Valuing Our Neighborhood- Willow & Pfingsten

Born in West Glenview, and now raising my family in West Glenview in Indian Ridge, I can think of no better place to call home- in large part due to the residential feel and character of our neighborhood and surrounding community in West Glenview. At it’s core, Glenview’s diverse fabric is that of many unique neighborhoods each with its own character and feel. West Glenview was and always has been primarily residential. The 1990 comprehension plan states that “as Glenview continues to grow and face the pressure of various types of development, it will be important to maintain the high-quality residential environment that created the community’s positive image.”

The current property owner of the former “Hart Estate” at Willow & Pfingsten has presented a re-zoning plan and site plan. This is certainly his right to do so and I thank the Board of Trustees and Plan and Appearance Commissions for providing due process to all parties.

It should be noted that the 1990 comprehensive plan referenced its desire to keep Plaza Del Prado as its primary commercial area at that intersection. I respectfully urge our Commissioners and our Board of Trustees to take into consideration not only our current comprehensive plan but our historical plans as well in making a decision.

The site plan proposed is not consistent with the spirit of our current or past comprehensive plans. It is commercially dense - far too dense—putting 10 lbs of sausage into a 2 lb casing. It will forever alter the look and feel of West Glenview as well as alter the first impression of visitors entering from the West. A 30-40% traffic increase is more than that intersection, or its residents who travel it, can bear. I encourage our Commissioners and Trustees to not look at the development in a vacuum, but rather strategically- what their decision will mean for West Glenview in 5-10 years. Otherwise, residential streets such as Pfingsten and Landwehr will likely become major throughways with both truck and car traffic, creating a nightmare at Winkelman School, the hospital, the fire department, and the residents in Indian Ridge and our neighboring subdivisions.

This is our home- it is where we work, raise our families, and our children play. I encourage the Village to undertake an independent 3rd party traffic study using pre-Covid data and think thoughtfully as to whether we are going to maintain the long-standing character that makes Glenview so special- our neighborhoods, or we will choose a too dense development that will be with us forever, turning a valued neighborhood into a commercial zone.