Morris residents voice concerns over proposed rental community project

MORRIS – Residents attended the Morris Planning Commission Wednesday night to announce their dismay for a proposed rental community on Parklake Drive that would include 56 rental units for households with moderate income.

Avalon at Morris will be geared toward residents seeking two-to-three bedroom homes who earn an annual income of $40,000 to $60,000. The plans include a community center and a small playground area.

Nathan Joseph, a managing manager for Domera Development out of Brookhaven, Georgia, said the city of Morris has a need for affordable housing and teachers, police officers, firefighters and nurses all fall within the targeted demographic.

The development has received an allocation of tax credits from the Illinois Housing Development Authority in exchange for renting primarily to the prescribed income demographic of $40,000 to $60,000 a year.

The development will accept residents with Section 8 Housing Choice Vouchers that pass the same background checks and requirements as all other residents, but Avalon is not a project-based Section 8 housing development, meaning there is no direct subsidy contractually attached to it, according to Joseph.

Chris Franklin, a Saratoga teacher and Morris resident, addressed her concerns at the meeting regarding the density of the area, the high traffic volume and the rising number of children attending Saratoga if the development were approved.

“I am very concerned about the density, we moved to Lynwood and we put a lot of money into our duplex we just remodeled. The traffic is horrible. To sit on my front porch and watch the cars go flying, it is used as a race track. So, I can’t imagine if you’re adding all these people what’s it going to be like,” Franklin said.

“The other thing I am concerned about is the school and we’re pretty much maxed. So, I don’t know if that has ever been addressed with Saratoga School,” she said.

Joseph said the development could potentially bring in 100 new students.

Other residents were concerned about safety and the potential disruptions a new development may attract.

“I do not want this. We have enough shenanigans going on without this. Places like this are never taken care of. They are at first and then after that – and we also don’t need all of these children in our neighborhoods. This is an elderly community with expensive houses. We already have a problem, trying to get the shenanigans under control,” Karen Sterns said.

Joseph said the development could install extra security procedures, such as security cameras, which did not go over well with the planning commission, or the residents as it seemed the development may be anticipating problems.

In an email, Joseph stated the proposed “robust security features” were “misinterpreted.” It was done in the hopes of “mollifying’ community concerns, “due to unfortunate violence at some rental communities” and it development doesn’t anticipate any problems.

Morris City Planner Mike Hoffman said it was up to Joseph to decide if he wished to continue to proceed with the application, but he had work to do on detailed drawing and traffic studies.

The commission did not vote and it may be discussed in the future.