Tower Vote May Be Delayed

By Bill Smith

Folks who thought the Fountain Square tower project should not appear before City Council until a new downtown plan was in place may be coming closer to getting their wish. On Oct. 10 the Plan Commission wrapped up its third monthly hearing on the tower without taking a vote and scheduled its next hearing for the project for Nov. 14.

Meanwhile, City staff announced that a draft of the downtown plan, originally scheduled to be unveiled at a Downtown Plan Committee meeting on Oct. 3, now will have its key points discussed at a committee meeting at 8 a.m. tomorrow, Oct. 18,  in Room 2200 of the Civic Center, with a full-scale unveiling sometime toward the end of the month.

Given the lengthy process leading up to a final City Council vote, it is unclear whether tower or plan will reach the finish-line first.

At last week’s Plan Commission hearing, members of the Central Street Neighbors Association (CSNA), who have been pressing for zoning code changes on Central Street, expressed their view that the existing zoning of the Fountain Square block is the will of the people, and as such should not be altered.

"Personally I think the building is quite lovely," said Barbara Rakley, a member of CSNA, "but it doesn’t belong in Evanston."

Another member of the group, John Walsh, said the group’s leaders polled its membership by e-mail and not a single person favored the tower project.

"City leaders may be misjudging community sentiment," Mr. Walsh said, adding that many people object to "changing the heart and character" of the town so that it "resembles Chicago in more ways than one."

Robert Atkins, 2005 Orrington Ave., said he has lived at that address, about four blocks from the tower site, for 32 years. He said the developers "have failed to meet the burden of showing why zoning laws should be ignored and why the proposed planned development is in the public interest."

Jonathan Perman, executive director of the Chamber of Commerce, said downtown merchants need the additional residents who would live in the tower’s 218 condo units.

"We are now starting to have the critical mass of residents and visitors to drive retail, entertainment and dining," Mr. Perman said. "But ask the businesses, as I have; they need more customer traffic for them to prosper."

He also said the project would generate $3.3 million in new tax revenue each year for the two school districts.

 

Committee to Continue Deliberations on Civilian Police Review Board

By Bill Smith

A last-minute proposal from a half-dozen community activists that the City hire a full-time executive director to run a proposed Citizen Police Advisory Committee got a cool reception from Evanston’s Human Services Committee last month.

The proposal, a response to a July memo from Police Chief Richard Eddington about ways to address citizen concerns about the discipline process for officers accused of mistreating citizens, was presented to aldermen just hours before the Sept. 17 meeting began.

"Hiring an executive director doesn’t make the process fair," Alderman Lionel Jean-Baptiste, 2nd Ward, said. "Trying to find some kind of staffing to help maintain records and pull people together for a volunteer group -- perhaps," he said, "but having an executive director to manage the process, I just don’t see it."

The alderman noted that complaints about police are ultimately reviewed by the Human Services Committee and said, "Your elected officials are not beholden to anybody. Whatever is being paid to us makes very little difference in our lives. You’re not going to find a hired person to be more neutral and vigilant on issues."

With the City Council facing a police and fire pension fund shortfall now estimated at $140 million, the idea of hiring new personnel to run a police review program won no endorsements from the three aldermen attending the meeting.

Chief Eddington’s memo suggested reforms in the way citizen complaints are handled - requiring supervisors to provide residents who submit informal complaints with a report on the results of the investigation and establishing a mechanism for citizens to insist that their complaints be handled through the formal review process.

The chief said that because of confidentiality requirements for police investigations, a board authorized to do its own investigation of complaints about police would require trained staff and subpoena powers.

He suggested that giving the Human Services Committee the authority to review the disposition of informal complaints, in addition to its current review power over formal complaints, would be the most effective solution.

The City already has a civilian review panel that receives a summary of the results of investigations conducted by the department’s Office of Professional Standards after those results have been reviewed by top departmental officials and after any discipline of the officer is imposed by the police chief.

The proposal from the community activists calls for the creation of  a panel to review results of departmental investigations before they are sent to the chief of police for him to determine what disciplinary action, if any, to take against accused officers.

Bennett Johnson, one of the citizens proposing the new review panel, said it could actually save the City money. "It’s a hedge against lawsuits for police misconduct," he said.  He said too many residents now feel that police "are hostile to the people who live here."

Alderman Edmund Moran, 6th Ward, suggested the police chief meet with the residents proposing the new review body to discuss the issue further before the committee takes it up again at its meeting at 7 p.m. on Nov. 5.

