Ward Zoning and Planning Committee Meeting: 10/26/05
Greg Harris opened the meeting and gave the Alderman’s Update in the absence of Mary Ann Smith.
The first order of business was to dispel some of the rumors surrounding the fate of the parking lot next to the Greek Church. A down-zoning proposal has been introduced to limit the height of any new development to 6 stories. The site is also a planned development (PD) site because the size of the land area is such that it falls into the PD category. There is also the question of Lakefront Protection under which the site also falls. As a result each of these matters has to be brought to the Planning & Zoning Committee, for review and vote on an individual basis. Therefore there are 3 layers of review that must be passed before any development can take place.
Next was an announcement that it has been brought to the ward office’s attention that some 3,000 tax bills city-wide have been mailed to seniors with errors. Apparently there was a coding error and these tax bills are missing the Homestead exemption and as a result are much higher than should be the case. If there are any seniors in the 48th Ward or if others know of seniors who have in fact received tax bills that seem to be significantly higher than normal, please call Greg Harris or Marge Britton at the Ward office and they will review the matter(s) and aid those in seeking relief and getting the bills rectified.
There will be an open house on Saturday, October 29, 2005 at the newly refurbished Leland Apartments (Leland & Racine) near the Borders store. The open house for the public is at 9:30 A.M. and Mayor Daley and Alderwoman Smith will be performing the ribbon cutting ceremony at 10:00 A.M
On the issue of crime, the problem concerning targeted seniors near Bryn Mawr & Clark (see the September WZPC report) seems to have abated. The police feel that it is possible that the perpetrator has either moved on or has been picked up and is in holding for some other crime. Regardless, all are asked to remain cautious and vigilant. On Tuesday (October 25, 2005) Alderwoman Smith met with Edgewater Beach Neighbors Association (EBNA) to discuss crime issues at the 5411 building at Winthrop & Bryn Mawr. The ward office, police and EBNA are working on ways to reduce and eliminate the crime issues surrounding that location. Most of the possible solutions require undercover police work and therefore, specifics could not be discussed.
Development Business
There were 3 properties presented and voted on.
5846 N Glenwood: The property is being redeveloped on the corner and a zoning change was requested to raise the current 3.5 code to a 4. This was asked in order that the developer could increase the ceiling heights of the units to 9 feet. There will be 5 units (townhouses) of 3 stories and the development will look across the street at Senn H.S. Each of the first 4 townhouses will have 3 bedrooms and approx 2000 sq. ft.; the 5th unit will have 2 bedrooms and slightly fewer sq.ft. All the block clubs and associations in the area approved of the zoning change. A motion was raised to approve; it was seconded and the motion passed with unanimous approval. Carmen-Winona voted yes in acknowledgement of the surrounding associations’ approval.
The next property is at 5863 N Glenwood. This was a simple rezoning request by the current owner of the building to move the code from its current 3.5 to 4 in order that he may use current commercial space in the building as his personal residential space. All the pertinent associations were involved and agreed to the up-zoning. A motion to approve was made and seconded, and carried by full majority. Carmen-Winona voted to approve in alignment with the associations.
The property at 6212 N. Winthrop was last up. This was the developer’s second appearance in the last 2 months. A motion was made at the September meeting to table action pending more association involvement with the developer’s design. At this meeting the same groups expressed their gratitude to the developers for the initiatives taken and made a motion to approve this development. It was seconded and overwhelmingly approved. Carmen-Winona again voted in the affirmative, aligning with the associations in the area.