HomeMy WebLinkAboutMinutes 1989EVANSTON PLAN COMMISSION
MINUTES
Wednesday, January 11, 1989
Room 2403 - 7:30 P.M.
MEMBERS PRESENT:
ASSOCIATE MEMBERS PRESENT:
MEMBERS ABSENT:
PRESIDING OFFICIAL:
STAFF:
OTHERS PRESENT:
CIVIC CENTER
Belmonte, Peters, Hill, Nevel, Foster, Petterson,
Seidman, and Marston
Darragh, Currie
Breslin
Belmonte, Chair
Carter
City 4lanager Joel Asprooth, Jeanne Lindwall, Ald.
Drummer, and representatives of the Dewey
Community Conference
APPROVAL OF DECEMBER 14, 1988 MINUTES
Due to the late arrival of the minutes, approval was held over to the February Plan Commission
meeting.
FUTURE CAPITAL IMPROVEMENT NEEDS - AN OVERVIEW BY THE CITYMANAGER
Chairman Belmonte introduced Mr. Asprooth and invited him to discuss future needs of the
Capital Improvement Program with Commission members. Mr. Asprooth responded that his
biggest goal was to finish the present Plan and he expressed the hope that t;;e Plan Commission
would be an advocate for that completion. He also felt that the Plan Commission could play a
role in the annual review of the Capital Improvements Program and to 1 e'- assure that changes
are made in a responsible way. Except for improvements to the water and se•.ver system, he felt
we had programmed the major capital improvements that we will see in the balance of the
century. The long range- I;ewPr Improvement Program will be programmed incrementally as it is
developed and, in total, will be the largest capital project undertaken. Since it has a dedicated
and substantial funding resource, it may be the least controversial. eater system improvements
which have already been programmed will involve cur underground distribut:cn 5-.,stem and some
improvement to our water storage and filtration capacity at the Line In Street plant. 'ghat is
left to address is the issue of the library and its funding. There are a r,u^ mac" :: Issues .L "iich are
far from being resolved. For the next decade, he envisioned a series o`. -rita] plan updates
which would include a variety of smaller improvements including anct�er round of park
improvements, smaller building proiects and various modifications to the t=:vic Center. There
might be a more aggressive approach to street improvements and street—aintenance. He did
not foresee anything major, except the ones already in place. He felt that x•e had succeeded in
getting the Council to focus on needs annually and that the Council �%as CJr*^mitted to annual
funding of maintenance efforts. He felt that this u•as a very significant lcrz term achievement,
a notable policy cerarture from previous decades.
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Plan Commission
Minutes - January 11, 1989
Page Two
He thought that there was going to be a constant problem of adequate operating funds to
maintain our capital improvements and he felt that this was an area where the Plan Commission
might raise its voice. In the developing of capital plan, the Plan Commission and others need to
offer reminders of the need to took at long term operating costs impacts of these
improvements. He used the example of how we acquire park land and other public spaces but
were losing ground in the level of maintenance for even our existing open space. He noted a
series of cutbacks in the funding for maintenance that has now brought park maintenance into a
serious circumstance. He stated that we could not afford to add more park land because of the
maintenance problem. He thought that the cost of maintenance would be the looming dilemma
of the next decade. He pointed to the paradox of having a much better revenue stream for
capital investment than operating cost. The Council had been accustomed to going to the bond
market each year for capital improvements but were not accustomed to the idea of raising the
necessary operating revenue to meet the maintenance operations.
He reminded Commission members that each year there is a review of the five year program
which includes adding a new year on at the end of the program. He felt this was a helpful
process and provided an opportunity to look beyond the next year to see long range problems.
He emphasized the necessity for long range planning to anticipate future needs and to initiate
processes earlier to deal with them.
In response to a question from Mr. Nevel, Mr. Asprooth commented on the possibility of joint
capital improvement programs between the City of Evanston, Northwestern University, and the
Sanitary District. He did not see many common opportunities between the City and the
University to participate in projects. He noted that the Sanitary District might be forcing us to
do additional work on the channel lands. When the year 2000 leases run out, they may force
their criteria for improvements on us. The City Manager indicated that he had worked on some
language which would help exempt us from, meeting their requirements. This vas the extent of
the interaction with the sanitary district, and short of any new major Federal programs, he did
not see future shared projects. Our sewer needs are focal rather than any needs for a collection
system. Ms. Lindwall pointed out that there had been some success in joint projects with
TETRA and mentioned the Central Street parking expansion and paving of Poplar Avenue.
The City .Manager suggested that, as the National League of Cities began to publish their papers
on the urban agenda for the Congress .and new ad,ninistration, this i^.`".)rmation should be
circulated to the Plan Commission. Infrastructure funding is a very major issue for the League.
He felt that in the next year the biggest problem would be the funding for the Library. He
sPnsPrl that �;omP Council members would feel that the current oroiections of a library at
approximately $20,000,000 was too much and that they would like to see it scaled back to
somewhere around $12,000,000. He expected a great deal of debate on t^.is issue by the City
Council, another unaddressed problem is the question of who pays for ar;ing in the research
park. 1s the research park develops oy•_r the next few years the need f,;r 5',m,:tured parking
will require that this issue be resolved.
He discussed the possible capital improvements for the Southwest Industria; Area and the use of
a TIF bond to helo pav for some of the infrastructure required. At this Point he felt it was
premature to discuss specifics because there were too many open questiors, such as the future
of the Rustoleum site.
Mr. Asprooth responded to questions to the PACE garage and stated —a: -.~bile the City had
been frgntrng against having that [acilit,. so lar we lwve on1% been able :• .1. .t.
Plan Commission
Minutes - January 11, 1989
Page Three
In response to a question from Nis. Hill on the Levy Center, he stated that the main question was
what kind of future center it would be? Would it be merely a recreation center or would it be a
multi -purpose senior center? A multi -purpose senior center would include both health and social
services which are either now provided elsewhere in Evanston or not yet provided. That decision
must be made by the Council before alternative sites can be studied. He mentioned one
potential site being the parking lot north of the Woman's Club property. He felt that work
would progress rapidly once the Council had made a decision on the type of senior center.
Ms. Hill asked about the possibility of a transfer station. The City Manager commented that at
one time they had considered putting a transfer station at the service center, but a consultant
study recently undertaken is evaluating the value and practicality of a local transfer station in
the regional picture. With a closer look at the service center, it does not appear that that site
would be big enough. He went on to explain the new recycling program and recycling yard. This
would not be a large capital investment. Chairman Belmonte asked if there was some possibility
of a joint venture with private haulers, fir. Asprooth commented that they cooperate with them
now on occasion, but their space and facilities are extremely limited.
,Mr. Peters stated that one of the problems he had had over the years in trying to be an advocate
for the Capital Improvements Program was lack of information on the consequences of trimming
a few thousand dollars from each of the programs such as catch basins or curbs. fie felt it was
important for the Plan Commission to be able to state that a certain level of funding was
necessary in order to keep from falling behind. A few more facts would be very helpful. The
City Manager acknowledged this as a good point and felt it should be raised during the course of
the planning for the next phase of capital improvements. He felt the level of funding from the
CD program had been reasonable given all of the demands on those funds, but was concerned
there was an almost begrudging attitude towards spending CD funds on capital improvements.
He asked the Commission to address this rrob!em in the next round. He su¢oested the
Commission meet with the CD Committee to discuss their philosophy on capital improvements.
He thought such a discussion wculd be valuable to both the CD Committee and the Plan
Commission. Mr. Currie pointed out that this is where some evaluation of the consequences of
not funding capital improvements would be helpful. Ms. Lindwall observed that the recently
completed street inventory would help serve part of this purpose. c"e felt that to kno%v how
many miles of street we have, what sort of lifecycle we could expect, and where we are in our
current maintenance program would be helpful. Mr. Carter rerninde�_' ne Corm-nL55ion members
of .%ir. Pudloski's appearance before them last month when he emphasized the need for general
rules of thumb, better analysis and better rationale for elements in the Capital lrnprovements
Proerarn.
Mr. Asprooth noted that one of the great unmet needs in the Cit.. was the unpaved alleys.
Alleys only get paved as special assessment protects under the currant policy .Which is 100 p
private benefit. 'I pile he felt this was the only rational policy for t'.e City to follow because of
the size of the problem, at some point the City is going to have tc �egtn to do something to
promote more alley paving. Unpaved alleys are one of the largest s•-)urces of-omplaints. He
thought some alleys might possibly get paved as part of the long range sewer program. He went
on to discuss the is
program and explain that it had a dedicatee- source of funds in the net
revenue from the Nater Commission. This program of water sale nets about 51.5 million
annually. As a result of the last sewer study, we now have a data ba,e and the software which
allows us to gauge the impact of various improvements for each of t�.e several drainage basins in
Evanston. An interdepartmental team is analyzing each of these Basins to determine what
wUilid be the m05C cost effCCtO-N l r4arOVtfnCfit Jr SNI of lmpr44'Lr;lc•':: tt In
'_.-Lch One �)f the rr -" Tlt;ga"e .~e is ;r^ 4'ii�!r 7r0`)1t "1.
Plan Commission
Minutes - January 11, 1989
Page Pour
One possibility would be to create temporary detention storage areas underneath some of the
alleys. As a side benefit, the alleys would then get paved.
Mr. Asprooth asked what the thrust of Mr. Pudloski"s comments had been and ,Mr. Carter
responded that he called for taking the next round of capital improvements to a somewhat
higher level of sophistication of analysis, developing general rules of thumb and maintenance as
the major theme of the next decade. Mr. Asprooth responded on the need to find adequate
resources for maintenance. He suggested the possible use of a part of the bond interest money
for such a purpose. tits. Lindwall commented that contract maintenance was starting to be put
into the program for certain elements.
Mr. Nevel asked the City Manager if there were any comments that he would like to make
concerning the Plan Commission's agenda for the year and the ways in which they might be
helpful. He commented on the need to be specific in defining objectives for the special projects
that the Commission might undertake. He felt it was important to develop mutual
understanding on how a project was going to proceed and used the Custer Project as an
example. We needed to define a limits of our willingness to participate. He felt the Plan
Commission was an appropriate body to undertake the defining of such objectives. He felt the
two other areas the Plan Commission might be helpful in were the library and Levy Center, He
fClt that more refined better articulated objectives for the Economic Development Program
were needed. What are our specific targets in terms of employment or business retention? He
felt the Plan Commission might be helpful to the Economic Development Committee on some of
these items. The Commission members thanked the City Manager for his participation. ,Ms. Hill
observed that it would be a good idea to have the City Manager come in at the beginning of each
year and express his ideas for the Plan Commission as a means of help giving some direction to
the work of the various committees. Chairman Belmonte felt that it would be helpful as a
follow-up to have a meeting with the CD Committee on capital improvements.
LAKE/ASHLAND PROJECT REPORT
Chairman Belmonte asked Mr. Carter to provide some brief background on the project. He
began by telling Commission members about a brief meeting held .4,ith representatives of the
Dewey Community Conference and the Special Project Committee on how the two groups might
work together on the project. He stated that the Committee would be r,f «ling with then again
in the future as they begin to formulate just what constitutes the project. He noted that there
was not a clear cut policy on what direction the Plan Commission was to take. He reminded
Commission members of their meetint; with representatives of the Dewcv Community
Conference last spring at which time members of the DDC presented a concept for the
Lake/Ashland site which included a combination of tot lot and townhouse development. At that
time, the Plan Commission endorsed the concept and expressed a willingness to work .vith the
DDC members to developing a formalized proposal. Since that time, t-,,. Commission had not
heard further from DDC until }ust before the Communm Development f'.l'.f.-: Iran[ hear:ngs. A
group of neighbors partitioned for funds to develop the site and were :t.,_,�-ssful in getting the
CD Committee's concurrence. One of the principle questions had been f,o w the two uses might
be fit together on the same site, whether they should be designed together or the tot lot precede
the residential development. Members of the Special Project Commit--- conceded that the two
could be done separately, but recommended that a joint design would `,- more desirable. With
the work of their Custer Project winding down, the Committee helie.e^_ tnat they coulc go to
work on the Lake'A5hland site sometime in February. Mr. Carter pointer: out that there was a
pohf-- ' question vhtch needed it) be :I irifir2d and that tiL l5 what is liar O irlt:il'i dts,res for
Tilt, (-;tv ptir-hAcf- i the sit- for 3 ?Ire st,ition =inft Si!]cr i,r nt;', that was
]I),;n�iUllt'j, mlt\ nr)7 k' have I )te=t' ')f surphis property for which there i.r_
Plan Commission
Minutes - January 11, 1989
Page Five
1. They could sell the present site as surplus property and let it be developed according to
Its present zoning, thus recouping their investment.
2. They could hold in reserve this land for some future, but as yet unknown public use.
3. They could set the entire site aside as a park.
4. They could do a combined project as discussed earlier, thus creating the desired tot lot
and returning some of the City's investment in the land through sale for residential
development. There could be some design controls over the development such as was
done with the Custer project.
Mr. Carter noted that there had not been a clear direction from the City Council as to what
they wanted to do with their land. He thought it might be helpful for the Commission to ask for
some clarification from the Council. Or, the Plan Commission might take the options to the
Council and state which one the Commission preferred and ask the Council for further
direction. Aid. Drummer commented that the Council did appear to at least support a tot lot on
the site since they allowed for it in the Capital Improvements Program, but acknowledged that
there was no clear direction beyond this. Chairman Belmonte concurred that there was a need
for clarification from the Council on their expectations. He felt the r,!e of the Commission
would be to look at the various options. ,aid. Drummer emphasized that the City Council was
expecting neighborhood involvement in recommendations for the site and he felt that the
Council was looking to the Plan Commission for recommendations.
Mr. Nevel asked what the Aldermen and the Dewey Community Conference wanted to see on
the site. A representative from Dewey Community Conference stated that the Board had met
on great length on the subject and at their last ineeting the evening before, developed a position
statement. In essence, their position was to work with the Plan Commission and other public
bodies to establish full park use of the site. He indicated that there was very strong
neighborhood involvement in the project. He expected a brief written statement to be issued
within the next two or three weeks.
Mr. Nevel commented that when the Commission first took on the Custer r'allan site. they did
not have a specific use in mind and looked at a variety of possibilities. The Commission
determined that through that process what the best uses might be. He eyDressed the hope that
they might be able to have a similar approach with the DDC rather than, being given a specific
use '."hich it 'must te. HC pc.nt� Ct:t the City Vanager's rnrnrll ntr Parl1Pr in the evening about
the difficulty of continuing to acquire land which they cannot maintain. Mr. Petterson
requested that DDC provide some rationale appended to their position statement and indicated
that this would be helpful to the Plan Commission. Mr. Nevel requester an} secondary options
for land use as well.
Ms. Rhodes of DDC commented that the organization had been encoLraxe, :} the receptiveness
of City Council to their desire to have a voice in what happened to the s:te. She described the
various meetings that had taken place and the discussion generated. '.s of the nun ber of
children living in the area and surveys of neighborhood preferences. T`:e preference of the
neighborhood was of a total park with one-third of it developed intens..e:. as a tot lot and the
balance being grassed over as open space. She sited earlier park none in the 1 11GQ's
which identified this area as being, underserved with park farilities. c.-e �—phasized t`)at the
neighborhood '-vas just not as"ing the Cit,. to put in a park for them. 7 : -e: ^ -^ooc > ants to
1',C,)rElt' 1nv01'. f'ij l E'.� �)l:: l'.', iC'e• �.`]". t`�t'"iiCIt"C .] IT,., :tlr _ �Y _ '-
Y C' �"� . . l' a
nr?I�?flhr)rllr�OC{ *{esj�,r� , ��ujk- Their own park and r`lted C7 PlrIn l.hlC �4 %r ''ia" sir'.
Plan Commission
Minutes - January 11, 1989
Page Six
She felt the project offered an outstanding opportunity for the neighborhood to come together
on a very positive project. She stated that this could become the premier playground in
Evanston. She stressed that the park was largely a volunteer effort which would rely on
donations of design skills, labor, and materials. She suggested that the organization could do
fund raising to help support the maintenance.
One member of DDC commented that there was affordable housing in the area and that there
were some unoccupied units which needed work. He felt putting in new housing would only
benefit a few people whereas a park would benefit everyone. He suggested renovation of
existing housing as an alternative to helping housing in the area. It was stressed that there was
a great deal of interracial interest in the project and that it was ideally located to serve both
blacks and whites. ,Mr. Decker of DDC stated that he didn't envy the Plan Commission their
task of having to make choices between worthy projects.
He noted that there was not a strong felling against housing just that this was a very special site
for a park. He noted the deficiency of park space within the area and that once potential park
space was gone it could not be retrieved. He asked the Plan Commission to examine what might
be done for an area which is deficient in park space. He also cited the extreme enthusiasm
within the neighborhood for working together on a project such as the park. He urged
Commission members to go and see the Cz Park at Lincoln and tt'e'os:er in Chicago.
Representatives of the DDC would be happy to return to the Plan Commission and made a more
formalized presentation at a later time. He noted the possibilities for handicapped accessibility
to the equipment.
Ms. Seidman asked for clarification on what the City agencies roles would be and those of the
volunteers and the designer. The response was that the City of Chicago Park District approved
the design but the park was built by volunteers. %Ir. Currie asked how the process developed by
the Special Projects Committee for the Custer project could be refined and applied to the issue
of the Lake/Ashland site. He felt the Committee needed to decide on their process and how it
would apply to future sites as well. He asked how the Custer/Callan project got defined and
what the local area input was. fir. Nevel responded that Committee members had drawn up a
list of possible solutions to the lane use problem, the Committee evaluates these options and
then returned to the full Plan Commission and the Council with the option of housing being the
leading option for that site but there were alternatives and no one solution was locked in. He
stressed that members of the community and aldermen of the ward were involved in the total
process. Nis. Hill pointed out that the neighborhood was not nearly as actively involved in the
C sjster nrni--t as rhev ar,• in the LakN/ Ashland. In response from a 91if-etion from .Mr. {Curie,
Chairman Belmonte stated that it would be the responsibility of the Commission to take a
citywide view of its projects as well as incorporating the preferences of the neighborhood, Mr.
