Lake County Gazette

During its Jan. 23 meeting, the Highland Park City Council heard a presentation on the proposed Wolbright development and received public input on the plan.

The council learned during the meeting that the development; which would be located at 650 Walnut St.; would include a 24-unit, four-story, multifamily residential building with a 53-space parking area. The tract would require the consolidation of several properties along Walnut Street and Oakwood Avenue, and there would be months of work between developers and the City. Even with that, traffic remains a concern.

“I'm concerned that there's going to be more traffic if people have to go around the block to La Salle and come back around the block,” Councilmember Kim Stone said in the meeting. “It's going to be the same amount on Walnut and it's going to be more on LaSalle and on Oakwood. I think it's a lesser evil to have it on Walnut. I don't think that there's going to be that much traffic generated by this building, as our traffic engineers have said when they reviewed the building.”

There was also debate during the meeting about the underground parking garage. The developer originally planned access to the garage from LaSalle Street, but that was changed to access from Walnut Street, in part because of a large white oak heritage tree that could not be worked around. The developers said that relocating the entrance seemed to be the best option with the least impact on traffic.

Stone noted that other council members also discussed the tree.

“Highland Park takes pride in its trees,” she said. “Our forester has reviewed that tree and determined that it is worthy of saving. We were able to successfully do some construction at our house and save two oak trees that were in our backyard. There are ways that it can be done. It [the heritage tree] doesn't look right now: there's already a lot of encroachment on the roots of those trees from the existing driveway.”

It was noted during the meeting that the heritage tree may have been damaged during construction of another project and could be in jeopardy. Stone commented that there is a chance the new building may benefit the tree.

“I think there is a possibility that it'll be better with the new building in terms of that tree,” she said. “I think that the tree has a better chance because it will have some more landscaping around it rather than all the hardscape. So I think it is there and I think that that does make a difference. But I don't believe the traffic is going to be impacted as much as one might think, based on what the experts have said.”

During the meeting, the council and residents alike expressed concern about the driveway and additional traffic, with Walnut Street already being congested due to a high-traffic intersection and public transportation. Residents had reservations about putting the driveway on Walnut and thus adding to the traffic mix.

The council approved the plat consolidation and will continue discussion of the development at its February meeting.