Problem solved at 5 Briar Lane in Glencoe

Plans to demolish a Glencoe home and sub-divide the property into three plots have been approved by the Village Board.

Trustees unanimously granted approval on Thursday, Nov. 21, to a final plat of subdivision for 5 Briar Lane, allowing for three homes to replace a single home that has reportedly languished on the market for 18 years.

As previously reported by The Record, property owner Ronald Schmidt reportedly put his home up for sale in 2006 at a price of $10 million. The price decreased throughout the years until it was recently sold for $4 million.

At Thursday’s meeting, Taylor Baxter, the Village’s development services director, said many public comments on the plans expressed concerns about safety, particularly stray golf balls from the neighboring Skokie Valley Country Club.

“When the board approved the preliminary plat (on Sept. 19), it did so with instructions to the property owner to continue the discussions with neighbors and the country club about possible ways to mitigate concerns about golf and safety,” he said.

The result of those discussions, according to Baxter, was a private easement between the developer and country club that limits development on the southern part of the proposed Lot 3.

Baxter said the Plan Commission received no public comments at its meeting where it unanimously recommended the development, and nobody spoke up at the Village Board’s meeting.

Additionally, trustees unanimously approved a plat of vacation in regards to Briar Lane itself.

Briar Lane is a hammerhead street, meaning it ends abruptly at the subject property. This does not conform to Village standards, and Public Works has determined that it should be reconfigured into a cul-de-sac.

The plat of vacation will dedicate almost 4,700 square feet, currently private property at 5 Briar Lane, to the Village, making it a public right of way and allowing for a cul-de-sac to be built in its place. Additionally, more than 1,200 square feet of public right of way will become private property.

Both the final plat of subdivision and the plat of vacation were approved without any discussion or questions from trustees.

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