Darragh pointed out that the biggest problem the Commission was zoinc h,,.e would be in
trying to balance different objectives or policies such as a finam-ict; �_.., :� the Ctt� for
selling some of the land versus social values of the full park. Which coe, :^,e .=.;ty want' He
saw this as a more difficult challenge then the Custer/Callan project. '.lr. Petterson
commented that one thing was clear and that was the Commission w•oulc oe working with the
neighbors in whatever process then undertook. The Commission had no ces re to step on the
neighborhood's enthusiasm. He felt it was the Commission's responsibiht., to look at all the
alternatives. Ms. Hill suggested that the Arts Council and DDC get together to see the example
of the neighborhood built park which was part of the Council's presentation on 1-1sblic art. Mr.
Nevel recommended that the committee to look at the issues, meet .:` !'1- neighborhood
representatives anc report bac� to ine full Plain Cornrntssion. air.. `'-_ _ -)1-i a .yard
�I' 'C.'ti�•i1; ts iDe `.tit. on :ilS 1.11];t i on Ianuir� ii 111 at 7:1', anCi e"'"it'rS
to ,ittt'lri.
Plan Commission
Minutes - January 11, 1989
Page Seven
THE PLAN COMMISSION 1989 WORK PROGRAM
Chairman Belmonte opened discussion and asked for comments from Commission members. He
expressed the expectation that by the end of the meeting Committee assignments could be
made, Mr. Carter read from a list of suggested projects. This included: Completion of the
Downtown Plan; the Lake/Ashland site; the Capital Improvements Program; the follow-up on
the Comprehensive Plan recommendations; comments on revision to the zoning ordinance;
development of recommendations for a design review process; southwest industrial area plans;
completion of the Custer project; and review of the Public Arts program. Both the library and
Levy Center may also involve the Plan Commission in some way during 1989. These could be
included under project reviews.
Commission members discussed the new phase of the Downtown Plan and emphasized they may
be spending as much time in presentation as in developing the plan itself. Commission members
felt that the question of signs at the City entrances should remain on their agenda as well as
Green Bay Road.
Mr. Nevel asked about the number of small retail shopping centers apparently to be developed
along Green Bay Road and asked whether there was any concern about this being excessive, Mr.
Carter commented that it was difficult to see that there was 3 marVet to support the number of
little strip centers currently looking at sites but stated there was nothing in the zoning
ordinance to prevent their developing. He described the current rush to ouild such centers as a
game of musical chairs. Mr. Peters asked whether or not there was some helpful overview the
4s Commission could take concerning this development along Green Bay Poad.
Commission members discussed their possible role in helping on the siteing issues for the Levy
Center. The Plan Commission and the Planning Department would praltabil be a good resource
on sites and site issues.
Chairman Belmonte turned the discussion to formation of committees and identified the
following: the Comprehensive General Plan Committee whic~ would follow up on
recommendations in the Comprehensive Plan and serve as an agenda _acting committee for the
Commission; the Special Projects Committee which will be dealing 'A it�'l the Lake/Ashland site;
the Downtown Committee which will be completing the Plan and ma-:ing presentations on the
Plan; the Southwest Industrial Area Committee which will start to c_tline some general plans
for the area. At this point the Commission discussed whether tc ^,ave a separate Capital
Improvements committee or deal with that program as a Commission as a whole. It was
decided that they would review the policies of the last Capital Impro'.ement Program, make any
recommended changes and conduct a forum with the City depart. e-t heads respons.ble for
major areas of capital improvenients. Suggestions for new- policies recirected polices should
also come out of their i.�LSCUSSIOn with the department heads. Belmonte S_ggested
that the Citv Manar;er's comments on capital improvements be s_M.rnarized as pa-: of any
report the Commission might make. its. Hill suggested that the C IP Committee hancle that
assignment.
Returning to their Committee discussion, of the Commission decides t'iey should have a Design
Review Committee to be activated around mid -year. It was agrees that any revie--L of the
Public Arts program %vas three to four months away and that no co•--,ttee meeting needed to
be set up at this time. It was decided to link together the Southwest Area prc•ect and
k;recn Bay Roue as si-ndar area plans under the same +_oir,rni::• T-it Pr]jr_' Revie�k
lihr-ir,. !hr {_ovv Centf'r :ind v-'hal. of r' the
cotirse of thf' r'dr. �I�� ll�tiiL)n i�7ll�]W'Nd dS t(] the pOSSiDIC flltllrf' _....` )i .rr•.'":1 lCOcsL
'lltL!'-r tile' ne'.4 ._-�,T� ;]i1rl. �.'.'r'. ilttli mformatl(]n is ava;lahl"
1[Cr3tegic drier ',,r. isked '.what rDIL In
looking at the -Iriangint iiscs which are occurring on green Bav Roac. r ^i,_!i1ari. t'io�,c a.:jacent
to Par';.
Plan Commission
Minutes - January 11, 1989
Page Eight
He thought the Commission should be looking at the question of obsolete uses. Mr. Peters raised
the question of additional access points on Green Bay Road resulting from new developments
and felt that needed to be controlled. It was agreed that the Project Review Committee would
include the former Special Projects Committee. The following cormposition for the Plan
Commission Committees was agreed to:
1. Downtown Plan Drafting Committee - Seidman, Marston, and Hill
2. Comprehensive Plan Committee - Belmonte, Nevel, Seidman, and Currie
3. Project Review Committee - Nevel, Foster, Breslin, Petterson, and Currie
4. Design Review Committee - Marston, Seidman, Petterson, Breslin, and Belmonte
5. Area Plan Committee - Darragh, Foster, Marston, and Belmonte
6. Community Development Representative - Jim Currie
7. EDC Representative - Alex Darragh
8. Capital Improvements Committee - All members of the Plan Commission
9. Public Art Committee - Comprehensive Plan Committee
10. Zoning Commission Representative - Petterson
Chairman Belmonte instructed the individual committees to elect chairmen or spokesperson to
report back to the full Commission. He further requested that each committee chairman take
some meeting notes which can be distributed to the full Commission in advanced of their regular
meeting in order to improve communications. He stressed that this does not have to be an
elaborate report or a full set of minutes. The report should be oriented around the issues
discussed, recommendations to be made or steps to be taken and what questions they wish the
Commission to tackle with them. Whatever format is comfortable for tht Committee chairman
is acceptable. Ms. Hill reminded Commission members that it weuid be helpful if each
committee would develop their own objectives and definitions. It was agreed that at the first
committee meeting each committee .would write their objective and report back to the full
Commission.
COMMITTEE REPORTS
Downtown Plan
Ms. Seidman introduces Commission members to the draft of the Downtown Plan which had
been distributed to them earlier. She presented a revised redevelopment -nap an explained some
of the changes made since the last version was presented to the Commiss.on. Some adjustments
in the "character eivine" desie_nations had been made. It was explair:eo that in some blocks
classified as character giving there may be some individual building: '.Which do not fit that
category, but the entire street segment is character giving. If an} ` those buildings were
replaced, special care .kould have to be given to the first floor facade -~ake sure that .: sit in
w•Lth the rest of the streetscape. Classifications of specific buildings expla:nee in response
to questions from Co-nmission members. Ms. Seidman commented tha; ;'.e v',c sections .%hich
the Committee espet-ially wanted comment on were the ones on deslg-. It .vas explainer that
the chapter on design Aould be using a great number of visuals to expla.- each of the terns used
in the text.
It was recommended that the Commission members take a close look _: tnis chapter on design
before the next meeting so that an indepth discussion could be held.
It %-I ,iecldeu to Ilerl'e the idst t'xo Sections on Issues, needs. t'i=. �PlC;fnuri 5tri�l.t_d �
�J i:,�( :J ��t�." .,'s° ;I',e .;ilr ��:.`'•: ;��..'1tJ'.�'n h!.3^.
i I I I! 'I ' II � I^ � �lu^II P'I� I' ! IlAlli I'hI I �� gillll � ull I it I II II � III iiil ii illl,l�
Plan Commission
Minutes - January 11, 1989
Page Nine
The Plan Commission's Annual Report
The Plan Commission approved the draft of the annual report and Chairman Belmonte agreed to
present this report at the next meeting of the Planning and Development Committee.
Appointment of Associate Members
Mr. Darragh was reappointed as an associate member of the Plan Commission for 1989 by a
unanimous vote.
Meeting adjourned approximately 10 p.m.
STAFF:-5=�"'7'
DATE: 4
7Y43/50
EVANSTON PLAN COMMISSION
MINUTES
Wednesday, February 8, 1989
Room 2403 - 7:30 P.11.
MEMBERS PRESENT:
ASSOCIATE MEMBERS PRESENT:
MEMBERS ABSENT:
PPESIDING OFFICIAL:
STAFF:
OTHERS PRESENT:
CIVIC CENTER
Belmonte, Peters, Petterson, Nevel, Marston, Foster
and Currie
Darragh
Seidman and Breslin
Belmonte, Chair
Carter
Jean Lindwall, Rich Figurelli, Max Rubin, Don Wirth,
Joe =endell, Jim Tonkinson, and representatives of the
Dewey Community Conference
APPROVAL OF DECEMBER 14, 1988 AND JANUARY 11, 1989 MINUTES.
Mr. Peters moved approval of the December 14, 1988 minutes. Seconded by %1r. Nevel. Motion
passed No Nays.
Mr. Nevel moved approval of the minutes for January 11, 1989. Seconded by Mr. Peters.
Motion passed. No Nays.
FORUM ON FUTURE CAPITAL IMPROVEMENTS NEEDS
Chairman Belmonte announced that the forum on capital improvements was a continuation of
the Plan Commission's program to prepare themselves for participation in the new Capital
Improvements Program to be prepared this year. Key department heads from the City with
specific responsibilities for certain segments of the Capital Improvements Program had been
invited to discuss the accomplishments of the last CIP and the future needs as they see them.
The department heads introduced themselves and outlined their major areas of responsibility.
\ts. Lindv,-all opened the discussion with an overview of the Capital [Tproven ents Program
explaining her role in putting together a coordinated Capital Improvement Program based upon
the projects submitted by the department heads. She described the process as one of gathering
all of the projects projected for the next five years, reviewing the current ;-ear's program, and
matching funding .ith needs. ;1 series of staff meetings are conducted •»here a:: of the projects
are revie%ked with the CitN %tanager, priorities are assigned. and a pros- -x-ich could be
funded «ith the resources stiailahle is developed. This process takes
tv..o months bei•xeen Vareh and Ua,.. A package is developed to sut�-i' tD t-e Clt, -ouncil
through the Administration ana Public \I orks Committee. This Conrr-itteH-suall} re,-ie,xs the
program in two sr 3sions, then forwards it for approval to City Council. General obligation bond
issues have been major elements in each of the past six years of capital improvement
programming. She mentioned that the Plan Commission had been in t^.e de"elopment
of the Capital Improvements Program in a very substantial way about four or five years ago
when they developed a series of policies. Some of these were genera? policies on how the
prograin should be administered and operated as a whole while other po:ic:es -xere s, ecific to
individual projects. These policies have been generally followed in "e annual revie.v
of the CIP.
Plan Commission Minutes
January 9, 1989
Page Two
It has been five years since these policies were developed and it is time for a review. She went
on to review the priority ranking which had been developed by the Plan Commission and applied
to projects each year. These included: immediate (critical); necessary and desirable. With few
exceptions, only those projects with an immediate ranking typically get into a bond issue
because of the funding limitations. Some desirable projects tend to move upward to the
immediate or necessary category as time passes and they can no longer be deferred.
The first speaker, kir. Tonkinson, the City Engineer explained that his department was
responsible for most of the public works and that the character of their annual program as far as
infrastructure was concerned was more or less continuous. They work with the paving of alleys,
the resurfacing of streets, the replacement of curbs, the replacement of catch basins, etc.,
which goes on annually, providing there is funding. Most of the major projects are long range
and extend over a period of years. He characterized the projects as basic and unglamorous. Tile
work that has been done matches very closely what was included in the Capital improvements
Program.
In the future, he saw the Green Bay Road bridge and McCormick intersection as a major new
project. He noted that there would also be a new traffic control system at that location to
provide for emergency situations to give vehicles leaving the new fire station the right-of-way.
As other intersections are improved throughout the City, this capacity for traffic control will be
added. He mentioned his work with the Council of Mayors Technical Committee as an
opportunity to make requests for state funding for various City projects. He noted that all of
the bridges replaced in recent years were done with funds other than City funds. He noted new
i efforts within recent years to coordinate all capital improvements involving street work with
underground systems. The City now has a paving management program in place which will be
used to coordinate paving projects with planned water and sewer improvements. He felt the
programs of both departments could be coordinated in a very comprehensive way in the future.
He also mentioned efforts to create a pilot program to see what could be done to increase light
levels for City lights. Research Park was identified as another project area which would be
receiving new capital improvements. He noted the work done at the Maple/Emerson entrance to
the park as a demonstration of the type of improvements which will be carried throughout the
area. He stressed the importance of close communications between the developers of the park
and the City for the proper timing of capital improvements.
Certain problems were identified, such as the Church Street bridge, which should be replaced,
but is not under City ownership. A very large problem area is that of the many miles of unpaved
alleys and the lack of resources to deal with this problem. Such alleys are payed for for
adjacent homeowners and people have been reluctant to pay special assessments for this
purpose. It appears to be a substantial problem without a ready solution. He noted that since
the curl} prograrn had begun, they had replaced 23 miles of curb in the target area and " miles
outside• the tarQ"t ar,-a. There ire a total of 1 -17 milt's of stret-i in i '.anSTor as a-t'ar-:re of
this effort.
Chairman Belmonte raised the question of slow we quantify the need for certain improvements
versus how much is being done. Mr. Tonkinson responded that he hoped to be able to de, elop an
answer for this through the development of the pavement management program. He observed
that the City had done a very good job in recent years and that prior to 197, there was no curb
replacement taking place.
Plan Commission Minutes
January 9, 1989
Page Three
�ti1r. Nevel asked about the strategic arterial system being designated by CATS. Mr. Tonkinson
explained that the City took the position that Green Bay Road should remain on the list, but the
other members of the North Shore Council of Mayors voted it out. At present, that action has
little meaning since no funds were available, but he felt it would have been better to explore
just what it means to have a road be a strategic arterial before eliminating it. He stressed that
there was a great deal of work to be done locally on Green Bay Road, but any work on the street
would have to follow the water main work required and funding for that has not yet been
determined. Also, on this program are Dempster Street and McCormick Boulevard. While
specifics are unknown at this time, it was felt that there may be an important funding
opportunities in the future. Mr. Peters commented that the State of Illinois was committed to
examine the entire 1 100 mile network over a five year period. her. Tonkinson observed that the
State cannot impose new improvements and that individual communities have control.
Mr. Carter asked, given all of the many capital improvement projects that you manage, how do
you see the funding situation'. Are we more or less holding our own" Are there various parts of
the infrastructure that are getting critical and would need greater levels of funding in the
future? fir. Tonkinson replied that the most obvious shortage was .MFT fund. While our streets
are in reasonably good shape, we do have deteriorating roadways in need of attention. The
longer the deterioration goes on, the greater the expense and ultimately repairing the roadway.
He observed that the City had been highly creative in finding funding over the past few years,
but felt we had reached our limits of creativity.
Rich Figureili, Director of Water and Sewer, reviewed some of the major capital improvements
made within his area of responsibility over the past five years. These included the five million
4 � gallon standpipe and booster station in southwest Evanston to improve the capacity of the
distribution system and the fire flow capability with more storage; new feeder mains to the
northwest section of the City; construction of a 7.5 million gallon standpipe in northwest
Evanston; and improved coordination of improvements between streets and water and sewer
operations. Recent history of improvements also included the increasing of emergency capacity
through replacement of highlift pumps, improved instrumentation of the water plant for better
control for many of its operations. He stated that this year we were looking at the tail end of a
program which began in 1980 and cost $13.3 million. He went or, to describe the type of
equipment installed. In recent years there has been a strong emphasis upon better
instrumentation and control Partially because of EPA's new clean recuirements. Other
equipment was purchased to increase the efficiency of the water deparz-rent. He also described
the sludge lines and pumps installed for cleaning out the sludge basins -x•hose content could no
longer be returned to the lake but had to be pumped to a sanitar;. district interceptor for
treatment. He noted some minor capital improvements got forced upon them due to
emergencies such as the drought or the need to comply with new regulazions of the Clean Water
Act.
In the future, he noted that there would be some bond issues as of t`;e nest `apital
Improvements Program. He stated that the %kater Department har_ :-e hignest rating of any
utility in the United States. The program for the next five years wil: :�e far different from the
last five years. Some of the responses will be due to the drought anc recent studies of the water
facility and plan needs. Among the needs will be for some new hi-.:ft pumps to allow for a
higher daily output. The will also be looking at new piping in the pia- t-) move the effluent out
faster. There will be new water main extensions in each of the .Pars of the new Capital
Improvement Program. The amount of funding will vary with what s: its ar- poing as special
assessments, resurfacing projects and any weak areas to be ,r: T!(. system as
determined by a recent study. He noted that Commonwealth Edis -eer.s tD :ncrease their
stihstation capacity for the plant and that there mill be some capital City re,'ized to
that expansion such as switch -gear and cabling. He is also looking at `1,)r1ne storage
c- ipacit� and generator improvements.
Plan Commission Minutes
January 9, 1989 -
Page Four
In response to a question from Mr. Nevel as to whether any of the improvements were a result
of having to sell water to other municipalities, he responded in the affirmative. Mr. Figurelli
explained that the reason these improvements are costing the City of Evanston citizens up -front
is because the only money that is returned to the waters fund from the sale of water is the cost
of production. All of the other profits of that sale is going into a sewer fund to help us
underwrite sewer improvements. Cost estimates on the sewer replacement program run
anywhere from $65 million to $200 million. Approximately $1.8 million goes from the sale of
water to the sewer improvement fund each year. He then described how the SWIM team is
working on a long-range sewer improvement plan which they hope to complete within the next
two years. This plan will involve a variety of flood control techniques and divides the City into
a series of drainage basins. He stressed that the City was looking at large expenses over a long
period of time and that the sale of water would help offset some of these expenses. He stressed
the need to develop general policies now which would insure equity throughout the system as
improvements were made.
