime and less commitment.

Trustee Justin Plock said after the meeting that if the final design is changed to apartments instead of upscale townhomes or condos, he won't vote for it.