Last month I highlighted a density change that is going to increase traffic for two neighborhoods here in the Four Corners area.  My neighbors and I put up a fight at the Commissioner’s meeting held on March 23rd.  Just when we thought that our voices were being heard, the voting took a strange turn and the commissioners granted Mr. Smith and his team an extra 60 days to work with residents and/or come up with a more suitable parcel of land.  

You may be thinking that this decision has nothing to do with you.  But the way I look at it, if you are a resident of Lake County this vote should matter to you too.  This vote is going to set a precedent that will allow for construction on the protected Green Swamp.  This vote is going to change the average density of apartment complexes from the current 12 units per acre to 18.8!  This isn’t a Westchester/Greater Groves issue.  Sure this particular project sits between our neighborhoods and we will feel the impact the most, but everyone in the Four Corners area should be paying attention or you too may wake up one day living next to a high density apartment complex looming over your home.

It is frustrating because the media is presenting those of us against this project as residents who are against “affordable housing”, and the people who may qualify as low income, but that is the farthest thing from the truth.  Many of the homes purchased in the Greater Groves community were purchased back in the 1990’s for around $80,000.  A lot of our residents are on fixed budgets and created their own “affordable housing” and this proposed project could hurt their only investment.

Earlier I highlighted over 3,000 confirmed new residential units coming to our area.  This doesn’t include a proposed expansion at Thousand Trails, more apartment units at Cagan Crossings, or a planned community across from Woodridge where the soil was mined back in 2019.  You may think it is strange for a Real Estate Agent to be against growth.  If we continue on this path we are going to turn into the Champion’s Gate area where no one wants to live because traffic is horrible and where infrastructure, schools, and services were an afterthought.  When are we going to ban together as residents and start fighting the lack of planning that has been going on in our area for years and years?  We deserve better here in the Four Corners area. Consider raising your concerns on May 25th at the Lake County Commissioner’s meeting when this project will be voted on again.