Max Rubin, Director of Building Operations, described a general state of disrepair which was
extensive when he first took over operations eleven years ago. His program has been playing
catch-up since that time and has been gaining on the problems. they have instituted a
preventive maintenance program and they have computerized much of their work. He
emphasized the benefit of their department being involved in the Capital Improvement Program
with other departments. Their general policy is one for long lasting repairs rather than quick
fixes. His department is now getting involved in new construction projects as the new fire
station, the police department renovation project and others to provide expertise on the
maintenance implications. Their involvernent in recent projects included the animal shelter,
!'. several parks shelters, bus shelters, and civic center renovation work. Also included were the
Chandler Center, the Ecology Center, fire stations, the art center coach house, Robert Crown
Center, Dempster Street Beach shelter and the lagoon shelter, Fleetwood Jourdain Fountain
Square fountain, kiosks in downtown, the ,Merrick Rose Garden, Laramer Park, Levy Center,
Mason Park Shelter, the Central Street C&NW station, Noyes Cultural art Center, service
center, and installation of new phone systems. His current projects include lakefront park
shelter rehabs, James Park, Leahy Park, Lee Street beach shelter, police station firing range,
additional work on the civic center. A life expectancy study is gulp!; to be conducted on the
various roofs of the public buildings. He also mentioned the recent boiler assessments and
upgrading.
The future projects he anticipated being involved with included further as:aestGs removal, which
will be very expensive. He noted that the most serious asbestos problems had already been
corrected, however. Additional work will be needed at Ackerman Park, the animal shelter,
Ackerman Park, Bent Park, the boat ramp, bus shelters, the Chandler Center, civic center
window replacement and downtown tile replacement. Various repairs are needed at City
facilities throughout the communit,, and he detailed these iterps. He �isc:jssed the new
headquarters fire station t4'hlCh i5 t0 go On t`le ( Ila, a t r "r 137� road.
,additional projects included work at Fountain Square, Fleetwood e L. .'. Center, and
other facilities. He expressed the hope that the remaining kiosks Aoi..c ~e de~polished and
described the history of the attempts to improve them through redesign. He described the the
repair, which his department has been doing for the last five years in the cowntown, as a large
drain on his available manpower. He felt that the repairs that they hac cone had held up very
well, but that the area needs a different design. He also described the repairs which will be
required at the Central Street C N%1 station which the City maintains. faking the South
boulevard Beach handicapped accessible is a major project which is corr,inz jp.
Plan Commission Minutes
'January 9, 1989
Page Five
In response to a question from IMs. Seidman on how he thought the maintenance program was
going, he responded that he did not think that they were gaining any ground. He noted that he
had only twelve men for all the work that needed to be done and that there were many facilities
to take care of. He thought that we might be holding our own on maintenance and that there
were fewer emergencies since the preventative maintenance plan went into effect. He
described at length the difficulty with the downtown tile. Mr. Peters inquired as to whether
help would be available through Evmark. Nis. Lindwall explained that there had been difficulties
in setting up the district for funding Evmark last year and that this year is the first year in
which any money would be available for capital improvements and that some other
improvements, such as resealing the aggregate, will have to come first. Mr. Tonkinson
commented on the need to replace the tiles with materials similar in appearance but having a
more lasting quality. Mr. Carter reported that there had been at least three meetings with a
subcommittee of Evmark which is trying to address the problem. They want to look at
alternatives and to set up some test areas before making a final decision on sidewalks. Mr.
Tonkinson suggested one test area should at Lake and Chicago where the new shops are going in
and walk will have to be replaced.
The third speaker, Mr. Wirth, addressed the capital improvement Issues from a Parks and
recreation point of view and told Commission members that prior to a reorganization about
eight years ago when fir. Rubin's building operation was set• up, there really '.vas no adequate
maintenance program for park buildings and facilities. He stressed the interrelationships
between his department and others such as building operations, engineering and water and how
they worked in concert on certain problems.
t In highlighting the last five years of the parks capital improvement program he noted the
- ' emphasis upon rehabilitating and redeveloping in all of the neighborhood park facilities. Some
fifteen parks have been upgraded at an average cost of $50,000 each. Special projects included
the restoration of the Rose Garden, the Dempster Street lakefront headquarters building, and
the lagoon shelter building as well as harbor development and shore protection. He stressed the
tasteful job done on the two historic lakefront buildings and how the v..ork both retained and
enhanced the character of these buildings. He also mentioned the restoration of the lagoon
which was made possible through a federal grant. He identified shore protection as a major
item and explained how rapidly lowering lake levels had given us at least a temporary reprieve
from substantial investments in shore protection. He cautioned that •~,)st of the people in the
forecasting business are calling for a return to higher lake levels ir. t`,e near future however.
There were some voids is the shore protection which will be taken care of this year. Other
facilities such as tennis courts and basketball courts are on a regular prograrn for periodic
resurfacing and repair. He mentioned an energy saving system being tried at Robert Crown
which is being; carried out under a performance contract. In looking a- future projects -�e saw a
need to start a nex cycle of maintenance improvements to the t.`. parks which ^ad been
rehabilitate-d over the past twelve years. Over the next fire year. reconstruc:.on and
safety modifications will he carried out at thirty-eight parks. ralor ne". (-apital
improvement item under recreation would be the replacement of Levy Center which could
be a $4 million project. There will also be a substantial amount .' ;orb, done on the Crown
Center as well as on Chandler and Fleetwood Jourdain as mentione' b� .Mr. Rubin. One new
item which was not part of the previous Capital Improvement Program is the issue of
maintaining the Community Calf Course. A recent study of the gr,;: course indicated that it
needed approximately $3/4 of a million for maintenance that had -_e�-n deferred for decades.
Although it is not a Citv•-owned facility, it is a community resources, and Vr. 'A irth expressed
the hope that the Plan Commission would advocate including the -7-if course in the Capital
]rnprovernents Program
Plan Commission Minutes
January 9, 1989
Page Six
The parkway tree system has been computerized and it has identified 1,600 voids where trees
can be added throughout the City. He would like to see filling these voids be part of the Capital
Improvements Program. He discussed the implications of how to deal with the yard wastes and
their recycling since by 1990 we will no longer be able to take these wastes to landfill. He
raised the questions of how to deal with compost, where to put such a facility and how big it
needed to be. He also mentioned the landscaping of the railroad embankments and the problems
of dealing with that as a future agenda item.
Ms. Lindwall asked whether the emphasis in recent years had shifted from the parks to
concentration on the recreation centers. He responded that it was a bit of both with an
emphasis on ongoing maintenance rather than new projects.
The fourth speaker, ,Mr. Zendell, Director for the Evanston Arts Council explained some of the
history of the Noyes Cultural Art Center and described it as the oldest public building one which
required a great deal of maintenance. He reminded Commission members of the major
renovation which took place in 1982 and 1983 through community donations, donations from
corporations, and City funds. He reviewed the details of the renovation work as well as how the
center functions. He described the additional upgrading of the buildings facilities which are
needed and will be scheduled for part of the 1989/90 bond issue. In 1983,184 there was a parking
lot expansion which helped their situation, but they still need additional parking which they are
unlikely to get on the site.
In the next five years he saw the need for more work on the center with some of it done though
private fundraising and the rest as part of the Capital Improvements Plan. This included window
replacement, floor refinishing, electrical service and roof replacement. H,. discussed the issue
of using the gym area for an arena stage. Mr. Zendell went on to discuss other aspects of the
Capital Improvement Program and how the proposed public art program -night relate to it. He
told Commission members about the consultant which had been hired to help put together the
development of a Public Arts Program. A presentation before the City Council is anticipated
for this summer. The program would establish policies and procedures for the creation of public
art in Evanston for both public buildings and parks as well as encouraging private developers to
include public art in their developments.
.Another area emphasized the need for performance space in t' e which could
provide a grear boon to the economy. Hew expressed the hope that the C.D-r.mi5sion would back
policy to establish such performance space. He noted that there were a varier• of options to
creating performance space including zoning incentives and opportunities created through ne%v
development.
In concluding he went back to a previous meeting %vith the Plan Co^---.ssion concernc-ic the
policies of the Comprehensi-e Cvneral Plan and offerer a neu perspect..-- `Dr the and
organization of some of the flans different sections. 1'rider the he ::.- "En%ironiT,vt�t" fie
suggested that heading be changed to "Environment and .Aesthetics" to re`.:ect the irnpact of a
public arts program which will be felt in future years. ender t�.e �ieading "Par',s and
Recreation", he suggested that it be expanded to read "Parks, Recreatio-s, and the arts" He
felt these changes would help the awareness of how the arts can influence environment.
In %wrapping the session up, Ms. 1_indwall commented that the one major improvement not
mentioned this evening was the construction of the new library. That ect would be funded
with GO bonds. The major challenge of the nett feµ %ears will be ho,.4 :- ;'nanc,� that project
and f:end as many of the capital irnproverrents talked about this ever.-z. She stressec. that
Plan Commission Minutes
January 9, 1989
Page Seven
there were very few elements in the Capital Improvements Program which were funded by
dedicated sources such as the motor fuel tax fund and the water fund. Also not discussed this
evening were the implications of any contribution to the solution of the solid waste disposal
problem which might be handled on a regional basis. Preliminarily it looked as though the next
five year Capital Improvement Program would range between $60 and $70 million or ` 12 million
annually, with only six to eight million of that actually funded. She stressed the great challenge
involved in juggling needs, priorities, and resources available.
Chairman Belmonte thanked the department heads for coming and sharing their knowledge. The
next step would be for the Comprehensive Plan Committee to begin reviewing the results of the
Commission's three meetings on capital improvement issues. He said the Commission looks
forward to working with the City administration in future reviews of the Capital Improvement
Program as it evolves.
In reviewing what the Commission had heard that evening, Mr. Carter commented that there
was no way to summarize all of the details Commission members were exposed to that evening,
but they could get a sense of the scope and complexity of the Capital Improvement Program.
The Commission's job will be to review the policies which guided the last five years of the
Capital Improvement Program and to see what general directions ought to be followed in the
next five years. it seemed that we were at a watershed where a shift is taking place from
creating new capital improvement projects to an emphasis on maintenance. He felt there was a
definite need for a greater awareness and appreciation of the maintenance elements. Great
improvements have been made over the last ten years in coming to grips with the maintenance
issues, but more work remained to be done.
M5. Lindwall commented that one of the main issues in the future is going to be how you finance
_ an annual Capital Improvement Program. %lost recently we have been involved in major capital
projects such as the Southwest Paving Project, construction of the Service Center, replacement
of bridges, and the like. As revenue sharing has ended, grants have become less available and
budget policy has limited amount of annual operating funds available for maintenance
activity, we have shifted in more and more ongoing maintenance projects. These projects needs
a dedicated funding source so that we are not paying interest on bonds for this type of activity.
We need to look for a better way.
Mr. tievel commented that financial engineering was what was needed, not engineering in its
traditional sense but ways to find additional dollars. He raised the Question of some
privatization. fir. Darragh mentioned building sale and lease back as a possibility. Mr. Currie
inquired as to whether there was a part of the budget that specifically deals with program
maintenance. He felt it would be helpful to explicitly build maintenance into the budget
process. Ms. Lind�vall indicated that the Capital Improvement Progra-r had become integrated
into the budget process. Mr. Currie felt it would be helpful if more of t-�e capital improvements
were placed in the same kind of context as the program for street tree s rna: ue aluats knew,
where we were as far, as the total job to be done is concerned and .%•-at a�. _culd accomplish
each year in increments. %is. Lindwall stressed that a great deal of . rogr,_ss -)as been made in
refining the Capital Improvement Program and that each year it gets a little stronger.
Organizationally, Capital Improvement Program is catching up; howe%er, it is still difficult to
assess how we are doing on the total infrastructure of the City.
REVIEW OF THE DOWNTOWN PLAN
Chairman Belmonte called Commission members attention to the draft Coc'_iment distributed to
them earlier and in particilar the redevelopment map. Commission Te•r,bers felt that the draft
was eXrellent and had no suggestions for changes. 11r. Carter corr—e^,t,"! x mangy times
the subcommittee and staff had been over the draft map of redevelo---e-i :,tes and felt quite
comfortable with there. Commission members questioned two or t'^r,.-, !f tllle potential
Plan Commission Minutes
January 9, 1989
Page Eight
redevelopment sites as actually being too small to be redeveloped individually and suggested
that they might be incorporated into the designation of surrounding property. Chairman
Belmonte questioned the status of property north of Shand Morahand parking area. He thought
they might have more potential for redevelopment if there were any air rights development over
that parking area. Mr. Carter concurred but felt that such developement would be longer range
and that the uses in that area were well established.
COMMITTEE REPORTS
Chairman Belmonte inquired as to whether all the committees had met, established a chairman
and defined their goals and objectives for the year.
Comprehensive General Plan Committee
Chairman Belmonte reported that they had met in the previous week and established for one of
their goals for 1989 to wrap up the remaining forums on the Comprehensive General Plan. They
will schedule preservation, public works, and research park. They also want to complete their
review and input into the Capital Improvements Program by June and complete the
implementation program of the Comprehensive General Plan and present that to the Council.
Downtown Plan Committee
Goal of the Committee is to complete the plan this year and to make a series of presentations in
the community.
Special Projects Committee
The primary goal of the Special Projects Committee is to complete the Custer/Callan project
this year. The Committee chairman, Drew Petterson, commented that they had not further
refined their goals but expected to be involved in the library project, the Levy Center project,
plus other projects which will emerge during the course of the year. The Lake/Ashland project
is also currently on thei, agenda and they intend to meet with representatives of the Dewey
Community Conference to discuss options. In reporting on the committee meeting concerning
the Lake Ashland site lie indicated that no conclusions had been reached vet but that they were
evaluating the options which were either to have the entire site as pars, or to sell part of the
site for housing with a park on the balance of the site. They ild be meeting with
representatives of the Dewey Community Conference in the near future Mefore formulating a
recommendation and reporting back to the Plan Commission.
Chairman Belmonte commented that the Commission had not been given a scecific assignment
by the City Council, but .t•hat they would do would be to look at the site 'r,- ttie land use point
of view. It is not the Commission's rcespnnsibilir, to dictate x, .r : colic, sho_.- be
concernink The disposal of public land. The Commission will make s as what
they feel would be an appropriate deveiopment for that site. The C :)7 --:sston would l:.,e to
work with Dewey Community Conference once they had developed their ir:t:al position paper.
Mr. Okumura from DCC asked if there was anything the Commission neecec from them at this
time. Mr. Petterson said there was nothing needed at this time and that t'le Commission would
not make a final determination until meeting xiih representatives of DCC orY_P the Comrr:ssion
had gathered the information they needed %ir. Ckumura asked what the sequence woulc he in
forwarding the recommendation and Mr. Petterson replied that it woula 07 the Pla7rling
arid Development Committee to the City Coun(il.
Area Planring
The Area Planning Committee's activities were the Green Bay Road pr, a- :~)e sout'-'Vest
Industrial area.
Plan Commission Minutes
January 9, 1989
Page Nine
Design Review Committee
The Design Review Committee would not go into operation until sometime around June.
Chairman Belmonte reminded Commission members and chairmen of the committees that each
committee was to assign a person to provide some notations on the results of the meeting in
writing prior to the next Plan Commission meeting so that they could be distributed. He
stressed that these were not minutes, but merely some record of the main topics or conclusions
which would be helpful for the rest of the Commission members to know about. Packets are
mailed from the Civic Center usually the Thursday or Friday before Plan Commission Meetings.
OLD BUSINESS
Mr. Carter announced that he had a video which he had intended to show on the type of park
DCC members wanted to create at Lake/Ashland, but in view of the lateness of the hour he
would put off showing this until the Committee met.
Chairman Belmonte reported briefly on his conversation with Mayor Barr concerning the role of
the Plan Commission. He reported that she looked forward to receivinx input frorn the Plan
Commission on a number of issues including the library, the presentation ,j the Do,.vntown Plan,
the question of lagging development and vacancies in the downtown.
APPOINTMENT OF NEW A550CIATE MEMBER
�f1
Mr. Carter reminded Commission members of the application for a new Associate member, Mr.
Michael Blue. Commission members discussed his application and Mr. Peters moved that ,Mr.
Blue be appointed for a one year term as an associate. Seconded by `.!r. Petterson. Motion
carried. No Nays
NEW BUSINESS
Plan Commission members briefly discussed with %1r. Carter what role —..ey might play on the
issue of the library. He commented that a committee was dealing -i its. a program for the
library and attempting to advance that and that possibly the Co.-,r-„ston might want to
comment on specific issues coming before that committee. He said ,--e -ext biggest issue was
the resolution of the site issue and whether or not the City will have a axaanded site to work
with.
Mr. Petterson announced that the Zoning Commission has concha. : :-e:- %vor{ on a draft
statement of zoning policies which will be corning out in the next col.:�.F
Meeting adjourned approxirnatei! 1 'J:1C p.m.
STAFF:
71 3G 38
• ' EVANSTON PLAN COMMISSION
MINUTES
DRAFT NOT APPROVED
Wednesday, March 8, 1989
Third Floor Conference Room 7:30 P.M.
CIVIC CENTER
MEMBERS PRESENT: Belmonte, Seidman, and Currie
MEMBERS ABSENT: Peters, Petterson, Nevel, Marston, Faster, Breslin and
Currie
PRESIDING OFFICIAL: Belmonte, Chair
STAFF: Carter
OTHERS PRESENT: Tim Anderson and League of women Voters Observer
APPROVAL OF FEBRUARY 8, 1989 MINUTES
Approval of the February 8 Minutes was held over the next meeting due to the absence of a
quorum. With so few members present, it was also decided that the Commission's response to
the zoning policies would be assigned to the Comprehensive Plan Committee which would
schedule a meeting for March 13 at 5:30 in the Civic Center so that a response could be
prepared in time for the March 20th meeting of the Zoning Commission. Also, due to the
absence of a quorum, the Commission could not take a formal position on the tat lot proposal
for Lake and Florence. It was decided to schedule a special meeting to handle this item an
1kiarch 22, 1989 at 7:30 in the 3rd floor conference of the Civic Center.
PLANNED UNIT DEVELOPMENT PRELIMINARY REVIEW
Mr. Tim Anderson of OPTIMA was present to go over his firm's proposal for planned unit
development at the Aparacor site. Commission members present derirfp.f to .-duct this review
since no action was required on their part at this stage.
k1r. Anderson explained that his firm had constructed other residential projects on the
Northshore and that they were the contract purchaser of the 5.1 acro 1paracar site at Gross
Point, Crawford and Old Orchard Road. He explained that his firm's intentiin was to demolish
the office building and construct a multi -family, condominium ' :t�,�.� r,� �ro.tect. They felt
that the best use of the site was for residential and reported on !h - ... `.APabacl. ''rev had
received from the City Administration and .aldermen of the ward. }moo• _ -a- the zoning and
analysis process had been started and that they had applied far a pla, .n,- ce,elopment. He
explained that the current zoning is a combination of R 5 residential arc i' 1 business. He showed
a site design illustrating the layout of the project and explained ,here ;ere ,wa condominium
buildings of 52 and 29 units each combined with 42 townhouses. He ev::;ained 'ha, the developer
wanted to keep as many of the mature trees on the site as possible ar-- had oriented his design
around this desire. There would be a lake on the interior of the si,e and :he units would be
,oriented inward around this take. Other amenities would include a pool and ;undeck. The
parking for 240 cars is provided underground below the residential ;'r _c',res. There are a total
of 240 parking spaces, only 56 of which are surface spaces. '`e par:e;re exceeds the
requirements of the zoning ordinance. He explained the I catior �! r:rr5 cuts and the
circulation system.
