Shiloh is off the hook from lawsuit over development

Though the voting process was at times confusing, the Shiloh Village board of trustees followed proper order when conducting a series of back-and-forth votes that first denied, then ultimately approved, a new luxury housing development, a judge has ruled.

"The judge ruled in the village’s favor and sided with the village’s stance that we were within our rights and followed Robert’s Rules of Order and there was not a problem," said Shiloh Mayor Jim Vernier.

St. Clair County Judge Julia Gomric on May 30 dismissed a lawsuit by Shiloh resident Charlotte Cox, who claimed the board did not follow its own ordinances during the approval process for The Savannah, a 311-unit apartment complex planned for a 26-acre site just south of Memorial Hospital East, across the street from Tamarack Lane.

"We are very pleased with the outcome, and it is what we expected," said Jenna Desch of Crevo Capital, the Edwardsville-based private equity firm behind the project.

In her ruling, Gomric said the "board acted appropriately" when casting votes on a string of motions, counter motions and motions to reconsider concerning zoning for the development.

"It blows my mind," Cox, who lives at 1705 Cross St., said of the ruling.

Cox believes the board did more than make procedural errors. She believes they acted "unethically" in the manner in which they "pushed" the $35 million development forward. Cox said she filed the case to hold her elected officials "accountable."

"In court, they said, 'Well, just because she doesn't want it, doesn't mean it can't be there.'

“Well, you know what? It's not just because I don't want it. A lot of people don't want it, and for many different reasons. It's bigger than that. I'm concerned about how they conduct business without following their own rules," Cox said.

Cox said her motivation for frequenting public hearings on The Savannah project was rooted out of "safety concerns" with traffic potentially increasing on Cross Street.

“It’s just plain dangerous the way it is as a two-lane road along a blind curve,” Cox said. “Now with more than 300 new apartment units going in across the street, it’s going to get much worse.”

The development will have multiple buildings, a clubhouse with a pool, garages, a dog park, walking trails, community gardens and a recreational lake. Rent will range from about $1,200 per month for a one-bedroom to a maximum of $2,000 for a three-bedroom depending on amenities and unit selection.

Cox worries the influx of residents as a consequence of the looming development could pose "lots of issues" with pedestrians and children walking along the street that has limited sidewalks.

"My house is right behind the guard rail, which has been hit several times," she said. "We have several people walking their dogs, jogging, riding bikes, kids walking to school, and another person got hit right as you enter my street off of Cross (Street) on the bike, and nobody ever brings up those issues."

Cox brought up the issues herself at multiple public hearings last year, but said she “was not being heard" by the board.

"Basically, (they) didn't seem concerned about it,” she said.

Then came the Village Board meeting on Sept. 5, 2017.

In a complex — and at times, confusing — meeting, the board voted numerous times on various motions concerning The Savannah. Vernier ended up casting two tie-breaking votes. Trustee Kurt Burrelsman also flipped his vote. In the end, the board approved switching the site from single-family to multi-family and also granted a special use permit, zoning requests developers needed in order to move forward.

According to the village ordinance 151.345, as stated in the court complaint, "if a request for a special use is denied by the village board, a special use re-submittable, on the parcel, but the same owner/applicant, will not be accepted by the village for one year following the village board meeting at which the denial was made."

While Trustee Greg O'Neil said he "never read the complaint" from Cox, he could see how the series of confusing votes could be perceived as "shady."

Twenty days after the meeting, Cox filed her lawsuit, asserting that once the project proposal was voted down at the Sept. 5 meeting, the board should not have reconsidered the project for another year, per its own ordinance.

But the judge ruled the ordinance only encumbered the applicant, not the village.

"Again, the year-long ban on reapplication found in (the ordinance) restricts only the applicant, not the board," Gomric said in her ruling.

Judge gives no opinion on potential conflict for mayor

In her suit, Cox alleges that Vernier shouldn't have voted, alleging he had a potential conflict of interest with the development since he is employed as director of operations and safety for Phillips Co., which "could be selected to perform the plastering work on the project."

"Vernier works for Phillips, and it may be difficult to prove but I think that's a conflict of interest because Phillips (Company) has done work for the village in the past,” Cox said.

Gomric did not rule one way or the other on the allegation, but threw out the claim because, she said, it was not argued properly.

"Plaintiff failed to raise this argument in her complaint and therefore, it is waived," the judge said in her ruling.

Vernier said he has no conflict.

"I have no idea what they ever meant by me having a conflict of interest in that project," Vernier said.

A Freedom of Information Act request made by the Progress shows $33,328.28 in three payments made to the village from Phillips Co., also known as Phillips Interior Exterior Systems Inc., for work and development fee percentages regarding The Summit at Shiloh development off Lebanon Avenue. The payments were dated from January, August and September 2017.

However, as of Thursday, June 14, village staff confirmed there have been no payments for permitting and other development fees for The Savannah.

Included in the case court documents is an affidavit, dated Feb. 9, signed by Vernier denying any direct or indirect financial interest in The Savannah project, as well as denying any violations of any procedures.

"I don’t own that project. I don’t have any skin in the game so, to me, that was a ridiculous statement from Day 1, and the judge agreed with that as well, I suppose," Vernier said.

What’s next?

Cox said she will continue to act "for the best interest of the village," but she hasn't made a decision on whether to file an appeal.

Village Trustee Bob Weilmuenster has been vocal in his opinion that the village should not have allowed the project to move forward with legal questions looming.

"I'm honestly shocked. I still can't believe that we never talked about the case at all in open, or closed session, even," Weilmuenster said.

Trustee Kurt Burrelsman said he is "relieved" by the court ruling, but did not want to discuss specifics of the case.

But move forward it has — at least in the board room, if not at the site. The project has since moved forward with zoning, permit and infrastructure, street light and sewer funding agreement requests, gaining approval from the village board.

However, developers don’t have a timetable for the project's progress.

"We've been waiting on the lawsuit and some other things to be finalized," said Jenna Desch with Crevo Capital, the developer of The Savannah.

Village Administrator John Marquart said trees were removed a few months ago on the east side of the property. But, due to the pending litigation, the project site has "been quiet" with "nothing happening" currently.

The Progress reached out to trustees Tina Warchol, Mark Herrmann and Colleen Powers, but did not receive comments.

This story was originally published June 15, 2018 at 1:01 PM with the headline "Shiloh is off the hook from lawsuit over development."