Farm Parking Concerns Darien Neighborhood: Official

DARIEN, IL – A Darien neighborhood is concerned about "excessive" parking when a farm is open to the public two days a week, an alderwoman said this week.

Honey Bee Gardens Farm on Kearney Road welcomes the public from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays.

The farm is next to the Darien city limit, but it is in an unincorporated area. The concerns have come from the Brookeridge Creek neighborhood.

At Tuesday's City Council meeting, Alderwoman Mary Sullivan said the issue is "potentially excessive parking posing a safety hazard" to Brookeridge Creek residents.

She said she visited the farm on a public day, but the parked cars were behind the farm's fence.

"There was no overflow parking on the street," she said. "It depends on the peak time. It's important that we are listening to residents."

Dan Gombac, the city's municipal services director, said the city sees an opportunity to negotiate an "amicable" solution.

"We're trying to be positive about it and look at opportunities," he said.

Mayor Joseph Marchese said he contacted the county, which found the farm was still in compliance with codes. He said if it became big enough, it would be considered a commercial business and would be required to provide parking.

"For those who are concerned, the farm is here to stay," he said. "(The owner) has met all the conditions to establish that business. The concern is the parking."

In an interview Thursday, Cindy Perkins LaRocca, the farm's owner, said cars have to park in the streets on some days during its season from June to October. Sometimes a handful of drivers park on the nearby Creekside Lane, she said.

For special events, LaRocca said the farm arranges for visitors to park in a hangar across the street. But outside those events, she said, it is tough to predict when surges in attendance happen.

LaRocca said all the cars are legally parked.

The neighbors, she said, dislike it when the farm's visitors later venture into the neighborhood, wanting to see the houses. But she said she cannot control what the visitors do afterward.

"(The neighbors) don't want anyone to drive on their streets. They feel they are private streets, that they own them," LaRocca said.

She said she sees the farm as an asset to the neighborhood, likely increasing property values.

"It's the cleanest farm you'll see," she said. "We do a lot of good for the community."