The committee also voted to accept reports from the police chief on five citizen complaint investigations.  In three the officers were exonerated. The other two were dropped because the complaining residents failed to respond to requests for additional information.

City Beefs Up Nuisance  Ordinance

By Bill Smith

The City Council has adopted revisions to the nuisance premises ordinance designed to give the City more power to force property owners to get rid of problem tenants and clean up their buildings.

The measure, given final approval on Oct. 8, would raise maximum fines from $750 to $6,000 per day and in extreme cases would let the City seek forfeiture of a property to the City.

In a last-minute amendment requested by Alderman Ann Rainey, 8th Ward, the aldermen added zoning code violations to a long list of ordinance violations that could trigger enforcement actions.

She said the amendment would help resolve problems caused by illegal basement apartments in some buildings in the Eighth Ward.

The fines can be triggered by two ordinance or misdemeanor law violations within six months or a single felony incident at a property.

The revised ordinance gives the City the options of issuing a notice of violation to a property owner or a tenant, demanding corrective measures or immediately beginning legal action in circuit court or in the City’s administrative hearings division.

Five apartment buildings, most near the Northwestern University campus, one downtown bar and a single-family home in northwest Evanston are currently listed as nuisance premises by the City.

Black History Museum in Danger

By Bill Smith

Plans to establish a black history museum in a building at 1817 Church St. in Evanston appear to be near collapse.
In May 2001 the City gave the building to a non-profit group that promised to open a Black American Heritage House and Technological Resource Center at the site within nine months.

Now, more than six years later, City officials are moving to seize the former pool hall from the Evanston Westside Citizens District Council, Inc., saying the group has never opened the facility.

Some work was done on the building this summer, but the project apparently remains incomplete.

When the City turned the building over to the non-profit group, it required the group to sign a quit-claim deed that would convey the property back to the City. The parties agreed the City could record the deed if the group failed to open the museum within nine months or allowed it to close for over 180 days at any time during the next 99 years.

After discussions with the non-profit group that have been underway at least since July, the City’s Housing & Community Development Act Committee, which includes four aldermen, voted on Sept. 18 to recommend that City Council seek to recover the building.

At the request of Alderman Lionel Jean-Baptiste, 2nd Ward, the City Council voted on Oct. 8 to postpone action on the recovery plan for two weeks to permit last-minute efforts to salvage the project.

Documents indicate the City acquired the building for $175,000 and agreed to spend more than $200,000 in Community Development Block Grant Funds to help the group rehabilitate the structure.
At the Oct. 8 meeting, officials did not indicate how much of the CDBG funds have been spent, and no representatives of the non-profit group, headed by Bettye Palmer, addressed the Council.

Waiting for Godot’s Bus.

The new budget plan, announced by the Chicago Transit Authority on Oct. 12, will eliminate all CTA bus routes in Evanston by Jan. 6, 2008, if the state’s General Assembly cannot reach a budget agreement.  

In addition to the routes scheduled for elimination on Nov. 4, the CTA will also cut:  Route 97 Skokie, Route 201 Central/Ridge, and Route 206 Evanston Circulator.  The bus lines already slated for termination are: Route 93 California/Dodge, Rt. 200 Main Shuttle, and Rt. 205 Chicago/Golf.  This photo was taken at the bus stop on Church Street near Dodge Avenue; similar signs appear throughout Evanston. 

Consultant Says Downtown Can Handle Traffic Generated by New Buildings

By Bill Smith

A new report from a City traffic consultant says Evanston’s downtown streets can handle the combined traffic load of five new projects under development and the proposed 49-story Fountain Square tower.

John LaPlante of the traffic engineering firm T.Y. Lin International told the Plan Commission last week that his firm created a computer model of traffic conditions in the area bounded by Asbury Avenue, Emerson Street, Sheridan Road and Lake Street.

He said the model showed that, on average, during the afternoon rush hour drivers now wait 18 seconds to get through a downtown intersection.

Adding the five already-approved projects would raise the average time to 20 seconds, he said, and the 708 Church St. tower would increase the average delay to 22 seconds.

He said national standards for intersection performance developed in the 1960s treat anything under a 35-second delay at a signalized intersection or a 25-second delay at an intersection controlled by a stop sign as being free flowing.

He said at rush hour delays of up to 55 seconds at signalized intersections and 33 seconds at stop-sign controlled intersections are considered a normal level of service. The standards, based on driver perception of the length of a delay, consider delays unacceptable if they rise above 80 seconds at a signalized intersection or 50 seconds at an intersection with a stop sign.