.. ,
Evanston Plan Commission
Minutes - March 8, 1989
Page Two
In discussing the elevations, which at this point were vague, Mr. Mills said that their intent was
to unify the development with materials and they had not yet decided on brick or a precast,
limestone like material. The scale of the building with 2, 3 and 4 story units would provide
variety.
In response to Mr. Carter's question about the market for office space, Whir. Milts replied that
the present owners had tried for some time to market the property for office but had been
unsuccessful. He stressed that it was a nice building and that if there was a market, it should
have sold by now. Mr. Carter asked why there were seeking a planned development instead of
one under the present zoning and tir. Mills replied that the two different zones created
problems for them and a planned development would be a simplier, cleaner way to proceed. He
also felt that the extra number of units were needed to support the price for the property. He
stressed the problem of having the BI zone not allow residential units on the first floor and that
a business and residential development here did not seem appropriate. He also cited the
recommendation of the Site Plan Review Committee to do the development under a planned unit
development, Mr. Carter observed that there were quite a number of site amenities which the
developer had to offer which should also be used as part of the rationale of a planned unit
development.
Mr. Carter asked what kind of look to the street would be established by this development if it
were going to be oriented to the interior? Ms. Seidman noted the six foot garden wall along
Crawford and questioned how that would seem to the residents across the street. Mr. Carter
stressed that the developer needs to look closely at how this edge presented itself and Mr. Mills
indicated that they were open to ideas. liar. Carter suggested they consider a much lower
garden wall supplemented with plant material so that a development did not totally shut itself
off from the street. Mr. Carter stressed that when doing a planned unit development, the
architect had to think about the neighbors not just the project itself.
Chairman Belmonte commented on the uniqueness of the site and how a residential development
could be an attractive alternative to the present use even though that use is not reflected in the
comprehensive plan. It was felt that the residential development would be better than a
commercial project at that site. Mr. Currie felt that the density proposed could be handled
within the site because of its island -like character. Commission -re—ber were favorably =-
impressed by 'he wide range in housing prices for the various units and felt that this was a
strong selling point for the development. with units down to the more affordable end of the
housing range, the developer would be helping to meet some of those needs.
Mr. Carter summarized for the developer that the Commissioners present felt the concept was
definitely in the right direction and that they did nut see any major problems. Being able to put
the automobiles out of sight and not allowing parking on the s'rea' va3 cited as a major
aesthetic advantage.
,At the conclusion, Mr. Carter indicated that this development would be returning to the Plan
Commission far a formal review following a completed zoning anal}sis and mare detail plans.
The Plan Commission would then make a report to the ::BA as part of �e formal hearing on the
planned unit development. It was anticipated that this proposal -, ould return for the
Commission's review at the April meeting.
. .. 46
Evanston Plan Commission
Minutes - March 8, 1989
P age Three
COMMITTEE REPORTS
Downtown Plan
Mr. Carter reported that the parking text for the Downtown Plan had been completed and
distributed to the Commission. He also reported that the text on :he public transportation
section had been completed and would be going to the Committee in time for their next meeting
on March 22. This was the last text remaining to be completed on the Plan. There remain a few
more graphics to do along with a final composition of the document, but is now progressing
rapidly to a complete draft. He complimented +ki& Seidman on the composition of the document
and stated that it would be a handsome one. He also noted that there would be a great many
sketches by the Planning Department's artist, Mr. Al Tyler, and the quality of those sketches
might make the Plan a collector's item. Chairman Belmonte asked about the coordination of
the material with the work of the Zoning Commission. Mr, Carter felt it would be helpful to
start to pull sections of the Plan to take before the Zoning Commission as they got into
examining the Downtown, tor. Carter raised the question of the mechanics if how the material
is taken to the woning Commission and who represents it. Chairman Belmonte suggested that
the Commission request an hour of the Zoning Commission's time to present the plan at some
time in the near future.
4leeting adjourned approximately 9:00 p.m.
STAFF:
DATE:
7Y 39/41
EVANSTON PLAN COMMISSION
MINUTES
DRAFT NOT APPROVED
Wednesday, March 22, 198&t)
Third Floor Conference Room - 7:30 P.M.
CIVIC CENTER
MEMBERS PRESENT: Belmonte, Peters, Petterson, Nevel. Marston, Foster, and Currie
MEMBERS ABSENT: Darragh, Breslin, Blue
PRESIDING OFFICIAL: Belmonte, Chair
STAFF: Carter, and .Modaber
OTHERS PRESENT: Aid. Korshak, Aid. Drummer, Liz Gaines, Tony Gronner, Patrick
Horning, Karen Rhodes and other members of the Dewey
Community Conference and Friends of the Park
APPROVAL OF FEBRUARY 8, 1989 MINUTES
Mr. Peters moved approval of the February minutes. Seconded by Mr. Nevel. Motion passed.
No Nays.
CONSIDERATION OF PROPOSAL ON THE LAKE/ASHLAND TOT LOT
Chairman Belmonte reminded Commission members of the purpose of the special meeting being
held this evening to accommodate the Dewey Community Conference and Friends of the Park by
making them wait until the next regular meeting of April 12 which -x•ould result in a month's
delay in getting to the Council. By meeting this evening, the Plan —,-mission could get their
recommendation to the Council for their first meeting in April, a:,:! r !. He explained the
format would be to give representatives of Dewey Community ConferA-�ce a chance to make a
brief presentation for the benefit of those Commission members .6 -o were not at the last
meeting, then hear the subcommittee's review of the proposal and the .arious options they have
looked at, then formulate a recommendation to be transmitted to Cour-."
He invited representatives of the DCC to join the Commission. He '.oQized for the lack of
quorum at the previous meeting and the necessity to bring them o He explained the
special meeting had a single purpose of hearing their proposal so that �^ fission -__uld send
a response to the City Council.
The first speaker was Liz Gaines, Vice -President of the Boar^ -' Directors for Dewev
Community Conference. She stated that the position of the DCC is to : _port the neighbors and
the Evanston Friends of the Park in their quest for not only tot lot, :._' also use of the entire
site as a park. She explained that there was a liaison committee wit' '_�,•anston Friends of the
Park composed of five members of the DCC Board. This subcomm.—e .gill be the one to
oversee the development of the park. She urged the Plan Comrr.s;. s,ipport �f their
proposal.
Evanston Plan Commission
Minutes - March 22, 1989
Page Two
Mr. Tony Gronner, one of three coordinators for the Friends of the Park, briefly reviewed their
proposal. He emphasized that this was a community based development and expressed the belief
that the process was as Important as the park itself. He inquired as to whether Commission
members had seen the video on how the architect, Mr. Leathers, develops his parks and it was
confirmed that five or six members of the Commission had seen that video. He referred them
to the Friends of the Park's written proposal which had been distributed to Commission
members earlier. He noted that they had a time problem because of Mr. Leather's popularity
and the need to book his time.
Mr. Patrick Horning of Friends of the Park briefly reviewed the site plan and explained its play
structure and design. He explained that the heart of the park would be in the center where the
play structure sits and explained how they had tried to keep the play area away from the traffic
and the neighbors. The play structure itself would require about 10,000 square feet of area. He
felt that given the sculptured and theatrical aspect of the Leather's structures called for a
center piece location. It would also be the intent of the design to introduce some berms to add
a little more typography to the park. The two main entrances to the park are at Ashland and
Lake and Florence and Lake. He went on to describe some of the details of items and
furnishings to be included.
Karen Rhodes, one of three coordinators for Friends of the Park felt that the Plan Commission,
as citizens of the community with particular expertise, offered an important connection to
fellow citizens with a special interest in this particular park and parks in general. She expressed
several concerns including: a long recognized deficiency in park space; the lack of priority for
creating any more open space: and the shortcomings of playgrounds for innovative play. She
went on to explain th need for design for more creative play and to make playgrounds less boring
for children. She cited several articles dealing with the problem of the future of play and
recreation. Ms. Rhodes reviewed some of the recommendations of these reports which tail for
increased complexity and interconnected play experiences to get children to move !rom one
activity to another. There needed to be an emphasis on group play and flexibility. The linkages
are best created by one large structure within which children can ,-Hove about and interact on.
She cited .Mr. Leather's work as the epitome of providing such play experience. His program
calls for more challenging play experience combined with safety. She felt the proposed plan and
process would meet the children's needs better and help pull the neighborhood together. She
asked for the Plan Commission's approval and to pass a favorable resolution on to the Council.
Vr. Gronner indicated that the Committee was very anxious to work with any organization who
had ideas and interest. He mentioned their response to questions that had been raised in an
earlier meeting with the Plan Commission subcommittee and had the meeting with Officer
Black of the Police Department on potential problems of visibilit,. due to the density of the
structure.
Chairman Belmonte turned the meeting over to Drew Petterson. C'Mairfnan of the Plan
Commission's Subcommittee on Special Projects. Mr. Petterson describec a previous meeting
with representatives of the Friends of the Park where they reviewed the plan in detail. He
identified three basic issues: land use, social issues and the process. He indicated that the
Committee merely reviewed the project that night and took no votes. i. nder land use, the
Committee felt that the Leather's park would be rather successful but had some reservations
that it might be too successful and too intense for the size of the site. He noted potential long
hours of use of the park and noise as well as a lack of parking if the Z)ar': .tas to draw frorn the
rest of the community as suggested. If the park were to be accessible ,`e `,andicapped, there
should be some sort of vehicle access. There was also some concern awo;t s,l ervis on and that
the park could become an attractive nuisance in the evening hours, rar'irJldr1v because the
dense design would allow hiding places.
Evanston Plan Commission
Minutes - March 22, 1989
Page Three
Mr. Petterson noted that some members of the Committee felt that a better use of the property
would be for a combination of a tot lot and new townhouse development. It was felt that such a
development would also help upgrade the neighborhood, provide some return to the City for its
land, and provide at least some passive supervision of the tot lot.
On the social issues, he reported that Aid. Drummer had highlighted the importance of having
the diverse members of the community come together to build a park such as this and then enjoy
it together. fir. Petterson felt that this was an issue important to the community which should
be considered independent of the land use recommendations. Mr. Petterson reported that there
were some reservations about long-term maintenance on the project and the need to
acknowledge that ultimately the City would have responsibility for maintenance.
He asked ,Mr. Currie, the Plan Commission's CD representative, to explain what the possible
complications were for CD funding of this particular concept. Mr. Currie indicated that if the
entire site goes for a park and the highly specialized equipment makes it highly popular - the
"premier playground of Evanston" as advocated at the Committee meeting, this could create
some eligibility question since CD funds are for target area projects, not community wide
projects. his. Modaber of the CD staff elaborated further and said that HUD administration
would be less likely to raise any questions of eligibility if the focus of the park were more
neighborhood in orientation. Mr. Gronner asked for collaboration on this point and Ms. %iodaber
explained the basis of the localized nature of HUD funding for projects which are in income
eligible target areas. If those projects are designed to draw from all over the City, HUD may
question their eligibility. ❑CC members stressed that they had no control over who would come
to the park. Ald. Drummer questioned whether there should be a problem since other projects
such as the play areas on the canal banks had been developed with CD funds. He did not feel
that HUD would challenge the proposal. He expressed the hope that the popularity of the park
would lead to other areas of Evanston doing similar developments.
A second potential issue was getting clarification on what the Federal guidelines on donated
labor were. There is a possibility that there would be a restriction on the age of volunteers and
that this could present a problem in using children in certain phases of constructing the park.
HUD has raised the issue that when federal funds are involved, this may restrict the age of
people who can participate in the actual work. Staff is awaiting some clarification from HUD
on this matter. :old. Drummer expressed the belief that there shouldn't be a problem because of
the use of volunteers on the projects. Ms. 1lodaber clarified that the rules would apply only to
construction not other participation and they hope to get further clarification on this.
Ald. Drummer noted that the CD funds would be used only for the tot lot portion of the park and
that the funds for the balance of the park would be raised from the local :ornmunity.
Drew Petterson asked .Mr. Wirth, Director of Parks, Recreation anc F D-rStr, to comment on the
proposal. Mr. Wirth indicated that he could not comment on the lane ise issues and would limit
his remarks to the development of the park. He noted that he hac seen the video on the
Leather's style of park, visited Oz Park and had been involved in park design and management
for some 27 years. He agreed with all that had been said in terms of concept concerning
linkages, getting children to play together and grouping play experiences as being well
represented in the Leather's concept. He felt it was a good concept, but did offer one
observation which was more than schematics. He believed that the 4z Park structure, as
outstanding as it was, was not a tot lot nor a neighborhood facilit,,. 5ut a community one.
Evanston Plan Commission
_ Minutes - March 22, 1989
Page Four
He suggested that a considerably scaled down version of Oz Park would be more appropriate.
He characterized the structure as being able to accommodate much more than a neighborhood.
He recommended that the scale be much smaller for a neighborhood and designed to
accommodate something on the range of fifty children at a time instead of several hundred. He
felt this could be done and the same type of play experience be incorporated into the design. He
also referred to the City adopted safety standards for playgrounds which had come from
national studies. He noted that there might have to be some variation in the design details in
order to meet the safety standards. He did not see this as a major obstacle but a consideration
which must be kept in mind in designing the park.
Representatives of Friends of the Park agreed to the necessity of scaling down the Oz Park type
of development and incorporating the safety standards. They noted that Oz Park was
approximately twice the size of their proposal. They also felt scaling down was important for
the aesthetics of the park. There followed a general discussion as to what an appropriate scale
represented. The range of parks designed by Mr. Leather's runs from 4,000 feet on the small
side to 20,000 feet on the large.
In response to a question from Mr. Petterson concerning the amount of money required to
complete the project, Mr. Gronner stated that they needed to raise approximately $80,000 in
funds or in kind beyond the $50,000 already provided by CD. All they need for a contract,
however is the price of the air fare for Mr. Leather's in addition to a strong base of established
community organization and support. They noted that Mr. Leather's prefers that the community
raise funds for the whole park as a measure of their commitment. The friends of the Park and
Dewey Community Conference will be incorporated as a non -for -profit corporation to handle
the funding. They will also be working with representatives of Oz Park and the new one
proposed for construction this year at Indian Boundary. They expressed no concern about being
able to raise the money.
In response to some of the concerns raised by the Plan Commission 5pecial Project Committee,
Mr. Gronner acknowledged that the park could be "too successful" and that they hope such
success would lead to projects in other neighborhoods. He indicated another neighborhood group
was already interested in doing a similar project. He felt that if the park is too successful, that
would only be brief because of the interest generated in duplicating such facilities elsewhere.
He noted that they had a committee addressing the question of handicapped access and thought
that they could reserve a couple of street parking spaces for the project. On the question of
supervision, the Committee felt this was very important and had discussed this with Officer
Black and they intend to build in a form of neighborhood watch. They will be putting as much
effort into aspects of supervision as into building the park. Vaintenance was also a form of
continuing attention they intend to give the park. He expressed the commitment to support of
the whole movement. He thought some day the movement might Axpand to be citvwide. In
Commenting on maintenance it was noted that one of ,Mr. Leather's parks is now 17 years old
and still in good Condition. They reiterated their intention to take part in maintenance. They
hoped to enlist young people from the high school and groups like the boy scouts in helping to
maintain the park. In response to a question from Mr. Nevel about support from nearby
neighbors, they responded that some of the immediate neighbors were in attendance at the CD
meeting and that there was strong support for the park. 11s. Rhodes mentioned a block by block
survey of the entire ❑CC area which indicated strong support for the park. Aid. Drummer
stated that the one use that the neighborhood agreed upon was for a park.
l
Evanston Plan Commission
Minutes - March 22, 1989
Page Five
In response to a question from Mr. Peters on how much housing could be be developed on the site
in conjunction with just a tot lot, Mr. Carter responded that four to six townhouse -type units
could be accommodated.
Neighbors stressed the need for children having a place to play in the neighborhood and cited
some 270 children under 10 living within a two -block radius of the tot lot location.
Mr. Petterson asked about what the go/no-go trigger points were once Mr. Leather's comes out
and examines the site and says he wants to do the project, will there be an opportunity to review
the details of that project at a later date? The response was that there would be ample time for
such review. Mr. Petterson felt that there were a number of questions around details such as
fencing, lighting, the scale of the play equipment etc., it was explained that Mr. Leather's or
one of his representatives would come out for a "design day" in the fail which would probably be
conducted at Dewey School. He would also meet with the organization sponsoring the park.
.After that, they returned to their office and work up some preliminary designs. At their point
they are still six months away from construction. There would be time for review of the
proposal from about September to May. Ms. Rhodes clarified that they would be conducting a
design day this spring on the park as a whole. They would attempt to involve the entire
neighborhood in what the general park structure would look like. She emphasized that the
Leather's team deals only with the equipment area of the park and that will be a separate design
day. Ms. Gaines commented that they had already applied and been put on a waiting list for Mr.
Leather's program. They now have secured his commitment to work with them and is only a
matter of scheduling. Mr. Gronner stressed the need to sustain the momentum of interest in the
park so that construction could actually begin next spring and felt that further delay would be
disastrous to the project.
,Mr. Nevel, Mr. Currie summarized the issue before the Plan Commission as one of whether to
recommend the entire site be used for park or that there be a split use with both park and
residential. He clarified that at no time did the Committee look at the possibility of having the
site be all residential. The Committee did not take a position on either alternative, but wanted
to present them as alternatives. Mr. Petterson emphasized that the Committee did feel that
Council should be presented with what their alternatives are, not necessarily a specific
recommendation. He felt that any contingencies or reservations about the full development as
a park should also be noted. He expressed a desire not to interfere with the momentum of the
Friends of the Park while still being objective about the choices before the City Council. 11r.
Gronner asked if there was some way to include the Plan Commission in the process of Friends
of the Park so they might have some ability to monitor areas of their concern.
