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HomeMy WebLinkAbout01.19.21 Special ​SPECIAL CITY COUNCIL MEETING CITY OF EVANSTON, ILLINOIS LORRAINE H. MORTON CIVIC CENTER JAMES C. LYTLE COUNCIL CHAMBERS Tuesday, January 19th, 2021 Devon Reid City Clerk Present: Absent: Presiding: Mayor Stephen Hagerty Alderman Fiske Alderman Revelle Alderman Braithwaite Alderman Rainey Alderman Wynne Alderman Fleming Alderman Wilson Alderman Suffredin Alderman Rue Simmons (9) Mayor’s Public Announcements City Manager’s Public Announcements City Clerk’s Communications Public Comment Motion to suspend the rules and allow the meeting to be held virtually Passed 8-0 Motion:​ Ald. Wilson Second:​ Ald. Wynne Mayor Hagerty Announcements: ●COVID-19 Update ●Phase 1B Vaccination ●Passing of Junior Julian Matts and Marta Torres Watch City Manager Erika Storlie had no announcements Watch City Clerk Reid had no announcements Watch Alex Felts Advocated for a skate park in Evanston for kids Watch Gabe Weiss Advocated for a skate park in Evanston Watch Juan Geracaris Advocated for a skate park in Evanston. Urged the park district to work with the local skaters to make this a possibility. Believes a committee should be created to approve any proposals on designs for the skate park. Watch Bryan Everett Advocated for a skate park in Evanston. Said skating is a gateway for the youth to advance in life. Watch Parker Kloster Advocated for a skate park in Evanston for him and his friends. Watch Sarah Dreier Voiced her support for a local skatepark in Evanston. Watch Alden Rathburn Advocated for a skate park in Evanston for kids to practice. Wants a space where kids can skate and not be asked to leave. Watch Seye Soyebo Advocated for a skate park in Evanston. Suggested building a skatepark near Northwestern. Watch Nicholas Korzeniowski Shared his remarks related to the at 506 South Boulevard Watch Maria Knowles Shared her statement for the proposed rezoning of an R4 to R6 at 506 South Blvd. She also supports the development of a skate park. Watch Dani Fajerstein Voiced his support for low-income to moderate-income housing. Watch Calvin Lynn Voiced his support for low-income to moderate-income housing. Watch Matthew Mitchell As a Commissioner of the Ridgeville Park District who has been having ongoing conversations with residents about developing a local skatepark, he offered his support and assistance in making it a possibility. Watch Demosthenes Bratsolias Inquired about the number of subsidised housing at 506 South Blvd. Voiced his concerns about the impact it will have on the nearby schools. Watch Brian Knowles Voiced his support for a local skatepark in Evanston. Opposed the rezoning of Lot 1 from R4 to R6. Watch Melissa Appelt Spoke on behalf of Interfaith Action of Evanston in support of affordable housing. She highlighted portions of the report that spoke on a 24/7 shelter and permanent housing. Watch Nate Kipnis Voiced his support for a local skatepark in Evanston. Watch Ian Finley Voiced his support for a local skatepark in Evanston. He said a skatepark would create a sense of community for the people that practice the sport and create a safe place where they won’t feel harassed or belittled. Watch Tom Wheeler Requested a delay in the approval of Resolution 8-R-21 until there is more community input. Requested to know the feedback from the community is being incorporated into existing RFP’s . Watch Christopher Bryant Voiced his support for a local skatepark in Evanston. Said the skateboarding community is very diverse and there needs to be a space where they can gather to participate in the sport. Watch Sarah Vanderwicken Said the city needs to have a plan with timelines and accountability in order to approach the affordable housing goal. Encouraged City Council members take a course offered by Joining Forces that speaks on affordable housing. She also suggested requiring City Council members take steps to consider the placement of affordable housing in their respective Wards. Watch Corey D. McCray Officer McCray on behalf of the local skaters voiced his support for the development of a skatepark in Evanston. Watch Eric Pitt Voiced his support for a local skatepark in Evanston. Offered his support and expertise in helping develop the skatepark. Watch Adam Eichorn Offered to submit a proposal for the development of a skatepark in Evanston. Watch Kathleen Brenner Voiced her support for a local skatepark in Evanston. Offered her support and expertise in helping develop the skatepark. Watch Ray Friedman Shared his remarks related to Resolution 8-R-21, 2nd Ward meeting and a proposed development at 2030 Greenwood. Watch Bonnie Wilson Voiced her support for affordable housing in Evanston. Watch Doree Stein Opposed the rezoning of parking lot 1 and shared her concerns over the proposal. Watch Renee Paden Read her statement on affordable housing and what she believes is discrimination of landlordds of minority decent Watch Richard O'Dwyer Shared his concern over the height of the project at 506 South Boulevard. He