Burr Ridge Sticks To Large Lots, Despite Home Demand Statewide

BURR RIDGE, IL – Illinois and just about everywhere else in America need more housing.

Burr Ridge, though, appears to be sticking to policies that call for larger-than-average lots.

In Illinois, the average-sized lot is about a fifth of an acre.

The typical lot in Burr Ridge, a town known for its mansions, is far larger.

Last month, the village's Plan Commission rejected developer Bharat Mittal's request to change the zoning for 8101 County Line Road to allow lots as small as half an acre.

The current zoning calls for five-acre lots.

In response to the request, neighboring homeowner associations objected, saying the proposed lots were too small.

Mittal has not turned in a formal proposal for a single-family housing subdivision. But he has presented a concept, according to a village memo.

Two nearby homeowner associations – Bridle Path and Burr Oaks Glen South – have come out against changing the request.

The president of the Burr Oaks Glen South association is Guy Franzese, an elected Village Board member who previously served on the Plan Commission.

At the June 1 commission meeting, Franzese said smaller lots would result in development inconsistent with surrounding neighborhoods, according to meeting minutes.

Franzese said his neighboring subdivision's lots were more than 40 percent of an acre. But he noted other nearby subdivisions contained larger lot sizes.

During the meeting, Commissioner Barry Irwin said the recent Burr Ridge trend has been toward larger lot sizes in new residential neighborhoods.

The commission unanimously rejected the developer's request.

Commissioners suggested the developer propose changing the zoning to allow lots that are about two-thirds of an acre. The developer's attorney returned with that request.

The Village Board plans to vote Monday on sending the new request to the commission.

As of 2024, 4.5 percent of the village's housing was considered affordable by state standards.