Village rethinking home buying, building

PLAINFIELD--Two years ago, Plainfield was ranked as the fifth fastest-growing community in the country by Forbes.com.

Now, with new homes going up at a fraction of the pace and local retail sales sliding, officials believe it's time to change the way the village does business.

For instance, Plainfield's future neighborhoods could look different. They may have smaller, less expensive homes nestled in more marketable, environmentally conscious neighborhoods.

This is one way the village plans to ride out the sinking housing market, which once provided the village with record-setting income as building exploded in the early 2000s.

Village officials last week discussed a proposed new "business plan" for the village, which includes working with other taxing bodies to reduce impact fees for developers, streamlining the project approval process and attracting more moderately priced homes.

One of the village's largest subdivisions, Grande Park, on the western edge of town, has hosted the builder showcase Cavalcade of Homes. While Grande Park includes neighborhoods with more moderately priced homes, the Cavalcade featured homes priced between $300,000 and $600,000.

Now that development has slowed, most new homes built in town should fall in the $200,000 to $350,000 range, officials say.

Board members said they understand the lower price point, but don't want to sacrifice quality.

"I don't think anybody is discussing lowering the village's standards," said Michael Garrigan, a village planner, adding that engineering and design requirements would still be in place.

Developers, who now pay about $37,000 in impact fees to build a $300,000 home, shouldn't have to pay such a steep price, Garrigan said.

Lowering the fees, which would require cooperation with school, library, park and fire districts, could attract more development.

Garrigan also said knowing more about where Plainfield residents spend their money would help staff attract new retailers.

"We want to make Plainfield the most competitive community in the south and southwest suburbs of Chicago," he said.

Mayor Mike Collins told board members he'd like to see some action on the plan. "We've discussed this time and time again. We can't just sit here and talk about it and not do anything," Collins said. "We can't hesitate as we have in the past."