Plan Commission Forwards Central Street Plan to Planning and Development Committee

By Bill Smith

Members of the City's Plan Commission have voted unanimously to approve the new master plan for the Central Street corridor and send it to the City Council's Planning and Development Committee for further review.

The approval came June 13, despite complaints from several neighborhood activists that the plan does not go far enough in downzoning the area to prevent new development.

"This is not an area crying out for development," Jeff Smith, president of the Central Street Neighbors Association, said. "Central Street is a viable, working, functional neighborhood. It's not broke. Don't fix it. To sustain and enhance the neighborhood we need downzoning.

"Those who would like to redevelop the area are circling like sharks," he added. "There's lots of money to be made, but not for the benefit of the neighborhood."

He said the average height of buildings along Central Street now is just 20 feet, and he would like to see it stay that way.

Several commissioners challenged Mr. Smith's dire predictions, noting that much new development along Central has fallen far short of existing height limits and suggesting that the continued presence of many older, low-rise buildings in the area indicates that there are fewer developers circling than he imagines.

The new plan calls for maintaining existing height limits in some zones, but reducing limits in others.

Richard Wright, 2603 Hartzell St., echoed Mr. Smith's concerns and suggested the area should be downzoned to permit a maximum of two stories.

Mary Rosinski, 1729 Chancellor St., said residents also want to eliminate the planned development process that allows developers of larger projects to seek greater height than the basic zoning rules permit.

The plan calls for streetscape improvements that the consultants' report estimates would cost $1,417 per linear foot, which could leave taxpayers with a $20 million bill if developers did not.

Planning Director Dennis Marino said it was important to approve the streetscape proposal immediately so that it could be included in this year's capital improvement program funding process, which takes place over the summer.

He proposed, and the commissioners agreed, to refer the plans rezoning proposals to the commission's zoning committee for further discussion.

Commissioner Albert Hunter won support for his proposal that the plan be amended to place more emphasis on developing the several parks along Central Street to be more than just grass and trees and to have a variety of different uses.

The draft plan had focused attention almost exclusively on Independence Park, in the heart of the business district just west of Greenbay Road.

The plan also calls for redesigning the Stewart Avenue parking lot adjacent to Independence Park, for exploring the feasibility of a parking structure on the open parking lot just west of Ryan Field, and for seeking funding to improve and reconstruct the CTA and Metra viaducts on Central Street.

Attorney James Murray, representing the owners of two businesses at Crawford Avenue and Gross Point Road, said that increased setbacks and other changes called for by the plan would make it nearly impossible for the properties to be redeveloped.

"Both of these are family-owned businesses," Mr. Murray said, "and the properties represent a substantial part of the assets the owners are counting on as part of their retirement plans.

"It's a wonderful plan," he added, "but there are costs associated with it, and individual property owners are not in a position to bear the expenses."

Copies of the Central Street plan and other documents related to it are available on the City's web site, www.cityofevanston.org

Council Wrap

By Bill Smith

At the June 25 City Council meeting, aldermen approved $180,000 to rehabilitate 24 units of affordable housing in three buildings in the 2000 block of Wesley Avenue and two requests totaling $114,500 from the Citizen's Lighthouse Community Land Trust. That money would provide operating funds for the trust and help buy a single family home out of mortgage foreclosure for use as affordable housing.

In other business the aldermen did the following:

• Introduced an ordinance to extend for 12 years the life of the special service area taxing district that funds the downtown marketing group EvMark;

• Introduced an ordinance approving construction of a tunnel under Davis Street to connect the two new buildings planned by Mather Lifeways - a project that Alderman Cheryl Wollin, 1st Ward, said would likely close Davis Street for up to six months;

• Postponed a vote on the proposed 14-story rental development at 1890 Maple Ave. after it became apparent in Council debate that the necessary six votes to approve it were lacking.

• Approved a $3 million contract with A. Lamp Concrete Contractors for various street repaving projects;

• Approved $475,000 to renovate the City's animal shelter. Community Animal Rescue Effort (C.A.R.E.) has pledged to raise half the $950,000 needed for the renovation project.

Downtown's Dry Fountains May Bubble Again

By Bill Smith

Deciding at the June 25 City Council meeting that "Planter Square" just did not sound right, aldermen rejected a staff proposal to inexpensively cover up the broken fountains in the City's landmark plaza with dirt and flowers and authorized spending $224,000 to fix the fountains and the plaza's brickwork instead.

The cost of the repairs will be paid from funds in the Downtown II tax-increment financing (TIF) district.

"The pipe burst in February," Alderman Anjana Hansen, 9th Ward, said, "And this is the first time we've discovered it's completely inoperable?"

Facilities Manager Dave Cook said City staffers had been working on the issue for a long time, trying to come up with an inexpensive solution.

Alderman Edmund Moran, 6th Ward, cast the only vote against the repair work, saying the plaza needs a complete redesign.

"We should hang onto our money and wait for a moment, hopefully not too far off, to employ that money to create a place that we can have some pride in, rather than just turning the bubble machine back on for nearly a quarter million dollars," Ald. Moran said.

City staff estimated it may take the rest of the summer to make these repairs.