By Adam Harrington
Special to Inside
With Lake View residents continuing to air grievances about over-development, lack of parking, and loss of historic buildings, Ald. Tom Tunney (44th) has proposed a new Community Directed Development Council to negotiate with developers and provide recommendations to his office. Tunney discussed the proposed council and listened to residents' concerns at a public meeting April 28 at the Wellington Ave. Church, 615 W. Wellington
Ave.
Zoning and development issues have been a hot topic in Lake View for more than a decade, as high-rise condominium towers have been erected, density has increased, and the parking crunch has worsened. Tunney said that working with the community on zoning and development issues is one of his most important goals as alderman.
"Those of you who have had to deal with zoning issues in the last three months know how important it is to me to get the community involved," Tunney said.
The proposed Community Directed Development Council will comprise 21 community organizations, including 16 chambers of commerce and neighborhood organizations, two local hospitals, the Chicago Cubs/Tribune Company organization, and a development group, among others. According to the proposal, each group will select a delegate who will vote on development and zoning issues, and Tunney will select a non-voting council chair.
"The prospective developer will need to go to the affected community group with their proposal before they come to the council. The developer will work with the local groups to resolve issues of parking, design, construction, traffic flow and neighborhood context," Tunney wrote in a draft proposal handed out at the meeting.
Some attendees questioned the success of such a group, considering their past experiences with developers and the city.
"A number of neighborhood branches have worked very hard to guide developments, and then the City Council went ahead to approve things that the neighbors were dead against," said Lake View resident Kevin Jackson.
South East Lake View Neighbors Association (SELVN) president Bob Clarke said the community groups needed to be guaranteed a voice when negotiating with developers, rather than a single vote in the council.
"I think there must be a presumption that in these issues, the grass-roots local organizations will be heard in their advice, and will not be overwhelmed by this council," Clarke said. "The Lake View Citizens Council goes from being a major citizens' body to being one vote in 20 as I see it here."
Tunney said he is working hard to ensure that all community groups are given a voice and kept informed on all relevant issues.
"We're making every effort. We're taking notes tonight to put up on a Web site for those who couldn't be here tonight," he said. "We've worked hard with the local organizations, and what we've added to that is to try to bring more people to those meetings."
Many residents noted problems they felt the council should take up right away. Lake View resident Larry Lubliner said too many older buildings were facing the wrecking ball in favor of new developments.
"It's really going to hurt the neighborhood if we lose our graystones and brownstones," he said. "We're going to be back where we were 40 years ago, with four-plus-ones [an architectural style that is incongruous to the neighborhood]."
Resident David Martin said that while parking was a major concern, the council should place preserving density and vibrancy ahead of new parking provisions.
"I moved to this area because of the density. Almost everything that density brings draws people into this area, but one thing that density does is make parking difficult," he said. "I don't want every developer to be forced to put parking lots in—we'll turn [Lake View] into Naperville-on-the-lake. There are 40 wards that are less dense than this one, and if people want to live in a less dense area, they could move elsewhere."
Ultimately, attendees said a collaborative effort among community groups is the keystone in making the council a success.
"The real important part of this whole process should be to have an opportunity to work together so that it's not us against them. It's all about collaboration," said Barry Flynn, director of the Gay and Lesbian Chamber of Commerce. "We should collaborate on proposals that get people to come here from the outside and spend money, but also to make this a safe place to live for everyone."
The first delegate meeting for the Community Directed Development Council will be held May 12 at Ann Sather's Restaurant, 929 W. Belmont Ave. For more information, call the 44th Ward Office at (773) 525-6034.
(See related story on page 1 about SELVN's meeting May 5, at which this council was discussed.)
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