Mr. Petterson moved that the Plan Commission recommends either the entire park or a tot lot
with the balance developed in residential or acceptable land uses. ,And that the Plan
Commission append to their recommendation the tax implications and list of things .t hich the
Commission thinks should be considered if the Council should decide to make the entire site a
park.
Mr. Peters commented that it is really a council decision because of the ownership of the
property and the tax question. He stated that we were comparing a tax generating use versus a
use which might generate additional costs. He raised a question if it xas worth the difference
financially to do the project part housing and park part. He noted that the first proposition the
Plan Commission had heard on the site included some special housing : -)r the elderly to meet a
specific need, but if we were merely going to build a handful of townhouses, he did not see a
great advantage in recommending housing other than the tax advantage. There was not a large
social benefit. Ms. Marston commented that there was a strong reason to build housing unless it
was going to be affordable and that new construction and affordable housing didn't seem to go
together. She also urged that the scale of the project be cut down because it was too close to
the homes on the south.
I
Evanston Plan Commission
Minutes - March 22, 1999
Page Six
Aid. Drummer urged the Commission to make a clear recommendation to the Council for all
!Sark. He felt that would be better than putting the recommendation in the alternative.
Ms. Marston stressed that the importance of this decision was that it would be a final one, once
the park was established it would be a park forever, once townhouses were put up the
opportunity for park land was lost. Mr. Carter pointed out that the Plan Commission was in a
policy dilemma that shouldn't be theirs. It would have been better for the Council to have up
front been able to think about their options since they are the owners of the land and then ask
the Plan Commission for their response to those options rather than the other way around.
Council takes the broader view of issues such as these whereas the Plan Commission is looking
primarily at land use questions. In the interim there has been great energy developed around
having the whole site as park before the options could be thought through. The Commission
doesn't wish to frustrate this interest, yet they have an obligation to take a more objective view
and present options. He felt the process had somehow gotten reversed.
Aid. Drummer urged the Commission to present alternatives but to state a preference. He felt
there was strong support on the council for full Park Development. He cited early Planning
Department documents which called for a need for more space for parks and emphasized that
once land was built upon we would lost the opportunity for park space.
Chairman Selmonte commented that there was not opposition to park development on the Plan
Commission. Yet he did feet that alternatives should be part of the Plan Commission's report.
He urged the Dewey Community Conference to maintain communication with the Plan
Commission in the next few months as their project evolves because there are some reservations
about details. He did feet that the disposition of public land was an important policy
consideration for the City Council. Mr. Petterson expressed some lack of comfort on just who is
in charge, who manages the money, who makes the decision as to just what the structure
ultimately is? He expressed some concern for people wanting to have too much on the site
during the excitement generated by the Leather's process. He raised the question as to how a
decision gets made as to what exactly gets built on the site. Aid. Drummer stated that as the
project goes forward they would be working closely with the CD staff, parks and police will also
be involved. If necessary, they could bring the project back for Plan Commission review. Drew
Petterson asked what Council supervision would be provided. Mr. %evel suggested that the
Commission give a positive recommendation to a scaled -down version with the scale and
intensity being reviewed by the Parks and Recreation Department so it is consistent with what
they feel with the neighborhood and level of development. Mr. Wirth stated that there were two
concerns with the proposed development; one was scale and the other was design safety
standards. He also thought he would probably end up maintaining it.
Evanston Plan Commission
Minutes - March 22, 1989
Page Seven
Mr. Peters offered amendment to Mr. Petterson's original motion calling for the alternative to
be presented to the City Council with the Plan Commission's express preference for a full park.
Also, in the commentary accompanying the recommendation, the Commission request formal
involvement of the Site Plan Review staff for any off -site issues in the Parks and Recreation
staff to deal with the on -site issues of scale and safety. Motion seconded by Mr. Nevel. Ms.
Marston asked that the full Commission have the opportunity to review the full site plan. The
amendments were acceptable to the maker of the motion. Ms. Marston requested that
somewhere in the communication to the Council Commission members state that their reason
for the preference over housing is because we could not build feasible affordable housing. Mr.
Nevel expressed the opinion that, in the long run, the combination of park and housing would not
have the same degree of impact on the area as the full park development. He felt the discussion
he had heard tonight had convinced him. Motion passed No Nays.
,Meetings adjourned approximately 9:45 p.m.
STAFF:
DATE: F
1 �
7Y55/61
r
EVANSTON PLAN COMMISSION
MINUTES
DRAFT NOT APPROVED
Wednesday, April 12, 1989
Room 2404 - 7:30 P.M.
CIVIC CENTER
MEMBERS PRESENT: Belmonte, Seidman, Foster, Petterson, Currie, Breslin,
Prout, Nevel and Marston
ASSOCIATE MEMBERS PRESENT: Blue
MEMBERS ABSENT: Darragh
PRESIDING OFFICIAL: Belmonte, Chair
STAFF: Carter, Clarke
OTHERS PRESENT: Mr. Levin, and League of Women Voters observer.
APPROVAL OF MARCH 22, 1989 MINUTES
Two minor corrections were made to the minutes, one to show Ms. Seidman as present and the
other to add the word "not" to the end of the second line of the first paragraph. With these
corrections, ,Mr. Petterson moved approval. Seconded by Mr. Nevel. Motion passed. No nays.
WELCOME OF NEW MEMBERS
Chairman Belmonte welcomed Mr. Stephen Prout as a new member to fill the expired term of
Phil Peters and new associate member, Mr. Michael Blue.
PRESENTATION ON THE CUSTER/CALLAN PROJECT
Chairman Belmonte welcomed staff member Tim Clarke and invited him to update the Plan
Commission on the project. Mr. Clarke gave the historical background on the evolution of the
project and indicated that there was interest in doing something on that block as early as the
late 1960's. Programs were initiated in the 1970's to upgrade the commercial segment of the
block, but there was a lack of interest on the part of the owners. At one time, the commercial
properties served a very useful purpose in the neighborhood, but since the development of the
major food stores on Chicago Avenue, there had been a marked decline. He snowed Commission
members sketches of the proposed storefront renovation program which hat been suggested in
the late 1970's. After the continued decline and lack of investment in the area, the
subcommittee of the Plan Commission formed in 1984 to begin to develop a program for
redevelopment of the block. The Subcommittee, chaired by Jeanne Breslin, worked with local
residents, and aldermen of the ward to develop this program. They presented their
recommendations to City Council to acquire the property and redevelop it as residential. At
that time it was hoped that moderate priced housing could be built on the site. The City
Council funded the subcommittee's recommendation in late 1985 and negotiations to acquire the
property began in 1986. The acquisition process was a slow one because !`'e City could not use
it s powers of condemnation and had to buy all property from willing seders. A year aga, in
1988, the City had acquired five of the six pieces of property and two of the properties acquired
still had long term leases and most of the money the City had set aside for the project had been
spent. In the last year, the pace picked up considerably and all parcels were acquired and
cleared.
Evanston Plan Commission
Minutes -April 12, 1989
Page Two
Since last April, the Special Committee has obtained additional funds from the City Council to
complete the work. Last summer, the Committee put together a request for proposal which was
sent to over 100 developers in the metropolitan area and about a dozen developers expressed
interest. There were three formal proposals made, each of them for residential use and all
somewhat similar in configuration.
Mr. Clarke went on to review some of the issues which arose during the developer selection
process. He indicated that the Committee chose the present developer based upon the price of
the units, the return to the City and the design of his proposal. In late November of 1988, the
Special Committee recommended Levin and Spatz as the developers and their selection was
approved by the City Council in December. Subsequently, an agreement was negotiated and was
concluded with Council approval in (March of 1989.
Mr. Clarke indicated that there had not been many substantial changes from what the
Committee reviewed late last year. The price for the land has gone up from $145,000 to
$ I 70,000 due to the lottery system proposed for selling the townhouse units. He indicated that
current "out-of-pocket expenses" for the City were running approximately $320,000 on the
project. It was felt the lottery system would be helpful in fixing the prices for the units, one of
the major issues to come up during the development of this project. It was felt that this would
also help assure that there would not be speculators buying the property.
Mr. Clarke highlighted one of the serious pitfalls encountered late in the project as an
underground fuel storage tank which had leaked and was creating problems with soil
contamination. He noted that the City had gone to great lengths to dig out contaminated soil
and was cooperating with EPA and [EPA in an attempt to meet new legislation concerning
underground storage tanks. He indicated that he was still waiting for the State to respond to
information which had been sent them concerning the measures we had taken. He commented
that it was very difficult to establish communications with this new division and to get answers.
11r. Carter asked Mr. Clarke to elaborate a little bit more on the problem for the benefit of
Commission members because the soil contamination issues and new regulations could be one of
the most serious constraints the City faces on doing redevelopment not only in the Custer area ,
but in the southwest industrial area and research park. Mr. Clarke indicated that underground
storage tank problem and legislation concerning such tanks really didn't surface until the late
1980's and that we are operating under very new legislation. He described how the tank on the
Custer site was discovered and the resultant paperwork required by the State of Illinois as well
as the physical efforts required to mitigate the circumstances. He indicated that the problem
now was, even though we have excavated the contaminated soil, the State is concerned about
contaminated ground water. He stated that it had been a very expensive process to date and
there was no guarantee that we were finished with our work. It has cost $20,000 just to remove
the soil. Mr. Clarke discussed the implications for future abandoned gas stations and the
probability that they might not be reused because of the high cost of correcting problems.
In concluding Mr. Clarke stated that the City has been fast tracking the project and had met all
the important deadlines to have the project ready for spring construction. A special use was
granted by the ?BA for the project to enable it to have housing on the first floor in a B-district.
The Council concurred in the ZBA's recommendation. In response to a question from fir. Prout,
Mr. Clarke responded that this was probably the first lottery system to be used in this area for
the selling of residential units. He also responded to questions as to whether there were any fair -
housing issues or a legal issue of not selling to the highest bidder. He stated that part of the
objective of the lottery was to keep the homes more affordable. %1r. Clarke introduced ,Mr.
Levin, developer for the project. ,Mr. Levin elaborated on how the lottery would actually work
1
Evanston Plan Commission
Minutes -April 12, 1989
Page Three
This Included a period of advertising lottery, Information packets which would be made
available, affidavits Indicating the prospective purchaser was going to occupy the unit and
application for the lottery. Application deadlines would be the end of June and the drawing
would be held one week later. At this point, the developer takes over the lottery process and
schedules interviews with the successful applicants for completing the selection of unit and sale.
Chairman Belmonte asked how they would proceed in selling the properties if only a certain
portion are sold under the lottery. Mr. Clarke responded that the agreement fixes the prices
only on those units to be sold under the lottery. If the lottery is not successful, it does not bind
the developer to the prices. At that point, the developer may add amenities to the project
which would increase the units appeal as well as their price or consider lowering the price to
make them move faster. If the lottery is not successful, the developer felt there would be need
for flexibility to make whatever adjustments are necessary. There was discussion as to what
happens when owners decide to sell their units and it was concluded that there was little control
over the future of the units beyond that point. The formation of a homeowners association will
be able to exercise some control on speculation. Mr. Carter commented that the original thrust
of the Commission was to rid the neighborhood of the decaying commercial structures and the
problems that they were creating. Beyond that they hope to create some decent housing as a
secondary objective. The Committee's whole thrust was to keep the process as simple as
possible and not encumber it with too many conditions which could kill the whole project.
Mr. Levin summarized the changes in design by first stating that they were so slight that they
would be difficult to detect if they were not pointed out. Mr. Levin took Commission members
through the entire sequence of changes from the first concept presented and pointed out the
individual changes resulting from the zoning analysis, comments from site plan review, and
comments from the Plan Commission. The first change which had to be made dealt with the
setback of garages along the alley line as required by zoning. This required an adjustment in the
front yard set back which was originally a 14 foot yard and a wailed court yard. The court yard
idea was rejected. The next scheme called for matching the existing residential setbacks of the
houses built to the south of the project. This resulted in a front yard without fencing and a
larger rear yard. The next concept lifted the units a little higher out of grade to get a higher
presence in front with stairs elevating up to the main entryway instead of a straightened
entrance. In the final plan the stairways were split so that each owner had individual stairways,
separate walkways and individual entryways. He explained slight changes to the window
treatment and modifications between areas to be covered with brick. He explained that the
accumulated use in certain areas reduced the amount of space available in individual units and
that space was already tight. He also explained how the gable ends were cut back. ,Mr. Levin
explained how changes in the interior layout resulted from their further examination of how the
spaces would actually work.
In reviewing the schedule, 1Ir. Clarke stated that the contract would be signed by the end of the
week, he was waiting to hear from the IEPA so that the hole could be filled in, and then the
project would go to closing. He hoped that the closing could be by mid -May and the lottery
initiated early in June. It was anticipated that construction would begin in July and that
occupancy would take place in late fall. Mr. Clarke stressed the developer's financial
commitment to the project in advance of any binding commitment on the part of the City. A
great deal of work had been done based on faith alone. Mr. Levin expressed his appreciation for
how cooperative the City and staff had been in moving the project along. He felt that one of
the main lessons in this type of operation was to have a signed agreement with the developer
earlier in the process. He stated that the units were priced about $2G.,r�less then they would
be in a normal free market situation.
II � �lill'l11 Ilh I!I P�I�IIIII�III11I IIIIIIIIIII II II�IIIIIII I I IlniiI ll'll�lll�l III 111lu11111ll lh �11�III^ �li�111II I�Ih�IIIIIII
Evanston Plan Commission
Minutes -April 12, 1989
Page Four
REVIEW OF THE DOWNTOWN PLAN
Ms. Seidman Introduced the parking section stating that parking was one of the main Issues in
the Downtown. She reviewed the zoning history of the Downtown with regard to parking from
the time It was first introduced in the 1950's, to its modification with parking bonuses in the
1960's to encourage new development, to the current need to reexamine parking requirement to
see if, once again, new development ought to carry its own fair share. She described the
difficulties imposed upon existing development when their uses changed and they were forced to
try to meet new parking requirements. She explained how parking regulations had then been
relaxed for existing uses in the Downtown. She described how new development had taken place
on a number of former public parking lots resulting in a shift in emphasis from surface lots. She
explained that the shift was more to resources for all day parking reflecting the increase in
office use and a decline in the more convenient surface parking favored by shoppers.
In directing Commission members attention to the policies, she commented on two directions
being taken. One was to put some of the responsibility for providing parking back on the
shoulders of the developers and secondly to make the present supply of parking more visible.
This will be done through signage and promotion. Nis. Seidman observed that there wasn't so
much a shortage of parking as there was inefficient use.
11wir. Nevel questioned the policy requiring long-term parkers to park outside the core of the
Downtown and asked for clarification. Nis. Seidman responded that the emphasis was to move
the long-term parkers or meter feeders to other locations so as to free up the curb spaces for
shoppers. Mr. Carter commented that there may be a problem with the definition of the core
under this policy and that the emphasis ought to be to get long-term parkers into the structure.
He observed that the one structure the City now had was in the core of the Downtown, but that
others such as the one being constructed at Church and Chicago and the projected structures for
Research Park would be outside the core. Mr. Nevel suggested that perhaps some of the control
could be done through pricing. `
Chairman Belmonte questioned what "fair share" meant with regard to developer supplying
parking. He felt this was up for a great deal of interpretation. He described the original intent
as one to stimulate new development and to account for the presence for public transportation.
He asked if the rationale for the zoning bonuses was still valid. Mr. Carter responded that from
the public transportation standpoint they were valid, but probably not so from the development
perspective. He elaborated that the original intent of encouraging new development had been
met, but in the process of creating new development most of the surface parking lots had
disappeared and not all of that parking put in structures was available to the public. He
questioned whether the City could afford to give a major developer a break on parking because
there is no longer a way to make up the difference through public action. There are no
remaining good sites for public structures. We are building our last parking structure for quite
some time and that structure is devoted to making up some of the deficit already here. He also
observed that most major developers cannot get financing for their projects unless then prove
that they are able to satisfy the parking demand for the project. He asserted that this was a
stronger control on parking then the zoning requirements. In response to Chairman Belmonte's
question about eliminating the bonuses under the "fair share" concept, Mr. Carter commented
that the bonuses should be reevaluated, not necessarily eliminated.
Mr. Belmonte observed that one of the consequences of requiring developers to include all the
parking could be taller buildings. Vr. Carter stated that there were t,xo Choices; leave the
parking bonuses as they are because there are stronger constraints or. Parking under financing
and development or to tailor the zoning requirements to the curr nt realit He felt it was
important for the Zoning Commission to reevaluate the standards ang reduce bonuses,
0
Evanston Plan Commission
Minutes - AprIl 12, 1989
Page Five
Mr. Prout asked if eliminating the bonuses would make Evanston less competitive with other
communities for development. Mr. Carter responded that a new retailer is going to be
concerned about being able to serve his customers with adequate parking. if they cannot meet
their own needs, they are not likely to come in and It wouldn't be the zoning rquirements
keeping them out.
Mr. Petterson observed that the Zoning Commission was Iooking at flexible techniques for doing
development in the Downtown under which the developer might have to earn any reduction in
parking by providing other benefits. Mr. Carter suggested the possibility of shared parking for
projects with different hours of operation and payment in lieu of taxes if it were possible for the
City to put those funds towards expanding the present parking garage by adding levels to it. He
explained that the original parking garage was designed to take two more floors, but an
engineering evaluation would be required to determine just how that could be done. Chairman
Belmonte suggested that before any major recommendations are made, it would be wise to
assess the results of the new parking structure once it is completed and in service. Mr. Nevel
recommended that no position be taken until we have had a chance to evaluate the impact of a
new garage. Mr. Carter pointed out that, even if no action is taken, it was timely to reexamine
the philosophy on parking as contained in the present zoning ordinance. Mr. Carter pointed out
that the present zoning theory for the Downtown does not match its reality. The "wedding
cake" type of structure implied by the zoning ordinance with the highest buildings in the center
of the core of the Downtown and stepping down in heighth as one moves out is not the current
physical structure of the Downtown. A physical structure shaped more like a volcanic crater
with higher buildings riming the lowest ones in the actual center of the Downtown.
Ms. Seidman called for any comments on the public transportation section. Commission
members commented that they felt the transportation section was a very useable and
interesting one. They felt that the data would be helpful and that the way the chapter was
presented gave a good sense of how dynamic the Downtown really is. Mr. Carter commented
that when the Commission sees the final graphics and maps they will have an even stronger
sense of how the public transportation works. He publicly thanked Amy Seidman for all of the
work that she had done to assist the Planning staff in composing the pages for the Downtown
Plan stating that they would find it to be a very readable and handsome document. All that
remains to be done on the Downtown Plan at this point is the completion of a few of the
graphics and the Committee hopes to have a draft available for the flan Commission at their
next meeting.