Mr. LaPlante said his firm recommends the City take several steps to reduce wait times at the intersections the model shows to have the longest rush-hour delays.

Chicago and Sheridan
He said the intersection of Chicago Avenue and Sheridan Road now has an average rush-hour wait of 52 seconds; it would rise to 57 seconds if all the projects are built.

Most of that delay, he said, is caused by southbound Sheridan Road traffic waiting to move onto Chicago Avenue.

During part of the current light cycle, that traffic now has a red light even though no competing auto or pedestrian traffic is crossing its path.
By changing the light cycle and retiming the signals, Mr. LaPlante said, traffic delays at the intersection could be reduced by four seconds.

Ridge and Emerson
He said the intersection of Ridge Avenue and Emerson Street now has an average rush-hour wait of 43 seconds. That is projected to rise to more than 80 seconds if all the projects are built and no changes are made to the roads.

The City is already planning to remove parking on the south side of Emerson Street for two blocks east of the intersection and reconfigure the existing roadway to handle four instead of the current two lanes of traffic.

That, Mr. LaPlante said, should hold the average delay at the intersection after all the planned buildings are completed to 78 seconds.

In response to a question from Plan Commissioner Johanna Nyden, Mr. LaPlante said switching to four lanes on Emerson should make the roadway safer for pedestrians because the traffic lanes will be narrower, which tends to slow cars down a bit.

Ridge and Church
The study predicts that average delays at Ridge Avenue and Church Street would increase from 58 seconds to 73 seconds if all the new buildings are completed.

However, Mr. LaPlante said the performance of this intersection can be dramatically improved by changing the light cycle to give southbound traffic on Ridge more time to turn left onto Church. That adjustment, he said, should reduce the average wait time at the intersection by 23 seconds  - making it even better than it is now.

Chicago and Davis
The study predicts that average delays at Chicago Avenue and Davis Street would increase from 25 to 39 seconds if all the new buildings are completed. It makes no recommendations for changes to reduce that increase.

The approved but uncompleted buildings whose traffic impacts are included in the study are located at 1140 Clark St., 1228 Emerson St., 1567 Maple Ave., 1881 Oak Ave. and 1890 Maple Ave.

Process to Add Three More Meetings

Most Recent Consensus for Lakefront Emphasizes More Passive Use

By Mary Helt Gavin

Community input so far about the future of the City’s two miles of public shoreline appears to favor more passive and less commercial uses. At the Oct. 4 planning session, representatives from EDAW, the landscape architecture firm that is the City’s consultant on the project, presented the latest winnow: a plan that incorporated community preferences from the "natural" and "multigenerational" plans of Sept. 20.

The natural plan emphasized passive and less commercial uses of the lakefront area. The multigenerational plan looked at additional programming designed for, among other uses, grandparent-grandchild activities. It also considered activities and programs that could generate revenue.

Lakefront vision
Mr. Weykamp recounted the goals of the visioning process: to expand the vista of the lakefront so more people will be able to see the water and to make the lake accessible and safe for all Evanston residents.

Doug Gaynor, director of Parks/Forestry and Recreation for the City, said he felt many of the ideas suggested thus far need yet another vetting: "[Among] the ongoing challenges [are] 'Is it safe? Will the citizens be safe? Can we build low-maintenances into it so we can keep it going?’

"The thing most of you have weighed in on is the rocks. They were brought in to protect against erosion. I thought there was another purpose -- to keep people from walking down into the lake. [If we get rid of the rocks] we have to have a method to keep folks - especially the little kids - from walking down into the water."

The general plan
General concepts in the draft consensus plan presented on Oct. 4 included the following ideas:
• balancing dune ecology and natural plantings with flexible green space;
• reintroducing lost ecosystems;
• expanding the native habitat and bird-watching opportunities;
• consolidating programmed activities - including the launch for non-motorized boats - near Clark Street Beach;
 • eliminating the public launch for motorized boats;
• realigning Sheridan Road; enhancing the cultural programming;
• providing multicultural venues and multigenerational programs.

Clark Square would receive minimal treatment, perhaps additional plantings of trees and grass to ensure a green canopy at the park after the present mature trees die. To the north and south, the park would be framed by native plantings that are low-maintenance and that provide a haven for birds and wildlife.

"We call it the magic hedge," said Mr. Weykamp. Examples of the magic hedge can be found along Montrose Harborn in Chicago.

