Ward Zoning and Planning Committee Meeting: 9/28/05

Alderwoman Smith began the meeting by talking about and issuing a warning regarding break-ins in the Edgewater and Balmoral areas. She also spoke of a series of 5 muggings that have taken place lately. It seems that the perpetrator may be trailing elderly residents home from the Clark Street Jewel. The victims have all been accosted from behind and hit with a brick and then had their valuables stolen. It has been a long time since our area has had this type of outbreak and the police are all over the issue. Despite this our crime stats are still the best in the city. Please get the word out to all of the community to be watchful.

We will have a moratorium on project approval for Broadway until 2006. There has been a lot of activity and we should review all projects carefully because they will be impacting the area for many years to come. Ongoing work will continue, but we will need to assess each project from Foster north very carefully for traffic flow, pedestrian flow, etc.

There is a symposium in London starting Sunday, October 2, 2005 and Alderwoman Smith has been invited to speak because of the city’s leadership in green space projects. There will be representatives from some 70 global cities taking part in this environmental gathering. She stated she will be gone 1 week.

There will be more work done in the ward with parks, for example, a baby park for ages 0-4 will be built at Thorndale & Greenview. The Buttercup Play lot is not in very good shape and is on the agenda for 2006. The area by Senn H.S. has a $1.5 million dollar budget and will maximizing the green space areas. Parking will be below grade, but not below street level, and hidden by berms.

LakeShore Hospital has volunteered to do training for teachers in mental health & service.

We are getting more cooperation from the transportation authority regarding the troubled intersections at Marine & Sheridan, Hollywood & Sheridan and Foster & Sheridan, where a senior was recently hit by a bus.

Alderwoman Smith stated that she voted to continue the Shakman decree on city hiring.

We are looking for someone to take over and historically restore the Bryn Mawr Theater.

There is a report just written on all of Chicago by the N.E. Illinois Planning Commission that points out that the 2 main issues going forward for the city are traffic/transportation and water. This report will be available on CD and sent to each Zoning Delegate.

Johnson, Johnson & Ray, who are waterfront studies experts, are aiding the city with the possibility of providing about 4,000 more harbor slips. One area suggested is between Randall & Loyola. There will announcements on upcoming public meetings on the matter.

Quick Points:

• October 1, 2005: Clean & Green volunteer clean-up. Call 311 to get information & supplies.
• October 10, 2005: 8am to 3pm. 3401 N. Rockwell. Electronics & hazardous waste disposal. Bring old TVs, cell phone, batteries etc for proper disposal.

Scott Goldstein of Metropolitan Planning Council presented the results of a commissioned 2 day study of Clark Street from Ainslie to Devon. To paraphrase Mr. Goldstein: We tried to understand the area and used an 18 person sampling for questions and interviews. Our intent was to provide the tools needed to create a vision of the area. Along Clark, we decided that there are actually 5 different areas and each needs to be treated as such. The main aspect is from the heart of Andersonville to the North Andersonville area (nearer to Gethsemane Gardens). The Jewel and Thybony parking lots are large and underutilized. We should look into preserving the affordable housing that is already there or it will be lost. There could perhaps be the addition of a parkway north of Gethsemane where we could add pedestrian friendly walks and some shops & cafes to bring more people into the area. The focus should be on enhancing and retaining the local businesses. The Northern Clark Street area needs more economic development. We should be ready to push beyond the 2/3 storied buildings most see as attractive. The housing is less dense in the northern area and much denser as you head south to the traditional Andersonville area. Perhaps there could be a Parking Management Association to help create cooperative agreements with parking lot owners. Create more turnovers on the street, by raising meter rates or shortening time frames on meters in front of stores. Lower fees on off site parking lots. A written report will be available in a month or so.

Alderwoman Smith then stated that she is looking into the possibility of bringing back the old Metra rail stops at certain points; examples were at Peterson and also west on Foster.

6212 N. Winthrop: The last item for the evening was to vote on a development at 6212 N. Winthrop. It is a 4 (and partial 5) story residential building. A motion was made by the Granville Task Force to table the discussion until details about the building could be worked out with the developers. A point of contention was raised by the Granville Historical Association that the building will not have face brick on all visible sides. The developers show a red brick front but were unsure as to the type of brick to be used on the visible side. This building has been before the committee on 3 previous occasions. The motion to table was seconded and the vote to table was carried 12-7. Carmen Winona voted to table in light of the fact that the organizations in the area did not feel comfortable with the building as shown.