Chairman Belmonte commented that once the Plan is completed, the Commission would then
have to go out and represent it. He mentioned a number of current issues on the Downtown
which will make release and presentation of the Plan timely. He felt the Plan could be very
helpful to a number of groups concerned about various issues on the Downtown. Chairman
Belmonte mentioned a forthcoming symposium to be sponsored by the Camber of Commerce
which will involve representatives of Evmark, Inventure, the Chamber, the Plan Commission,
Economic Development and local businessmen. Air. Carter noted that one of the main
recommendations of the Downtown Plan was the creation of such forums.
Chairman Belmonte called attention to a copy of a letter prepared by Amy Seidman in response
to an article in the Evanston Review concerning the lack of planning for the Downtown.
Chairman Belmonte called for the motion to approve the parking section the public
transportation section and the conclusion section of the Downtown Plan, Motion passed. No
nays. Chairman Belmonte called for the formation of a new subcomm;ttee to cafe the Plan to
the public and promote it. fir. Petterson suggested that a slide presentation be developed as
part of the strategy.
Evanston Plan Commission
Minutes - April 12, 1989
Page Six
COMMITTEE REPORTS
Special Sign Committee
Nis. Breslin reported that the Committee had developed some strong recommendations which
were supported by the Planning and Development Committee but ran into difficulty on the
Council floor and were referred back to P&D for further refinement. She reported that the
Committee had recommended that all signs on the right-of-way not for traffic control or
necessary information be removed, that the sign clutter at some of the major entranceways to
the City be cleaned up and replaced with attractive landscaped settings be created. She was not
sure what more could be done to improve upon the recommendations. Mr. Carter suggested that
if eliminating some of the signs for churches and clubs was a serious obstacle, the present signs
could be grandfathered in and a ban on any future signs enforced. He also suggested breaking
the recommendations down and dealing with them separately rather than comprehensively
because it might have been too much to take in all in one evening. Next he suggested they get
permission to simply take two entranceways and do a demonstration on what could be
accomplished. The one technical difficulty was that he did not have an alternative entrance
sign design to follow. He also suggested that the landscaping of the entranceways be scheduled
within the Capital Improvement Program so that funding would be available.
Special Projects Committee
Mr. Petterson reminded Commission members of the results of the special meeting held by the
Commission on the Lake/Ashland site. After discussion and debate, the Commission moved to
endorse the use of the entire site for a park subject to certain conditions and oversite
provisions. He reported on the Planning and Development Committee meeting on the same
subject. He commented on Aid. Brady's concern about not being given sufficient information by
the Commission. The P&D Committee recommended that the full site be reserved for a park
for one year to see if the Friends of the Park could raise sufficient funds for its development.
The City Council endorsed this recommendation with some caveats on developing lines of
responsibility. Plan Commission members discussed a possible response to some of the critical
comments made. it was clear to Commission members that no amount of additional information
would have made any difference in the Council decision. Commission members continued to
express some concern about the intensity of the development proposed on that site and whether
the neighborhood, in fact, really understands what kind of impact it will generate. In response
to a question on the coordination of the project, Mr. Carter responded that it will probably fall
to a staff team with representatives from several departments.
NEW BUSINESS
Mr. Carter requested that Commission members schedule a special breakfast meeting to honor
retiring Commission members Libby Hill and Phil Peters. A date was set for Friday, May 12th
at 8:00 a.m. at LaPeeps restaurant.
Meeting adjourned approximately 9:30 p.m.
STAFF:
DATE: -� ( � /
7Y70175
•rr EVANSTON PLAN COMMISSION
MINUTES
DRAFT NOT APPROVED
Wednesday, %lay 10, 1989
Room 2404 - 7:30 P.M.
CIVIC CENTER
MEMBERS PRESENT: Belmonte, Breslin, Seidman, Darragh and Marston
XIE,\IBER5 ABSENT: Nevel, Petterson, Prout, Currie and Foster
PRESIDING OFFICIAL: Belmonte, Chair
STAFF: Carter and Lindwall
OTHERS PRESENT: .'%Id. Korshak and Sylvia Jenkins
APPROVAL OF APRIL 12, 1989 MINUTES
%Is. Marston moved approval of the April 12, 1989 minutes. Seconded by Ms. Seidman. %lotion
passed. No nays.
CAPITAL IMPROVEMENT PROGRAM
,%!s. Lindwall reminded Commission members of the series of meetings they had held on the
Capital Improvement Program earlier in the ,year with the former Dirt --tor of Public %� Orks, the
City %tanager, and various department heads. These meetings were in preparation for the
review and revisions to the policy section of the Capital Improvements Program. She stated
that the Plan Commission had been active in developing the last set Af ;policies contained in the
present program. These policies and objectives help set the context for that program. %is.
Lindwall called attention to a draft of revised policies and objectives t0 be considered for the
next round of improvements. She stressed the importance for perm ,:iralh reassessing these
policies to deal with completions and new ideas. She noted that rr, rr, -)f t`ie original policies
and objectives had not changed, however. •%rnonQ the ne�.v t+ F- next Capital
Improvements Program must deal with is the problem of -_jnderr-=-lnd storage tanks. the
regulations and the substantial potential expenditures to deal with tl- .- removal, tither policy
statements had been revised to reflect a change in staters, as for the transportation
center which has now moved into design and should be under .on5trur*.,- ,n the near terr^.
Chairn-idn f�elrn-onte asked ahout the exclusion of the Iss+lt' )nrF —.'z ':nca%eh a1:r'\ s. S's.
Lind�%all reep,,nr!erl that there has been no chanFf� :n tri,, r-:r-ent �f .a.. t!t �e ill•°'.5
)niti ',% ;re-i3O assessment ��or i h� oroperty okk nv7s.
ir)vetitrnent in pavtnit the :rnpaver, illevs would he staggerlmp.
A new police on pithlic art was to be included as a result of a rler :-~ ent 'read re%;eu of a
policy statement. A recommendation from the arts Counrrl uoitir ! F ::nQ to the Pla-ning and
Developrnent Committee on a program for p+tblic art rn the ne- •.keeks. `,,airman
fzelrnonte felt that the new Capital Improvements f rograrn otrv,ht to -• ,can ,i shtft in e-' phasis
In nett' construction to maintenance and discussers the neod for 3 :' i" 'r ate,- ma:"-ttmanre
plan. Yr. Darragh asked why there ,vas more of an ornphasrs on ,rnrT,endations
versus specific areas such as P,) nto%,%n. Pese,ar�-h Parma sand lout' r :atrial area. He
thmight some of these areas should be highlighted. He sr}1*,gested =-r:•I :� I�vIrage such as
T'�akt, capitaf Prprotrealize ernents to he?p the full econorrzir potential of
_ Pesearrh Park." He suggested making some of the policies a little " ,- snt-,fv- as to their
geographv such as a DowntoAn site for the new librarn.
Evanston Plan Commission
Minutes -May fQ, 1989
Page Two
In response to a question from Ms. Seidman on the frequency with which policy should be
reviewed, his. Lindwall suggested every four to five years.
k1s. Marston asked if there would be anything about funding sources in the policy such as
encouraging more use of CD dollars. It was pointed out that there were many other competing
needs for Cn dollars and that it was a declining source of revenue. Compared to other
resources it was a relatively minor one. A major source of funding were General Obligation
Bonds, sewer fund, water revenues from the Northwest Water Commission, motor fuel tax and a
small amount from the general fund. Vr. Darragh suggested that the policy of the City be to
leverage there funds to the extent possible and make leveraging a priority for funding.
Ntr. Carter asked whether privatization ought to be explored as an alternative funding
mechanism. Ald. Korshak commented on the auestion of privatization and requested that
guidelines as to the elements which should be present in privatization would be more helpful to
the Council in their consideration of whether to undertake privatization of a particular City
function or structure. He mentioned two suggestions which had been brought to the Council
earlier, one on garbage collection and the other on the Downtown garage. How was the public
interest protected when the City goes to privatization' He asked the Commission to come up
with ideas which would cause the Council to think in different ways about privatization to help
them analyze as to what element should be present in any program.
Vs. Lindwall pointed out some of the elerents of the Capital Improvement Program that are
largely unchanging and will be included at any program for years to come. She noted such things
as street resurfacing, maintenance items to public buildings, par; irrprovernents and others
which were previously funded with general revenue sharing. %t ith thss source evaporated and
insufficient funds in the general fund, the slack has been taken --ip •.vith general obligation
bonds. Some exploration ought to be conducted as to the feasibility )! settine uo a special fund
for these items.
\tr. Carter asked what the current schedule was in the development of the Capital
Improvements Program. He asked when the Commission would see a rorrpleted document and
what their roll would be. Would they be appearing before a,5 Pkt t--: —ake recommendations'
Vs. Lindwall responded that the draft program will be reviewed b,, : e C:tv N'anag«rr with his
department heads over the next three weeks, a new draft will be ;r response to this
review and sent to the ,A&P\V Committee in mid -June. The C-__:tte� then revre^.vs the
document before going to the Council sometime in J+rly. T1,v P!1- ;r --;c ,kou!c be to
Iool•. at the plan and projects, offer comment or endorse certasr . s, :.)ok at Policy and
comment on context and perhaps make recommendations on po i-:es. `,te -right want to
comment on ideas on leveraging and privatization, etc, Vs. orrrrented that the
biggest issue will me financing for the library.
k'r. Darragh asked hnu the Capital IrnQr,),,emenr Program relates
Plan Fle felt 3 ro-lationshlp 5hr odd be estahllshed tet,.ket-n tt)O• k
and the Cor-orr'hensitie flan. It %kas oncurreC that there \%as ?--one In
the next month, Chairman rtelmonte agreed to set tip a sr* a: ')rr Ittee TQ 'c�vel0p
comment on the Capital Improvement Program to be hrmight hack :. "^ t7lot-mussior, their
'une meeting. %%embers of the Committee would con5lst of Chair••- -elrronte, Nor. "�arragh
and V r. Currie.
DOu'NTOWN PLAN
Chairnian Relrnonte commented that after ha%ing seen the plan irk.-- ."c' ple is over
the last vear, he thought it was a great document kkhich puller! t1o, '--. A.• .•, ,n�� t�,at had
.,
M
hot-n talked
about in the Downtokk•n for some Arne.
He thought It
ent €r •-euor'.,
for not only
the work of the flan Commission, but
that of the 7-cr.-r.
is=son, F',"C. ,!)e
Charnher of
Commerce and others. He called for anv
comments -. -.�
.;rjrs ;n the :,.an ancY -
stated that
the next step would be to start
to develop
r its
recommendations
out to the community.
. Evanston Plan Commission
Minutes - May 10, 1989
Page Three
Ms. klarston commented that a table of contents was needed and felt the graphics were
excellent. Chairman Belmonte commented that Mr. Nevel asked that an executive summary be
prepared, a number of minor editorial changes were suggested and noted.
Mr. Carter suggested that Commission members mark their copies of the Downtown Plan as to
any errors, comments or questions of language and submit those to the Planning Department
before the Memorial Day weekend so that they could be included in the final draft of the Plan
which will come to the Commission for its June meeting. He asked Commission members for a
response on their sense of completion, organization and overall tone of the Plan. He noted that
the Downtown Plan was a long document and as part of the Commission's mission in taking it to
other agencies. they will need to identify_ for themselves what the really major points of the
Downtown Plan are. In a plan which is as comprehensive as this one it is important to be highly
focused on main points when presenting it. to others. He asked each member to select what they
felt were the foremost important points of the plan by the June meeting to help organize the
presentation phase of the plan. He stated that it was a difficult job in vriting the plan and it
would be a different kind of challenge in presenting it.
Ms. Seidman suggested a presentational be prepared along the lines of the earlier presentation
when the Commission went to various other bodies in advance of develor)ing the plan. Mr.
Darragh thought it ought to be a slide show with a script to be consistent from group to group.
Chairman Belmonte announced the formation of a presentation subcommittee and asked Amy
Seidman, Bill \evel and Alex Darragh to join with him on this Committee. He noted that the
'Zoning Commission was at a crucial point and beginning to develop their recommendations and
that they should be one of the earliest groups for the presentation rmrrnittee to meet. He also
mentioned the Citv Chamber Committee and the Economic Developm<•nt Committee task force
on the Central Business District.
Vr. Blue commented that he found. as a new member not familiar 'pith the process, the
Downtown Plan easy to read and that it flowed very well. He also felt that it needed an
executive summary as well as captions on graphics. He felt that this summary should be
removable and be able to stand on its own. He felt that a number of the issues and needs found
at the back ought to be summarized in the front of the document. Vr. 13-b3e also felt that the
emphasis upon cooperation and the mention o; all of the actors to derision making on
the Downtown ought to appear earlier in the dor-1-iment. lit' t`e"14'^t '.* 'Aoi71d tie he!pf=ll to
mention earlier who these parties are and what we are looking for `ror- them. He tho,iLht this
would help involve these parties as they read thought the plan.
13r. Darragh commenters that cooperation, communication, and rorr!'itrrent of the various
actors should 'De mentioned early in the %ision statement. Yr. Piue `•-!t that the c"•art '.s•hich
indicated which organization was responsible for ',hat a=,tinns �s t'r :.3lly h,=._'..,I. Vs.
:tarston rorrrnonted that she a ould like to ties' l Plan f )r ''r 1:3�'••. _ j�I,r•� A ^.. ' tlotalC
inr!ucse the 1-vanston f the \e,.k tier -tno .-ihle t
access3hle to the public than the comprehensr•.e plan te,:attso :t
Vr. Blue suggested that it might he helpful to have a somewhat f=�r--,at for cash of the
different groups depending upon their interest and what the Dian -ails `. r t`To t;o.
%Jr. Carter rei)ortec'. that Vr, level stggested that we h a%e .. ~ cc-ting �r fina?
co=r'rrents On the [)Ian and �'r. Carter 5U9gt`Ste0 that ill oditorla: - ' ^ nr.ts ')N Sur`^•itted in
writine prior to tl at meeting. He expresser the hope that the rre*?!i• i �t• (4e\r(1rc to the
•nain Doints of the Downtown Plan. Prior to the next regular rteti�'L "_ Plar to--! 3ssion.
it ti%,is agreec that the subromrrtttee wntsle 7110et and develop ,i :- It.
Evanston Plan Commission
kiinutes - Vay 10, 1989
Page Four
k1s. klarston asked what the sequence would be in the presentations. Mr. Carter indicated that
the Council should receive the plan early, but that other groups like the zoning Commission,
which is the process of formulating recommendations, may need to hear particular
recommendations first. The Council presentation ought to be the earliest one dealing with the
complete plan. Mr. Darragh suggested that the Committee set a goal of coming back to the
Plan Commission at the June meeting with their idea of what the presentation format should be
like. This in turn would focus the discussion.
COMMITTEE REPORTS
Mr. Carter reported briefly on the Custer Project and the difficulties --vith the Illinois
Environmental Protection ,agency concerning the small fuel oil tank found on the property and
the extraordinary measures required by that agency to deal with the matter. He stated that
part of the difficulty was there was new legislation, new personnel and some confusion as to just
how to meet their reouirements. He hoped that all problems would be resolved within the next
two weeks with additional testing and that the schedule for developr-ent for the site would not
ye serioLsly affected. There was discussion of the implication of V15 process for other Citv
projects and whether what has been learned from this exercise can be applied to expedite
matters on other sites. The question was raised as to whether our state reDresentatives should
be asked to intervene.
%1r. Carter reported that there was progress on the work of the Special ljf,n ,=ommittce in that
the Planning and Development Committee had agreed with their -*-alor r,-eommendations and
had asked that these be brought back to them individual[v with w` at,�V r xas required in the
wav of ordinances or resolutions. He reported excellent cooperation !-,Dr,, re Traffic Engineer,
the Parks Department and the Committee members themselves ,a',a will -assist in developing
some sketches of appropriate entrance signs in landscape settings. T,ao cer-onstration sites are
recommended, one at South Boulevard and Sheridan Road and the other at Dempster Street. It
is anticipated that these would be done in the fall. in the interim 11r. Carter felt they would get
permission to remove some of the excess signage at the entrances.
1'eeting adjourned approximately `t:45
S T.' F F: l�� *�Ytl 7 Jz,—
DA TE:
7) 76/86
EVANSTON PLAN COMMISSION
MINUTES
DRAFT NOT APPROVED
Wednesday, June 14, 1989
Room 2404 - 7:30 P.M.
MEMBERS PRESENT:
ASSOCIATE MEMBERS PRESENT:
MEMBERS ABSENT:
PRESIDING OFFICIAL:
STAFF:
OTHERS PRESENT:
PLANNED DEVELOPMENT REVIEW
CIVIC CENTER
Belmonte, Prout, Nevel, Marston, and Foster
Darragh and Blue
Currie, Seidman, Petterson and Breslin
Belmonte
Carter
Mr. Hove and tor. Anderson of Optima and members
of the general public.
Chairman Belmonte introduced the developers from Optima and asked them to make their
presentation in response to the criteria for evaluating planned development proposals against
the policies of the Comprehensive General Plan. Mr. Hove explained the development scheme
as one of a mixture of townhomes and condos on a 5.2 acre site. It consists of four buildings
including a three story apartment with 29 condominium units, a two and three story building
with 20 townhomes, a four story building containing 52 condominium units and a two and three
story building containing 22 units. The design intent was to create an interior garden space of
approximately 2 acres including a pond and outdoor/indoor pool. Post of the parking for the
project would be below grade with 18 visitor spaces in a surface lot. Tre exterior of the site
would be heavily landscaped. He described the underground parkin¢ arrangement, the stairwav
access to each unit and the elevator access to the apartment buildi--s. :: access to harking is
on the interior. Access to the site off Harrison and Gross Point Roac are at the same points as
the current development. %Ir. Hove described the setting as a courtyard arrangement around a
very lush landscaped setting. He stated that by mixing the building l^.eikhts, the block -like
appearances of long frontages would be broken up. He described the room tavout and
composition of the dii "rent apartments and townhouses. He s~c,.;ed the Corn- fission a
landscape plan which detailed existing as well as proposed plantings. notec :-at their
development saved a line of -nature trees along Crawford ,a eriw -c-l1,:cing sac. from
the required 27 feet to �? feet. He noted that there would also be _ ,tp '_cee oia--ted along
the perimeter plus four to five inch shade trees and ornamentals. "e xA-t Dn to ce_c-ibe the
individual terrace gardens on the interior of the site. Mr. Hove shore^ `o-7misslon me^rbers an
aerial perspective sketch of the development illustrating the-e.ationship bet,»een the
landscaping and the buildings themselves.