In addition, EDAW would like to see some of the rocks, or rip-rap, moved from the shoreline into the lake to create submerged reefs a few yards off shore.

"These are ideas," Mr. Weykamp told the audience of about 60 persons.  "They do not represent the final plan. … Coastal engineers and traffic engineers would have to design and approve certain types of plans, such as rerouting Sheridan Road and creating submerged reefs."  (See RoundTable Oct. 3.)

Other proposed enhancements
Mr. Weykamp described other proposed enhancements and improvements for the parks and shoreline, such as replacing the restroom buildings, adding upgraded facilities and using historic architectural styles to blend in with the character of Evanston; adding a café at the Clarke Mansion (now leased by the Evanston Art Center), to help offset the expenses of maintaining the building; making use of the Lincoln Street overlook for wildlife viewing or a bird sanctuary; creating a "great lawn" that would stretch from Sheridan Road to the water, possibly including Lunt Park as part of this open green space; creating a water trail along the lakefront, with stop-offs at several beaches, so canoers and kayakers could put in for a time to enjoy the area; and reinforcing a promenade about 15 feet wide around the Dawes Park lagoon, to accommodate foot traffic from the art fairs and starlight concerts.

Challenges and next steps
Maintaining adequate parking remains a challenge. A proposal to eliminate the Dempster Street parking area was met with much resistance. EDAW and City consultants continue to receive input on parking and other issues.

Landscaping and safety have been parts of the discussions from the start. One of the goals of the visioning process was to preserve the dune ecology and introduce lost ecosystems.

EDAW proposes "dark-sky" lighting, which reduces glare sent upward from a light source and focuses the light downward. (See sidebar). Paul D’Agostino, superintendent of the City’s Parks/Forestry and Recreation division said this type of lighting is being used in all the recently renovated parks.

An additional safety feature would be the blue-light safety phones, similar to those now used along the lakefill on the Northwestern University campus.

Three more presentations, all beginning at 7 p.m. and all identical, have been scheduled as follows: Oct. 30 in the James Room at the Presbyterian Homes Westminster Place Campus, 3200 Grant St.; Nov. 1, Levy Senior Center, 300 Dodge Ave.; and Nov. 8, Fleetwood-Jourdain Center, 1655 Foster St.

Sidebar 1 Dark Sky Lighting street lamp PHOTO GOES WITH THIS
Dark-Sky Lighting at the Lakefront

To maintain the quiet character of the lakefront and yet keep it safe, EDAW, the City’s landscape architectural consultants, propose "dark-sky" lighting. Pedestrian-level lights, up to 12 feet high, would shine downward to illuminate the park below but not upward.

"Dark-sky lighting reduces the glare that shines upward," said Greg Weykamp of EDAW. "In dark environments you can see pretty well. In fact, a brighter light makes the area less safe, because your eyes have to adjust to the glare and then again to the dark."

The City endorses dark-sky lighting and has incorporated it in several of its recently renovated parks, said Paul D’Agostino, superintendent of Parks/Forestry for the City. In photo above, the light fixture at Eggleston Park casts a wide pool of light below the bulb but no glare into the sky. Light and lamppost are barely visible from afar but there is ample light for those in the immediate area.

A Magic Hedge Along the Lake 

Landscaping along the two miles of public lakefront would consist primarily of native plantings. These include dune ecology, flexible green space, an upland prairie habitat and a magic hedge, says Greg Weykamp of EDAW, the City’s landscape architectural consultants on this project.

Dune ecology near the water’s edge now has a tenuous foothold at Lighthouse Beach and Dempster Street. Dune grasses help stabilize the beach area by anchoring the sand.

Flexible green space - found for instance at Clark Square or the proposed "great lawn" near Clark Street beach - is simply grass and trees. EDAW suggests minimizing lawns and grass because they require more water, chemicals and maintenance than native plantings.

Further from the shore native grasses, flowers and fescues would take root, creating an upland prairie, he says. These species would provide a haven for birds. These dense and hardy prairie plants would provide a year-round haven for wildlife and birds. For that reason, and because of their beauty and the minimally required maintenance, such plantings create a "magic hedge."

Evanston Community Land Trust Purchases First Home

The Citizens Lighthouse Community Land Trust will rehab this house in south central Evanston as its first affordable project. Photo courtesy of CLCLT

Recently, Evanston gained its first permanently affordable single-family home when Citizens’ Lighthouse Community Land Trust (CLCLT) purchased its first house. But it almost did not happen. Just the day before closing, the insurance agent called to say she needed photographs of the rear of the property.