would like to see affordable housing incorporated in homeownership for equity purposes. Watch Susan Doxtator Voiced her support for a skatepark in Evanston. Watch Thrisha Connolly Opposed Resolution 8-R-21 because the proposal talks about gifting the land to the developer. She believes by holding on to the land we can produce affordable housing long term. Watch Tina Paden Stated there are no grants for small landlords offering affordable housing units. Said no progress has been made at the project located on Chicago Ave. where the developer had committed to making affordable housing units. Stated there isn’t affordable housing Watch available in all wards. Jonathan Nieuwsma Shared his remarks concerning parking lot 1. He liked the idea of the proposal including a consideration for multi-bedroom units and it being near public transportation. He is concerned about the gifting of the parking lot and doesn't believe its the direction the City Council should follow. Watch Brenda Grier She sought support in order to assist a family member in need of permanent housing. Watch Annie Coakley Voiced her support for a skatepark in Evanston. Provide a resource for the city to reference as a source of information for the development of a skatepark. Watch Priscilla Giles Believes that permanent low-income housing will help maintain the diversity of the community of the long terms residents who built the community. Watch Sue Loellbach She thanked the City Council for resuming the conversation surrounding affordable housing. She strongly supports the rezoning of the parking lot in Resolution 8-R-21. She asked the City Council to request from developers solutions that provide more affordable housing units, palace zoning guidance in place to increase equity and affordability, ask City Council members to look at opportunities for affordable housing in their respective wards and find innovative ways to fund increases in housing. Watch Carter Ciesmier Voiced his support for a skatepark in Evanston. He said a skatepark would create a sense of community for the people that practice the sport and create a safe place where they won’t feel harassed or belittled. Watch Special Order of Business SP1. ​Skate Park Discussion Staff will present information on skate park installations and is requesting that City Council provide direction on the following: 1. Whether to proceed with a temporary skate park installation at one of the locations proposed by staff. 2. Whether to proceed with the planning and design of a permanent skate park installation at a location to be determined. Funding will be from the Capital Improvement Fund 2021 General Obligation Bond. In FY 2021, there is $50,000 budgeted for a temporary skate park installation and $60,000 budgeted for the planning and design of a permanent skate park installation. For Discussion Motion:​ Ald. Braithwaite Second:​ Ald. Wynne Watch SP2. ​Affordable Housing and Homelessness Update for City Council This memorandum updates the City Council on the projects and activities to address the City Council goal of expanding affordable housing options in Evanston that have been undertaken since the Affordable Housing Update on January 21, 2020, as well as actions taken to address homelessness and housing insecurity due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Staff requests that it be accepted and placed on file. For Action: Accept and Place on File Passed 9-0 Motion:​ Ald. Rainey Second:​ Ald. Rue Simmons Watch SP3. ​Sale of City-owned Property at 1805 Church Street Staff recommends a City Council discussion with representatives of Mount Pisgah Ministry, Inc. and Housing Opportunity Development Corporation (HODC) to present their interest in acquiring City-owned property located at 1805 Church Street and 1708-10 Darrow Avenue for redevelopment as mixed-use / mixed-income housing. For Discussion Motion:​ Ald. Rainey Second:​ Ald. Rue Simmons Watch SP4. ​Resolution 8-R-21 Authorizing the City Manager to Initiate a Request for Proposal Process for the repurposing of City-Owned Real Property Located at 506 South Boulevard City Council approved Resolution 8-R-21 Authorizing the City Manager to Initiate a Request for Proposal Process for the repurposing of City-Owned Real Property Located at 506 South Boulevard. Motion:​ Ald. Rainey Second:​ Ald. Rue Simmons Watch Call of the Wards Adjournment Ald. Rainey made a motion to adjourn the City Council meeting; seconded by Ald. Rue Simmons. A roll call vote was taken and by a vote of 9-0 City Council was adjourned. For Action Passed 9-0 Ward 1: No Report Watch Ward 2: No Report Watch Ward 3: Thanked everyone who signed up for her office hours. There will be a Ward meeting on January 28 at 7 p.m. Watch Ward 4: No Report Watch Ward 5: No Report Watch Ward 6: Joint meeting with the 7th Ward on January 28, 2021. Watch Ward 7: Joint meeting with the 6th Ward on January 28, 2021. Watch Ward 8: There will be a follow up meeting with the CTA regarding the Yellow Line. Watch Ward 9: Ward meeting on January 20, 2021 at 7 p.m. Watch