Vr. Nevel asked whether the staff had conducted a review of this ;D-_ --t zrc x^.at the.- opinion
was. Iir. Carter responded that the Site Plan Review Comwittee "a- the er:'ect and
approved it from their perspective. Staff had made a number of c--- � r- , .articula-.\ about
the construction of a wall, and that the developers had responded h•. _ ,rdscaoinz .nstead.
He stated that staff had reviewed the traffic flow, parking, and T-ev were
particularly pleased to see the parking would be underground. Staff `.a.t '-.ram the stancpbint of
site plan the project was well done. They had no authority to cc---"e.^.: -,r, architecture or
materials.
Plan commission
Minutes - June 14, 1989
Page Two
Mr. Nevel asked if there was any concern about the possibility of the eastern most building
along Crawford creating a wall-like appearance. Mr. Carter responded that there had been no
comment. In response to a question from Mr. Prout, Mr. Hove explained how the pond would
assist in storm water retention for the site which would be an improvement over the present
conditions.
Chairman Belmonte asked to see an elevation of the buildings used in the project. Mr. Hove
produced a drawing of the townhomes along the Harrison Street frontage and demonstrated how
there was a step used to break up the facade. Materials used would be limestone with one foot
joints on center.
In response to a question from Mr. Darragh, Mr. Hove indicated that the price range of the
townhomes would be from $180,000 to $230,000 depending on size. He went on to explain that
the project would use a variety of units to respond to a variety of family needs. He expected
few children and anticipated that the project would attract both "empty nesters" and ,young
professionals. He went on to explain some of the amenities of the project including an exercise
room and an indoor/outdoor pool. He explained that all condos would have separate utilities. In
response to a question about parking, Mr. Hove indicated that the amount of parking provided
for the 123 units far exceeds the requirements of the zoning ordinance. Their project provides
235 spaces. \'r. Hove went back to Clarify a point on the cost of the units indicating that the
condominiums would go from $60,000 to $1 30,000 a unit.
Chairman Belmonte explained the Plan Commission's role, as stipulated in the zoning ordinance,
was to review the planned development and see if it met the intent and purposes for a planned
development as defined in the zoning ordinance and to comment upon how the proposed uses and
development are compatible with and implement the planning goals and objectives of the City as
contained in the General Comprehensive General Plan. The developer was asked to respond to
the ten specific items mentioned in the planned development ordinance. Chairman Belmonte
noted from his review of the materials submitted by the developer that the proposed planned
development did comply with both Section 6-12-8-6 (,A) in that it complied with the underlying
zoning districts and that the requested allowances conformed to those allowed. He felt that the
project also met the requirements of Section 6-12-8-6 (B) and asked for any comment from Plan
Commission members. He then asked the developer to proceed with his presentation,
Mr. Tim .Anderson of Optima proceeded to address the compatibility wan the planning goals and
objectives of the Comprehensive General Plan.
1) Under land use policy, he noted that the site is currently designated for office use,
but cited language in the Comprehensive Plan that stated "there are areas with a mix
of uses that may be the focus of adaptive reuse or redeve!oflment in the future. Such
areas could be redeveloped in a number of different s Depending L:Don the
economic climate and market forces at the time." He nc :'e project had been on
the market for over three years and that the owner was .ratle to attract an office
use for the building. .All inquiries for redevelopment had teen either for residential or
storage. He felt their market research confirmed the test use for the site was a
residential redevelopment and noted that there was a strong_ need for additional
housing in Evanston.
2) 1_nder land use intensity, the developer stated that the T7er of dwelling units
requested in the planned development represented an .7f 11.8°; over the
number allowed under straight zoning. This increase, howe\,e', ..as A ithin the allowed
Plan commission
Minutes - June 14, 1989
Page Three
range for a planned development and would not have an adverse Impact on the
neighborhood in terms of traffic, parking, and public services. The height, bulk and
scale of the project is similar to other residential projects in the area. He stressed
that the project created a substantial open space resource so 3.8 acres and that the
proposed building and lot coverage are actually less than the existing use. He also
mentioned the amenity of the underground parking which reduced the amount of
surface paving.
3) Under Housing Goals, Mr. Anderson noted that the development would help supply a
mix of housing types, including condominiums and townhomes ranging in price from
$57,000 to $230,000. He felt this price structure would be attractive to a broad range
of residents. He felt the mix of housing was superior to targeting for a single
economic range of family type. He went on to detail how the project would appeal to
elderly residents, empty nesters and working couples.
4) On the question of preservation, there were no preservation issues.
5) Under Population, he noted there was a strong need for housing in the Evanston
market and that the project helped address those needs. The number of people added
to the neighborhood with the completion of this project would not adversely impact
public services and offered an potential increase for business in a local service -type
establishments.
b) Under Traffic Impact and Parking, Mr. Anderson noted a traffic report prepared by
their consultant and concurred in by the City Traffic Engineer that the proposed land
use on the site would generate significantly less traffic than the current use. He
explained the site was bounded by three major streets which could easily handle any
traffic generated by the project. He noted that surface parking areas had been
screened and landscaped and that approximately 90`.K of the parking was located in an
underground garage. There would be less surface parking visible in the project than
there is with the current use.
7) Under the impact on Public Services, the developer stated that there would be no
adverse effect requiring additional police and fire service or additions to the City's
infrastructure.
The impact on schools is estimated negligible. The developer cited similar projects
that they had been involved in in which 5% of the residents have school age children.
He noted that the impact on streets would also be neE.ie:~le since the Droject is
bounded by major streets which are more than adeci_�ate to handle ar ,. traffic
generated from the project, thus requiring no improvements to the street system.
Under the impact on the water and sewer system, he noted that their civil engineers
had consulted with the City Engineer and had determined that the water and sewer
systems serving the site are adequate to handle the proposed project. He ;Lent on to
explain that the amount of hard surface area would be reduced from the present use
and that the proposed project would have a detention `:asin which mould provide
better control of run --off, thus making a significant irrrroenrert over the current
situation.
4) Under established character of the neighborhood, the developer stated that the
proposed project would emphasize the already residential character of the
neighborhood through its residential use and similar scale.
I
Flan commission
Minutes - June 14, 1989
Page Four
9) Under neighborhood planning goals, there have been none stated for the area.
10) Under the conservation of taxable land value, the developer felt that the existing
office building on the site which is 90% vacant was a condition under which it would
be likely for the property owner to seep a reduction in the real estate taxes. These
taxes are currently $335,000 a year. It was estimated that the proposed project will
generate from $430,000 to $480,000 in real estate tax revenues.
Mr. ,Nevel asked if there were any variations being sought in addition to the planned
development and whether any increases being sought were within the range permitted for
planned developments. W. Carter responded that what the developer was requesting was within
the allowances for a planned development. Mr. Anderson affirmed that they were not seeking
any additional variations. Mr. Nevel also asked whether the developer would be bound to the
present scheme should it be approved. Mr. Carter responded that any major changes to the
developer's proposal would require him to go through the entire process over again.
Mr. Belmonte asked if there were any questions from the public. A member of the audience
commented that she had been at the previous public meeting held by the developer at which
meeting the residents expressed their concern with the design of the building and asked if
anything had been changed. She stated that the residents liked the concept but were concerned
about the "factory like" appearance of the building. She said it was difficult to tell from the
sketches whether any real change had been made. Mr. Hove explained that there had been no
changes made in the facade, but with the use of the perspective he hoped to show how the
buildings and landscaping blended together to create an attractive development. He explained
that the use of limestone would soften the appearance of the building and produce different
tones. Rather than a uniform smooth surface, it would also have texture. He also felt that the
shape of the windows would produce a visually rich building. He felt that overall, the warm
tones of the limestone. the white windows and the green trees would produce a pleasant
appearance. There followed a general discussion of the amount of glass being used in the
project with Mr. Hove stressing that there was a market demand for larger rather than smaller
windows. People are preferring more natural light in their surroundings. In the direction of
architecture today, people want to see a great deal of light and open space. He stated that
these were features that todays buyers were insisting upon.
A member of the audience brought up a question concerning the status of the buildings on the
north end of the site along Crawford. It was explained that these buildings were not part of the
project, that they would remain. Another resident living directly across the street from the
proposed three story condominium along Crawford raised concerns about the height of that
building. Vr. Hove explained that that although the building was three stories in height. it was
actually lower than a number of two-story buildings in the general area. The builair.Zs actual
height was only 24 feet. whereas the zoning ordinance allowed as rr.r- as '_15 feet for even a
single family home. He also explained that the structure had been set �ack 48 feet as opposed
to the 27 feet required by the zoning ordinance. These factors wouic mitigate against any
impression of excess height.
A resident living across the street from the condominium on Crawforc stated that the greatest
objection was to the design of the buildings and the arrangement in a •x-all like appearance. She
did not like the use of limestone or glass. Chairman Belmonte ccr—ented that,rightly or
wrongly, the planned development ordinance did not serve as appearance cede and could not
address facade design or rnaterials. Yr. Hove responded that he the _rnt the development as
planned was an attractive alternative to other possibilities which cou.c ,nc)uCe structures built
closer to the street and uses such as a shopping center or office cor -- ex. He felt that their
low, well landscaped, well set back development would be attractive.
Plan Commission
Minutes - June 14, 1989
Page Five
A resident of the area observed that this was the first development of this scale and type in
Evanston and asked whether staff had evaluated similar ones in other communities. Mr. Carter
responded that the staff had not done a comparative study but felt confident that the impact on
the community in terms of traffic, schools, population, would not be unpleasant or significant.
He felt that based upon the professional experience of a variety of staff members who reviewed
the project, there do not appear to be any serious problems. Chairman Belmonte commented on
the potential impact of other alternatives being greater than the residential one being proposed.
One of the neighbors brought up the question why they felt so few children would be attracted
to the project. The developers response was that their opinion was based upon their experience
with similar developments in other suburban communities. He conceded that they would have
younger families with preschool children, but anticipated that most of these would "trade up" to
single family homes as their children approached school age.
A representative of the Unity Church which is directly across the street from the proposed
project pointed out that his church had an arrangement to use the present parking lot for their
church overflow of about 60 cars. He asked where that overflow would go if this project were
constructed? Chairman Belmonte that this was a problem common throughout Evanston and
that he had no ready answer for it. Nor did he feel that it was one that the developer could
resolve for the church.
In response to a question concerning the height of a planting hedge on the perimeter of the site,
the response was that they intended to establish a height of about 6 feet. In response to another
question about the kind of turnover expected among the units, the developer felt it would be
fairly stable and anticipated about five years for those who would be interested in "trading up"
for single family homes. In response to a question about the possibility of a depressed housing
market and/or increased interest rates, the developer responded that they had built in financial
contingencies to help buyers.
Chairman Belmonte called for any further comments, hearing none, he called for a motion on
the proposed planned development with regard to it meeting the intent anc purposes of the
planned development ordinance and standards for conformance with the Comprehensive General
Plan. Mr. Nevel commented that from the testimony given this evening that the project seemed
to be in conformance with the intent and purpose of a planned development ordinance and being
in conformance with the Comprehensive General Plan. He therefore moved that the Plan
Commission approve the project. Seconded by %larston. Motion passed. No Nays.
APPROVAL OF MINUTES FOR THE MAY 10TH, 1989 MEETING
%1r. Darragh moved approval of the minutes as written. Seconcrr VS. Varstor. Motion
passed. No nays.
REVIEW OF THE DOWNTOWN PLAN EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
Chairman Belmonte called Plan Commission members attention to the Downtown Plan
Executive Summary document which was sent to them earlier and askeC for ary comments. 1!r.
Carter indicated he was particularly interested in anv comments frorr t`"�e ne�%-er Plan
Commission members since they would be bringing a fresh perspec:i'.- t,� '-e Plan. %'r. Blue
commented that he felt the Executive Summary was still a bit too :o7e am -r. 7e t;k,tened.
He also thought that the introductory sentence on the fourth parav-,e� kn,� -.n negat;ve and
needed to be changed. \!r. \evel commented that there were a -jr, ber ' places where
recommendations were phrased with "could be" or might or may arc that (—'se s^ould be
changed to be made more affirmative.
Plan Commission
Minutes - June 14, 1989
Page Six
Mr. Darragh commented on the paragraph dealing with "human scale" and observed that it was
not nearly as definitive as the other recommendations. He felt that this was one of the more
important sections of recommendations in the Downtown Plan and that it needed to be
strengthened. Mr. Carter commented that the Commission had yet to more crisply define the
problem around scale and that this was reflected in the text of that section. The focus of the
Commission study had been on such things as maintaining the retail core and some of the
character -giving qualities of the Downtown but now needed to articulate their position on just
where and how much development they would allow.
How to define human scale and how to define how much development would be encouraged is the
next task if the Commission is to present their view effectively on balanced development. Mr.
Darragh suggested that we use these questions to help frame the debate on human scale in the
Downtown. Mr. Carter suggested that the Commission take the next month to more carefully
articulate their position and noted that they were already suffering from some misunderstanding
by others. He felt it was important for the Commission to indicate that they were in favor of
further development, but just under a different set of rules. He observed how development had
taken place in a different form than that theorized for Downtown development in the early
sixties. The present zoning patterns did not match either present reality or future desirability.
The old pattern called for a wedding cake type of arrangement as far as height was concerned
with the taller buildings in the center of the Downtown gradually stepping down to the outside.
The present profile is one more like a volcanic crater with the higher buildings rimming a low
center. The low center is the retail core which needs to be preserved.
Chairman Belmonte felt that the text should go back to Committee for further work, but in the
meantime ask Commission members for their thoughts on human scale. He asked from what
perspective human scale ought to be defined. Mr. Darragh went on to elaborate on different
ways in which scale might be defined both in perspective of the shopper and in the idea of
preserving character -giving architecture. As part of this the Commission should indicate where
new redevelopment should be encouraged as well as discouraged. Vr. Carter felt it was
important for the Plan Commission not to be labeled "anti -development" simply because they
had failed to articulate the circumstances under which they favored further development. He
felt that as part of the argument it was going to be important for the Commission to get people
to shift their perspectives on the physical realities of the Downtown as well as the economic
realities.
Mr. Prout suggested that the misconceptions about the Plan Commission's position on Downtown
development ought to be treated item by item as part of a preamble. He also suggested that
they look at the term "human scale" and see if it is too ambiguous to ne used and a substitute
developed. %lr. Carter commented he did not want to see the pedestrian reference left out
entirely, but that idea could be worked in under a different heading -h mie''t :�e Fearer to
most readers. He commented on the planning "disaster" in Atlanta new 5•.:iicink5 totally_
isolate themselves from the street and pedestrian traffic.
Vr. Prout commented on the relevancy of the Economic Development--ommittee's response to
the Zoning Commission's policy document which they saw as "freezing" �!owntown development.
He felt it was important to convey that this was not the intent of tt�e P!an Commission. %Ir.
Carter stated this is why the Commission needed to define their positso^ very clearly. Vr. Blue
commented that pedestrian scale did not preclude large buildings ne-5sarfly. it depended on
how the first level interfaced with pedestrians. He felt it was impor- to separate ourselves
from the idea that human scale means no economic growth. There foll..A,�, further discussion
Plan Commission
Minutes - June 14, 1989
Page Seven
on the point that a Downtown with character -giving architecture was an economic asset and the
faulty notion that just because there were low-rise buildings In the Downtown that these ought
to be the target for redevelopment. Mr. Carter reminded Commission members how the
developer, Richard Stein, concurred with the Plan Commission's position that preserving the
character -giving qualities of the Downtown was economically wise. Ms. Marston pointed out
that decisions are going to be made parcel by parcel and incrementally in spite of having an
overall Downtown plan. This makes u. tg planned development even more important.
It was agreed to refer the Executive Summary back to the Downtown Committee for
refinement. Chairman Belmonte announced that the Committee would be bringing a dress
rehearsal presentation on the Downtown Plan to the Commission at its July meeting.
CAPITAL IMPROVEMENTS PROGRAM
Chairman Belmonte read his statement on Capital Improvements prepared to be given to the
Administration and Public Works Committee at the time the new Capital Improvement Program
goes to them for consideration. In response to a question, Chairman Belmonte responded that
the process for approving the new Capital Improvement Program will involve a series of
meetings with the A&PW Committee and that the Commission should be involved. He stated he
would like to see as many Commission members attending these meetings as possible. He
announced the first meeting would be June 26.
Mr. Darragh thought that some mention ought to be made of the Plan Commission's intention of
reviewing the Capital Improvements in the fall against the Comprehensive General Plan.
Chairman Belmonte agreed to incorporate this into his statement. Mr. Darragh also mentioned
the policy statements and objectives contained in the first part of the CIP and asked if the Plan
Commission was endorsing those. ,'fir. Carter pointed out that these had been discussed at the
previous meeting but no motion had been taken. Motion was made to approve Chairman
Belmonte's statement as amended as well as the policies for the Capital Improvement Program
reviewed at the last meeting. Motion passed. No nays. This statement would be forwarded to
the A&PW Committee for their next meeting.
RESPONSE TO THE ZONING COMMISSION'S POLICY DOCUMENT
Chairman Belmonte called Commission member's attention to a memo prepared by the Planning
Director for Commission's review and response. He noted that the Zoning Commission would be
meeting on June 19 and felt it was important to get a statement to them by that time.
Chairman Belmonte felt the memo summarized the Plan Commission's discussion and reflected
the Commission's position as contained in the Downtown Plan. He asked for any accitions or
corrections to the memo. 1'r. Foster asked for some clarification o-- '^e 5taterrent Trace about
institutional uses in the response of the Economic Development -, --mLttee. Since no one
present had attended that meeting, there was uncertainty as to u r,at it meant. Mr. Carter
suggested that he call Tim Clarke for clarification. Mr. Carter quicti?y summarized the major
points in the memo and stressed that it was important to tell the consultant and the Zoning
Commission when the Plan Commission feels that they are on the riz`t track as well as offer
critical comment on technical points. He stressed that it was i.--nortant for the =ooing
Commission to look at the "geography" of some of their decisions. -ot Tust the words. Too
often, zoning decisions have been based on language which bears rele,.ance to the local
geography or distribution of uses. :Mr. Vevel felt the statement reflec: t^e P!an Commission's
position, and asked to see at least one statement on the Downtown.
