Southview Gardens residents in O’Fallon worried about traffic from 53-acre development

Voicing their concerns over traffic impact, Southview Gardens residents in O’Fallon are organizing in opposition to a proposed Brandywine Garden Villas project that would include 174 attached single-story villas, a 50-unit memory care facility, a 12,600-square feet retail building and 11,400-square-foot office building on 53 acres of an undeveloped agricultural site known as Rasp Farm.

Steve Valentine of Lombardo Homes is seeking approval for the mixed-use development project at the northeast corner of South Lincoln Avenue and Interstate 64.

The proposal is up for final approval at the O’Fallon City Council meeting on June 6.

The proposed planned use and preliminary plot seeks to divide into four lots:

• Lot 1: Memory Care Facility on 3.65 acres.
• Lot 2A: Retail building (12,600 square feet) with drive-thru on 1.80 acres.
• Lot 2B: Office building (11,400 square feet) on 1.11 acres.
• Lot 3: Townhome/villa residences on 26.37 acres. Estimated rent for a 2-bedroom is $1,900 to $2,100 a month.

The project has been moved through city channels, from the April 26 Planning Commission (6-0 vote) — with statements from several residents regarding their concerns — to the May 9 Community Development Committee (5-0 vote), to approval on first reading at the May 16 city council meeting (14-0 vote), back to the Community Development Committee meeting May 23 (3-3), where more residents expressed concern.

At each meeting, more residents have attended to voice the views on how the development will impact traffic flow.

Southview Gardens, a subdivision annexed to the city in 1957, was developed from farmland to meet the growing demand for housing from Scott Air Force Base, starting out with 29 homes and eventually building 90. It was during the city’s growth spurt during the 1950s. O’Fallon Township High School opened at Smiley in 1958 and the Southview Place opened a year later.

Most of the homes were built with one-car garages, and now, families often have more than one vehicle, so residents park on the street.

Residents are worried about traffic that darts through their narrow streets to avoid U.S. 50 to get to South Lincoln Avenue. The lack of people stopping at stop signs and drivers speeding on Whitehall Drive, Dartmouth Drive and DeSoto have been mentioned.

In a letter written by Sally Hohn, Carlos Mirales, Patty McCollum, and Jane Stump and circulated throughout the neighborhood, safety concerns and traffic impact were cited.

“We’ve watched school buses and garbage trucks trying to pass each other without hitting residential vehicles parked out of necessity on the street. We’ve seen cars speeding down Dartmouth on a regular basis, and we’ve witnessed cars ignoring the stop sign at Dartmouth and Desoto for years,” the letter stated.

“With few sidewalks in the subdivision (full-length only on Dartmouth and Matthew, with a 2-block sidewalk from Highway 50 to Rebecca on Southview Drive, we know our neighbors walk, dogs, push babies, run, and bike in the streets,” it stated, urging residents to show up at the CDC meeting May 23.

After a split decision (3-3) at the Community Development Committee meeting May 23, Chairman Todd Roach, an alderman who represents Ward 4 — which is where this project is located — said he thinks the council may consider a one-way street designation, emergency access via Desoto Drive, or another change for traffic issues.

“I share residents’ concerns. I do see potential problems with more traffic on Whitehall and their concerns are valid,” he said, noting he has not received one call from residents.

“I don’t foresee many folks heading north out of the development unless they lived within Southview neighborhood area, but I do see people cutting through to go south to avoid making a left turn at Highway 50 and Lincoln, and another left into the townhome subdivision ... but do think there would be more traffic on Whitehall, not so much on Dartmouth,” he said.

Roach said he hopes plans to add a sidewalk on Whitehall Drive would happen, and that the development will provide school children with access to a safer path to school via the proposed multi-use trail.

“The developer is planning on putting in a mile plus of walking paths that would connect Matthew and Edgewood to Dartmouth and the entrance of (LaVerna) Evans, so students walking now where there is no sidewalk along Matthew could now take this walking path behind Evans, less walking and able to use bike path/walking trail instead of having to walk along the road and crossing streets,” he said.

May 9 CDC meeting

At the May 9 CDC meeting, Alderman Jim Campbell said school and base traffic made exiting south onto Lincoln Avenue “challenging.”

Community Development Director Justin Randall said the project’s connection on Whitehall is to give Dartmouth residents access to the stop light to make a southbound turn.

Roach said because of more traffic on Lincoln, the connection to Whitehall is “so residents can use the light to get out on Lincoln. With more and more traffic it will become very difficult without a light,” he said.

Roach also noted St. Clair County has plans of connecting Frank Scott Parkway to Scott AFB.

“When they do that, it will make it very easy to get off the interstate to Memorial,” he said.

‘This is much better than the offices’

Thirty-five acres had been previously zoned planned office, and two proposals in 2007 and 2010 did not happen.

Roach said the developer could return to those higher-density office plans if this project was not approved.

“This is much better than the offices. This will prevent a more intense use,” he said.

The other 15 acres are zoned planned agricultural. Two parcels — 1.73 acres in total — are zoned planned community business district and the fourth parcel of 0.43 acres is zoned office.

Lots 2A and 2B are approved for retail, restaurant (drive-thru) and office uses. On-site liquor consumption is approved for restaurant use on Lot 2A.

Staff recommendation

Staff had recommended approval provided certain conditions were met. Lighting for Lot 1 and and Lot 3 must be designed to minimize visibility and impact to surrounding neighborhoods.

They recommended a standard 5-foot sidewalk is required on the South Lincoln Avenue frontage between Whitehall Drive and Dartmouth Drive. Crosswalks shall be considered across Whitehall Drive to provide safe pedestrian access between lots.

Staff also stated Lot 1 and 2B must provide a dense landscaped buffer — shrubs and trees — along its northern and eastern property line to adequately buffer from single family residents to the north and multi-family zoning to the east.

Outlots, detention pond

An outlot to be dedicated to the city will become park land and there are two outlots that have stormwater detention facilities — totally 17.38 acres.

The large detention pond was created because of a redevelopment agreement to address flooding in the Southview Gardens subdivision, but has not yet been dedicated to the city, Community Development Planner Mary Kennedy stated in a report. The smaller secondary detention pond was not a part of the original agreement but was constructed to further address stormwater issues.

Randall had said the project was not far enough along for the Illinois Department of Transportation to evaluate, but if IDOT will need property from the development, they hoped something could be worked out with the developer.

Whitehall Drive residents Michael and Julia Skrabacz are hosting a neighborhood meeting in their yard from 4-6 p.m. to present information before the council meeting Monday, June 6.

This story was originally published May 31, 2022 at 1:19 PM.