Burr Ridge Developer's 'Unethical' Practice: Official

BURR RIDGE, IL – A Burr Ridge developer was hoping to gain the favor of village officials by offering gift cards to residents in return for praise.

Instead, the practice drew criticism.

On Tuesday, the company acknowledged its offer "may have not been in the best business judgment."

In an undated letter, McNaughton Development asked residents of the Savoy Club subdivision to send positive comments to the village government about its work. In return, it would give residents Capri Ristorante gift cards.

As a bonus, residents who attended a village meeting on behalf of the developer were promised a second gift card for the popular Italian restaurant.

It appears residents of Lakeside Pointe, another McNaughton subdivision in Burr Ridge, got the same letter.

This was part of McNaughton's effort to get the village to approve a 20-home development near 87th Street and County Line Road. The developer said it would be similar to Savoy Club.

McNaughton even provided sample letters to give residents ideas for their messages.

In an email to Patch, Trustee Guy Franzese, a former Plan Commission member, denounced the gift card practice.

"While the practice of rewarding someone with a gift card for that person speaking positively about a proposed development is not illegal, in my opinion, it should be illegal," Franzese said. "This practice is unethical."

Mayor Gary Grasso said in an email, "Knowing village processes well, offering a pre-meeting gift for support likely will not be well received."

In a statement, McNaughton Development said the Plan Commission on Monday recommended the Village Board reject the proposal. The company said it would withdraw it.

"To the extent that the business decision McNaughton made to attempt to counteract the typical neighbor/detractors contingent with supporters of our own drew attention away from the merits of our proposal, that is, of course, regrettable," the developer said. "While there was no ill intent with respect to the way in which we tried to garner support for our petition, we acknowledge that it may not have been in the best business judgment."

McNaughton has developments throughout the suburbs, including Timber Trails in Western Springs. Last year, Hinsdale gave McNaughton's proposal for the Heather Highlands development a thumbs down.

In its letter to Savoy Club residents, McNaughton said it was involved with the banking institution that took over the subdivision from a previous builder.

In the new development, McNaughton said, seven of the 15 acres would be saved for open space and trees.

"This conservation design of cluster homes is very popular in the new custom home market," the letter said. "We are asking for your support in the form of an email or letter to the Community Development Director or the Mayor. We are hoping that if a favorable response to this zoning and community is received by the Village that our proposed subdivision would also be carefully considered."

Four examples were given to Savoy Club residents for ideas.

One of them said, "I have a relative right now who would be interested in this site. In fact, with the beauty of this site, we might have to do it again! Please approve this project as it is what older adults are looking for in Burr Ridge."

Another said, "Our neighbors are just like us, our kids are grown and we all enjoy the comforts that come with a luxury home in a cluster maintenance-free community. We certainly endorse this project after living in our own similar subdivision..."

Residents are apparently taking up the opportunity for gift cards.

In time for Monday's Plan Commission meeting, nine residents sent messages to the village in support of the new development, called Enclave of Highland Fields.

Seven of the residents live in Lakeside Pointe and two others in Savoy Club. Some of them used phrases from the sample letters, while one copied one of the examples nearly word for word.

"We have friends that would be interested in this type of community," the copied letter said. "We understand from information that traffic, market value, environmental and zoning would not be compromised. Please favorably consider this new residential development."

Three residents who live near the planned development emailed their opposition to the village. They mainly said they did not like the proposed density of the subdivision.

One of the three opponents even noted the gift cards, calling the practice "odd and amusing at the same time."