Pulte Homes, one of the country’s largest homebuilders, is seeking Orland Park’s approval for a 132-home housing development southwest of La Grange Road and 159th Street.

Called Estates at Ravinia Meadows, the development would offer seven home designs, with floor plans ranging from 2,600 square feet to just under 3,400 square feet.

Pending village approval, Pulte hopes to start work this summer.

The property is a bit more than 72 acres, but the homes will be built on 56 acres, with the remaining acreage left as open space or stormwater detention, according to plans.

To the east of the proposed development are the Mistee Ridge and Hummingbird Hill subdivisions, and to the west is Good Shepherd Cemetery.

Orland Hills borders the site to the south.

Some residents told the village Plan Commission Tuesday they were concerned about traffic and stormwater drainage.

It’s envisioned that access to Estates at Ravinia Meadows from the north would come from Ravinia Avenue, which ends south of the Costco property. The village’s long-range plan is to extend Ravinia south to 161st Street.

Access to the development from the south would come off of 165th Street.

Village officials said they will examine an existing stormwater detention pond Costco maintains after property owners told the Plan Commission that it’s not functioning as it should.

The pond is to the north of where Pulte plans to build, and is designed to handle runoff from about 20 acres of the housing development, according to Pulte.

The remaining 50 acres would drain toward a detention pond Pulte plans at the south end of the site.

Fabian Fondriest, land acquisition manager for Pulte, told Plan Commission members the company is the nation’s third-largest homebuilder, with operations in 25 states.

Locally, it is developing Gleneagles, a mix of housing at the former country club in Lemont. In Orland Park, in conjunction with owners of Palos Country Club, it built the Southmoor gated community, which includes duplexes and detached single-family homes.

The Estates project would be all detached single-family homes, and Pulte would include a playground that would eventually be turned over to the village, Fondriest said.

Pulte would also build homes around different pockets of trees on the land, preserving as many as possible, he said.

Within the subdivision and around the detention pond at the south end, Pulte plans more than one mile of multi-use paths. They would be maintained by a homeowners’ association but available for use to all Orland Park residents, he said.

Plans for the street layout were altered to avoid straight north-south streets, with curved streets through much of the subdivision meant to slow traffic and act as a deterrent to people using the subdivision to cut through and avoid La Grange Road, according to the village.

Focus was directed at the detention pond north of the site, maintained by Costco.

Sharon Barta said her father owns 10 acres directly northeast of where Pulte plans to build, and that “every time something gets built around us the water gets dumped on our land.”

She contends the Costco pond backs up during storms, with water running through a culvert under Ravinia Avenue and onto her family’s property, which they have owned for more than 50 years.

“I’m not against developing housing but against dumping water on other people’s property,” Barta said. “For 50 years water has been dumping on our land.”

An engineer working for Pulte said a development agreement from several years ago allows the Costco pond to be used to handle stormwater runoff from a portion of the land Pulte wants to build on.

He told the Plan Commission that while the land Pulte wants to build on is now vacant, the pond was designed to take water from development that would include nonpermeable surfaces, such as streets.

Planners said they want village staff, including village engineers, to take a closer look at the condition of the Costco pond before Pulte begins building.

mnolan@southtownstar .com