At the November 1 City Council meeting, the Council will be considering the following agenda item: “Provide feedback on the items provided under the Discussion section and direct staff to prepare the necessary agreements and ordinances approving the Naperville Polo Club development (6 positive votes) – PZC 22-1-056.”
The proposed development is north of 119th St. and west of Book Road. A site plan is available attached to the agenda item linked above. The development would include 401 single family dwellings, retention ponds, soccer fields, and some open space. A portion of the development is to be set-aside for “affordable housing,” i.e., families making 80-100% of the annual median Naperville income
NEST will be making the following public statement at the Council meeting:
One of NEST’s priorities is to guide Naperville towards a sustainable future with significant reductions in greenhouse gas emissions from our buildings, both existing and newly built. While we expect more rigorous efficiency provisions in Illinois building codes in the next couple of years, we should start taking advantage of cost effective, inexpensive improvements in building provisions TODAY. Pulte’s Polo Fields proposed development is one of those opportunities. We encourage the City Council to use your influence to move Pulte towards making pragmatic, cheap, easy to enable enhancements in their plans so future residents can avoid retrofits costing many times more. Examples of these suggestions include adding a circuit for future EV charging, electric appliances rather than natural gas, solar-ready roofs, and cold climate electric heat pumps for heating and cooling. In addition, we encourage the preservation of the current natural resources on the site, including existing ponds and trees. NEST met with Pulte’s representative some weeks ago to discuss these future-ready solutions. Despite a cordial, respectful discussion, we noted no movement nor any interest to explore our suggestions. These are not radical ideas. Looking to the future, they are inevitable. Let’s get started now.
To learn more about what our Building & Development team is doing, email [email protected]. You can also volunteer at www.sustainnaperville.org/volunteer.