(Oct. 18^th) The following is the West-Win Homeowners' Association summary of the 9/25/2008 Zoning Board of Appeals hearing and the official ZBA transcript.

DUPAGE COUNTY ZONING BOARD OF APPEALS SEPTEMBER 25, 2008 HEARING SUMMARY

On Thursday, Sept. 25^th, the Zoning Board of Appeals (ZBA) met for the third time to hear testimony and public comment on a zoning request from Church of the Resurrection currently located in Glen Ellyn. The Church is attempting to purchase and get Special Use: Religious zoning for 21-acres of land that falls in the middle of a residential area between Roosevelt Rd. and Purnell Rd., just west of the Woods of Cantigny. The West-Win Homeowners’ Association has taken a position in opposition to the huge church complex that would be built in this residential area. The church development would bring with it a marked increase in traffic as well as issues of drainage, noise, safety, reduction of our property values, and many other disturbing elements.

Members of the West-Win Board have joined together with members of the Board of the former DuPage Land Preservation Association (DLPA) to form a committee to formally oppose this request. An attorney and certain experts were hired/consulted and we gathered the facts necessary to present a strong argument to the ZBA. A powerful 2-hour presentation was given by our traffic expert and by our committee under the leadership of our West-Win President at the Sept. 25^th hearing — this despite the fact that our attorney chose to abruptly resign from our case on Sept. 24! Fortunately, the members of our committee had done extensive research on the issue and were able to put together and execute an excellent presentation in less than 24-hours. We presented facts that highlighted all the issues (reduced property values, traffic congestion, flooding, drainage, road maintenance, noise, light pollution and safety) the Church must overcome as they attempt to address the standards that must be met in order for the ZBA to approve their request.

The September 25^th meeting concluded with the understanding that the public hearing is closed and that the parties have until Oct. 31^st to submit and review documents. If anything new is submitted that the other party objects to, the ZBA may reopen the public hearing.

The next step in this zoning process is a Recommendation Meeting to be held by the ZBA on Nov. 6^th. No testimony or public comment will be taken at this meeting where the ZBA will deliberate and recommend whether to approve or disapprove the request of the petitioner. That recommendation by the ZBA will then go to the DuPage County Economic and Development and Planning Committee and finally to the full elected DuPage County Board. Therefore West-Win will be involved in several additional steps in the process in a continued effort to defeat the petitioner’s request every step of the way.

In addition to the work of the West-Win committee, many of you, as individuals, have been very helpful as well, writing letters of opposition to the editors of newspapers, letters to the ZBA and voicing your opposition to the Mega Church during the public comment periods on the 3 different hearing dates. At the September, 25^th hearing, several residents provided public comments before the ZBA, following our committee’s presentation. The comments of these residents emphasized doubts as to the Church’s stability, fund-raising capability, actual construction schedule, and true size. Many thanks to those of you who expended precious time and effort to join us in our attempt to preserve our semi-rural residential neighborhood.

The full 9/25 ZBA hearing official transcript can be read here (warning: 6MB large file.)

Updated 08/26/09 03:54 AM ET Hit Counter