Betty Ester, CLCLT president, and Jill Graham, vice president, were just completing the final inspection of the house along with other members of the CLCLT Acquisition Committee and George Gauthier, executive director of the Evanston Housing Coalition and development consultant.

He was checking the heating system and water infiltration issues in the crawlspace under the house.  Wilfred Gadsden, CLCLT executive director, expressed relief that the house weathered last month’s storm.

The team responded quickly to the last minute request.  Ms. Graham raced home, got her camera, took the photos and sent them electronically to the insurance agent.  At the same time, Mr. Gadsden and Ms. Ester drove to the insurance agent’s office to sign documents and pay for coverage. Coverage was secured in time for the closing the next day.

It was a small bump at the end of a long road.  CLCLT was organized in response to the urging of community residents.  The group recruited a working board, it raised funds from grants and donations and consulted with other area community housing development corporations (CHDOs).  CLCLT was confirmed as a CHDO by the City of Evanston, which makes it eligible to apply for funding to buy, improve and resell affordable housing.

The house on Washington Street has been on the market for a long time.  When they considered buying, CLCLT sent a committee of staff and board volunteers to inspect the property.

Next, board and staff consulted with funding agencies, banks, and the City of Evanston Planning Department.  They prepared a proposal and submitted it for review by a panel of housing development experts assembled by the City.

Then they went before the Evanston Housing Commission to make the case for the funding, and they appeared twice before the Evanston City Council’s Planning and Development Committee, ultimately winning its recommendation to the full Council.  Support for the project was achieved at each step.

The house sits in a quiet neighborhood of single-family homes on a cul-de-sac.  Its spacious backyard is an inviting play area for young children.  The three-bedroom, one-bath house will be fully renovated and sold to a family of four or five at a price just under $180,000.

Several factors make land trust properties unique.  First, the cost of the land is removed from the home price.  The low-to-moderate-income homebuyers sign a "ground lease" and pay a nominal monthly ground lease fee.  They only mortgage the improvements on the land. 

Second, the community land trust retains title to the land.  And the homebuyer agrees to a resale formula that limits appreciation to a specified fraction of any increase in value of the improvements at the time of resale, thus ensuring that the home is permanently affordable.

CLCLT also provides various grants, charitable donations and other assistance to the purchase and renovation project, which mean the home will be affordable not only for the first family but for each successive owner as well.

Looking up from the documents during the closing, a realtor asked, "Do you have your raincoat?"  A heavy rain darkened the sky, but things indoors went smoothly.  North Shore Community Bank provided a reduced-cost bridge loan as well as friendly support and advice.  CLCLT’s pro bono attorney from Applegate & Thorne-Thomsen made sure the many legal documents were properly prepared and recorded.  The Evanston City Council had approved a grant funded in part with HOME funds - the check was received on time.

When the signing party concluded and arrangements were made for transferring the keys and security devices, the realtor drew attention to the windows: "Look how nice it is now," she said.  The rain had stopped, and the sunset was lovely.

New Project Seeks to Chronicle Outstanding Women of Evanston

By Mary Helt Gavin

The Evanston Women’s History Project will chronicle the accomplishments of the outstanding women of Evanston, past and present. Expected to be three years in the making, the project is a collaboration among the Evanston Community Foundation, its principal funder; the Frances Willard Historical Association; Shorefront; the Evanston History Center; the Woman’s Club of Evanston; and the Evanston North Shore YWCA.

At a breakfast meeting last month - held in the Woman’s Club of Evanston, just down the block from the Frances Willard home - Lori Osborne of the Willard Association described the three foci of the project: increasing knowledge, building leadership and growing Evanston as a tourist destination.

Knowledge amassed and gathered by the staff and volunteers on the project would be used to create a comprehensive database of Evanston women, a Women’s History Month curriculum for schools and resources for women’s history scholars.

Organizers also hope to establish a Women’s Historic District - a scattered-site district with homes throughout Evanston, said Ms. Osborne.The project aims to build women’s leadership by providing materials for girls and programs for women, she said.

Among the projects the planners hope will contribute to Evanston’s popularity as a tourist destination are maps, walking brochures, site markers, a website and a center for women’s history, said Ms. Osborne. The Frances Willard House will serve as the center for women’s history, and the Frances Willard Historical Association will coordinate the entire project.

Asked about the adage that well behaved women seldom make history, Ms. Osborne said, "Not in Evanston. Evanston seemed to be [a place where] women could be well behaved and still do a lot."