Plan Commission
Minutes - 0une 14, 1989
Page Eight
Mr. Blue brought up the question about a recommendation for establishing some form of
appearance review. He noted that such a review might have been helpful for the planned
development reviewed by the Plan Commission that evening. Mr. Carter commented that the
Plan Commission in the past had been very supportive of some form of design or appearance
review, but were not attempting to combine that with a new zoning ordinance. it had been felt
that these two ideas, a new zoning ordinance and design review, were large and controversial
items which needed to be handled separately. Mr. Darragh pointed out that there was a long
educational process required to create both support and understanding for appearance review.
Commission members discussed the recommendation for protecting industrially zoned land from
non -industrial uses.
Chairman Belmonte asked that a small subcommittee be formed to -handle responses to the
Zoning Commission on particular issues. Motion was made to approve the memo by Mr. Carter
form a subcommittee to continue a dialogue with the Zoning Commission on certain issues.
Motion passed. No nays.
COMMITTEE REPORTS
Mr. Carter reported that they were very close to a closing on the Custer Property and expected
to transfer the property within about one week. He elaborated on some of the environmental
problems and implications for other projects in the City. He suggested that some sort of
ceremony be conducted at the appropriate time to commemorate this important project.
Meeting adjourned approximately 10:00 p.m.
STAFF:
DATE:
7 Y58/65
-;' EVANSTON PLAN COMMISSION
MINUTES
Wednesday, August 9, 1989
Room 2403 - 7:30 P.M.
CIVIC CENTER
MEMBERS PRESENT: Belmonte, Breslin, Currie, Petterson, Seidman and Foster
ASSOCIATE MEMBERS PRESENT: Blue
,MEMBERS ABSENT: Darragh, Nevel, .Marston, and Prout
PRESIDING OFFICIAL: Belmonte, Chair
STAFF: Carter
APPROVAL OF JUNE I4, 1989 MINUTES
Mr. Petterson moved approval of the June 14, 1989 minutes as written. Seconded by Mr.
--� Currie. Motion passed. No nays.
I•rr
DOWNTOWN PLAN COMMITTEE PRESENTATION
Chairman Belmonte reviewed the work and recommendations of the Dowrtoxn Presentation
Committee stating that we were now ready to go before the City Council. He expressed the
hope that the Commission could go before the City Council some evening uefore their regular
meeting begins at 9:00 p.m, introduce them to the plan and get it referrec t , the Planning and
[development Committee for a more thorough review. Chairma.r, .L-otild make a
general presentation on the plan as well as brief the Council on the ano issues which
led up to the recommendations. He would then make a recommendation Or at the disposition
of the plan might to be subsequent to the presentation. He felt th(- bc,st to consider
the plan in rnore detail wotild be the Planning and Development Cor wattle '.
The Presentation Committee looked at a number of alternatives in i , :; r .s�• ',f ti isuals and
charts, but eventually derider' that a rT,nro informal approach kkm,;,• .:r.I•. wto 0;e
recommendations of the plan. it .kas the intent of the presr•tet,i_ :' Appetite u:
Council inembers to dig 3 little deeper into the plan itself. Council r :.:r also recer,,e
an executive summary and a one -page outline of some of the rri,i-. rec----er,dations. The
Presentation Committee had developed a rough outline and Chair' -air nelmonte had
subsequently expanded upon the sections within that outline. The (':ts3r"a.— t`.en proceeded to
make the presentation he intended to give to the Council.
Evanston Plan Commission
Minutes - August 9, 1989
Page Two
Chairman Belmonte stated that the work in earnest on the Downtown Plan began approximately
two years ago and it became a natural outgrowth of the Comprehensive General Plan. He
described the process which the Plan Commission undertook as tedious in nature because no
stone was left unturned in the thoroughness of their investigations. Their work began with an
exercise in which the Commission attempted to define all the various issues that face the
Downtown and its future development. The first exercise which the Commission undertook to
define the Downtown itself was a demonstration of just how diverse opinions would be on any
topic related to the Downtown. Commission members moved beyond their organization and
began to discuss early in the planning process various issues with different groups concerned
about the Downtown. One uniform theme immerged from the Commission's efforts and that
was an underlying appreciation of just how dynamic the Downtown was. There is nothing static
about it, it is constantly changing and necessarily so. In its work, the Commission gathered a
variety of information and data to help set the context for their work. The hard data can be
found in the appendix and it was purposely separated from the narrative on ideas and issues so as
to keep the Flan more readable. Throughout the process, the Commission maintained
communication with the various decision makers on the Downtown so as not to operate in a
vacuum.
Chairman Pelmonte went on to explain that the document was structilred so as to provide a
history of the Downtown in patterns that are traceable so that we can learn from the history of
its development. He emphasized how much the Plan Commission learners in the process and how
anyone who reads the Plan will learn as well. One of the key lessons '.vas that the Downtown
was not so bad off, that there was too much negative rhetoric about 1.tit,at was wrong with
Downtown and not enough of the positives emphasized. The Comrr.ission learned that the
Downtown was very resilient, especially compared to many other do'J.'nto•. ns of similar size.
They also learned that the development was a layering process, not one which occurred
overnight. Further, change was largely a function of the marketplace, but also strongly
influenced by public policy. One of the things the Commission learned 'xas that our Downtown
serves as a downtown for some the adjacent Chicago neighborhoods as %vell. He mentioned
examples of the decision to have a research park, treatment of the De,.v.^.town sidewalks and
tight control of fast food restaurants as policy decisions influencing deNelopnTent. He also
mentioned how zoning policies had influenced the development of r--aior buildings in the
Downtown. the Commission learned that there were many paradoxes '.;ith the Downtown,
arTiOrlt; th(.,mi the appart-'nt conflict but'.A- n its wi enitics and ecorotiir e'•' upn"efit. Although
stated as a conflict, it does not have to Le one. It was learned that Dcwr town is Evanston's
economic base as well as haying the community's best potential for futl_�re krowth of that base.
One of the main foals of the Plan is to stye that the 1owntown maintains its strength and
diversity of services as well as its phvsical attra(71iveness. The erercmj.c gro,.rth of the
Downtown will continue to he rrar'Net driven and influenced pritnarik b% tie �rivate sector. The
Commissinn i, I(,)okinr; t- se -N a pIaver-, to P'Uidt' tI:jlt groutsin' 1,_C.r; ;`" ( h,irT'her and
1=Vmarn Io t•rC"tlr,3j' .:r::111� ! ;trl',tltC 1f',0StR Of)t it "I I!)e P("'k'A "+' .. :i' T'w
public- sector v.ill riet— t(.' i.c'ii` rv',tc' an ➢n%itinl' en�irowr tilt for cr2%' 7i _rr' is ,i •reed
to continue to focus on the streamlining of our development proceciuros -cc�,ulations as, well
as to create a more user friendly zoning ordinance. Chairman l3elrnonte ris ussed the need to
maintain some form of human scale which keeps a strong pedestrian oricr t tion and sustains the
physical amenities of downtown.
Evanston Plan Commission
Minutes - August 9, 1989
Page Three
Human scale is what gives the Downtown the character which we frequently talk about but find
difficulty in defining. He noted that it was the livable environment that attracts shoppers,
businesses and residents to the Downtown and the need to focus on ways to maintain that
environment. There needs to be diligence in maintaining private property as well as the public
areas. He briefly reviewed the necessity for a circulation system that works and recognizes the
links between such uses as the university and the research park. The Downtown should continue
to be seen as a people place with efforts made to encourage more activity. The final point
which Chairman Belmonte summarized was the need to establish a cooperative spirit and energy
that will enable us to realize our vision for the Downtown. He felt that this was the missing
element in an effective program to maintain the economic health of the Downtown. He felt it
was most important to identify and encourage leadership in the public and private sector to
create this cooperate spirit. In conclusion Chairman Belmonte emphasized that there was a
need to "celebrate the Downtown". There had been entirely too much negativity that has not
been supported in the two-year study of the Plan Commission. The ❑ourltown only needs some
fine tuning and attention.
The next steps include going back to the primary actors in the Downtown and present the issues
and plan. The Commission will be asking that the City Council refer the Plan to the Planning
and Development Committee where some ongoing dialogue can be established on the Plan's
recommendations. The Commission will be asking that the City sponsor a forum to review the
Plan and to plot is implementation. He stressed the importance of finding the leadership in the
Council and in the business community to solidify the efforts on behalf of the Downtown.
Mr. Petterson asked if there has been any major changes in the Plan during its final stages. ,fir.
Carter responded that the Plan's issues and recommendations had largely evolved over a slow
thoughtful process, that there may have been some changes in emphasis but not eery many in
major content. He mentioned that the initial focus was more on problems and not on the
strengths of the Downtown which later became more apparent. The initial focus was on fixing
things rather than in finding out what was right with the Downtown. Ms. Seidrr,rin added that
late in the planning process it was decided to include more physical elements, particularly those
related to design. ,Ms. Seidman pointed out how the Commission learnec from their "man on the
street interviews" just how much the people who were using the Downto,:� n en;oy,.-r, it. She felt
this emphasis needtc' to'`e included earl`' In the Conm ission's disc
Mr. Carter observed that the Plan Commission's recommendations on z, rJng for t'e Downtown
had to be stated yery carefully because it was already a growing perception that the
Commission might be anti -development. He felt it was important for ti,e Comrr.ission to state
that they were pro -development, but thev wanted to see development take plrre in a more
thoughtful context. Mr. carter stated that the Plan i ommission hav< t , ' rlr =:r about their
reasorts for advoratirl- .i re'.t :;,.,irk,, orrfin,)nce and that this uas nrt in a
u'ay t0 hrO[11L)te E;reatcr dCe e rlt. ;`u: TnereIv t0 MakC the 'Ai.r. .'' _ o }t}wr a r I
fairer one for development. Vr. Carter suggested that perhaps onc° taik abolit
the paradox mentioned earlier v.-as to, on the one hand, talk about t`,e areas in a.r,ich the Plan
Commission saw potential for redevelopment while at the same time 'pointing' out those other
areas in which redevelopment ought not to be encouraged because they rake such a positive
contribution to the Downtown. The Commission is trying to take a ba!anrec yiew.
1
Evanston Plan Commission
Minutes - August 9, 1989
Page Four
Mr. Carter emphasized that the desire to keep the character -giving parts of the Downtown was
not solely to preserve them because they were attractive, but to retain them because they
created true economic value. These character -giving buildings gave Downtown something which
helped attract people.
Commission members made some minor suggestions for changes in Chairman Belmonte's
summary of the Plan. It was thought that it would be helpful to specifically compare Evanston
to a number of other cities whose downtowns have totally failed. Mr. Currie questioned whether
the one page summary of main points to the Plan was clear in its purpose. Chairman Belmonte
announced that he would be meeting with the City Manager the following morning to get his
comments on the Plan prior to the presentation to Council.
CONSIDERATION OF RESPONSE TO THE ZONING COMMISSION'S RECOMMENDATIONS ON
THE PLAN COMMISSION'S ROLE IN ZONING
Chairman Belmonte noted that the Commission had discussed expanding their role to cover such
things as zoning amendments and asked Mr. Petterson for his comments as a representative
from the Zoning Commission. Mr. Petterson stated that he favored the Plan Commission
playing a greater role through becoming more involved in the zoning ordinance and its
amendments as a means of helping to implement the Comprehensive Plan. He felt that it was
appropriate for the Plan Commission to accept some of the responsibility for the zoning
function. Mr. Petterson felt that the City had suffered from a disconnection between the
planning process and the zoning process. He acknowledged that there wr)uld be a greater work
load for the Commission as a result.
Chairman Belmonte acknowledged that in previous discussions the biggest issue the Commission
had with tailing on this responsibility was the one of the work load. There had been some
concern that the Commission might not have time to perform their more traditional function of
long range planning,
Mr. Currie raised the question of whether there would be some conflict with the Plan
Commission being involved in day to day planning on major developments and also doing zoning.
Mr. Carter did not see the conflict because Plan Commissions traditionally do both long -anfe
planning and !oning arrendrnents. They are the most logical group to (70 t-,•, zoning amendments
since they have the background in 'iaving developed the plan. He felt that doing variations
would be a conflict. On the other hand, it made sense for the Plan, Con-r-:ssion to be invol-.ed in
such things as planned development and amendments to the zoning ordinance because this was
the way in which the downtown and comprehensive plan would be irrnplerrented as far as lar:c use
is concerned.
In commenting or the f)1ar t on rr,issl )n hancilirlF the sl)t' ial else' furirtl,,r, '.'r. Carter state;, that
the Cornwission had a v' god perspective from which to judge specia: %s; ho,;eter, '.t•as
concerned about the arnount of time such hearings would take from, ire t=ommission's
work program. He questioned whether the Plan Commission would wart t � take on that t.:., in
addition to doing map and text amendments. In the discussion that fnlIc' e' there , as the ')ope
expressed that there would be far less of a work load in doing Mtn-r-7-tints tr, the ::. ^ing
ordinance following the adoption of a ne\> one. In fact, it was that the pr,��:ous
pattern of IT-C(Ille nt anc nrlMerous changes to the : nnWg ordinance, - -t• ; isrn'1ragec .- the
ftit tire. Cornf,Ti5sjon '"embers felt that t shift in Vrspt -tivt' or r:rtl lye's we!.- he
appropriate at this tl`- e and th,it thv% .kould !,c tlll?If1F to por!or"
3ck'ne114'trdfied that t,` v-om.fPISSII)rI r` irht nF F'ri t, ct't i asiorIItII,. "r •4
handle the uoir� Ilia(", G_�:t t�115 '.koi,1(1 1)t' to
Evanston Plan Commission
Minutes - August 9, 1989
Page Five
-v4 !
In response to the question on timing of any change in function of the Plan Commission, Mr.
Carter replied that it would be at least a year away following the completion and adoption of
the new zoning ordinance.
Chairman Belmonte polled the Commission members asking if there was any objection to taking
on the function of amendments to the text and map of the zoning ordinance. There were no
objections. He next asked the Commission members if they had any objection to handling the
task of viewing special uses. Again there were no objections. Chairman Belmonte instructed
Mr. Carter to inform the Zoning Commission of the Plan Commission's position on these two
functions.
CONSIDERATION OF PLAN COMMISSION'S FUTURE WORK PROGRAM
Chairman Belmonte reviewed current projects noting that the Commission was complete on the
Custer Street Project and had also completed the writing of the Downtown Plan. Their next
immediate task was to take the Downtown Plan "on the road" to different organizations which
would have some interest in implementing its recommendations. He stated that the
Comprehensive Plan Committee would be looking at the Committee structure and assignments
for the next year. He briefly reviewed the existing committee structure which consisted "of:
1) The Sign Committee which had been very active in recent months and now
has a very concrete assignment in the way of developing plans for
entranceways to the City. He asked Jean Breslin and Dick Carter to report
back to the Plan Commission on that Committee's progra--• for the year
� ahead.
.r
2) The Green Bay Road Committee is being reactivated to reexamine some
of the earlier recommendations made a few years ago to ermine some of
the changes which have taken place in the Green Bay Road corridor and
develop more definite recommendations for the landscaping of the
embankment. He called for the Committee to take ownersh:a of the Green
Bay Road Plan in the same way that the Custer Street Project was
n,anagec.
3) The Southwest Industrial Area Committee's work has not r�,.ressed very
far because of the uncertainties in developing a specific deal for the
development of that area. He felt that there was a neer for the Plan
Commission to get more specifically involved in whatever ._ ',•.ing place in
that area.
4) The --oring Conirnittee has an ongoing responslhilit) t._ w utth the
Zoning Commission and report back to the Plan Commissior..
5) The Comprehensive Plan Committee will continue to report : the status of
implementing the Comprehensive Plan and serve as a stee .rk committee
fc.r the 'Lill Commission.
Chairman lkelrrorte urged
Commission rnernhers to rcr?stder any n,t�c-
that the
('ntnmis�iun ocigi t to
bo
active in and report hack to him hef'-r•
neXt Plan
( nn,rnission
He
arnowtrod that the hl,3r
tt• f '.1G111d
1)f, ron I po5e(l c)I t`,,rvc -,rc
IT-,t'tr�berith a diffc rt•nt fIoatirig
:,.:f' tl e
regular C'ornrnissr ,n
anti
that thv>, %kMild mc,et the 11 ednesc
('ornrnission rr-,cet:ng.
He
felt that t h i d I,elpfsI in iIIicit:r
,"ry:= ,tnc',
Evanston Plan Commission
Minutes - August 9, 1989
Page Six
improve communications between committees. It would also give the Commission members a
chance to construct the agenda for the next regular meeting as well as review work programs.
The next CGP Committee meeting was scheduled for the 16th of August and Mr. Petterson was
invited to be the floating member to discuss the work of the Zoning Committee.
Mr. Petterson commented in response to some earlier correspondence about the Chairman of the
various committees making reports at the regular Plan Commission and requested that staff
make telephone reminders prior to the regular Plan Commission meeting as to what was
required.
OLD BUSINESS
Chairman Belmonte reminded Commission members that the Reba Church fellowship had met
with them early in July to ask for their support in a special use hearing for property they were
interested in acquiring to use as a church. The site was located at South Boulevard and Custer
between two industrial buildings. He reminded Commission members that in their work on the
Custer Street Project they had considered this general site as perhaps being the next phase for
new development; however, the Commission was not able to follow through because of the price
on the land and the mix of ownerships. The market does not appear to be there for an industrial
reuse or heavy commercial. The buildings seem to be better suited for some sort of adaptive
reuse and this is, in large measure, what the Reba Fellowship is proposing. They will use the
structure for a school connected with their church. He commented on the excellent record of
the Reba Fellowship as a property owner and their positive influence on the neighborhood. They
had been involved in other adaptive reuses and done a very responsible job. Chairman Belrnonte
went on to read a letter of support which he had drafted on behalf of the Plan Commission at
the request of the Reba Fellowship. Mr. Petterson had given this letter to the Zoning Board of
Appeals at the hearing. While the Zoning Board was willing to accept the statement, they
requested that there be a formal endorsement of this statement by the Plan Commission. 11r.
Poster moved approval of the summary statement prepared by the Chairman. Seconded by ,his.
Breslin. Motion passed. No nays. Chairman Belrnonte asked Mr. i -arter to forward the
statement to the Zoning Board of Appeals.
Meeting adjourned approximately 9:00 p.m.
STAFF: ar v
❑ATE_:
7)'71 /76
EVANSTON PLAN COMMISSION
MINUTES
Wednesday, September 13, 1989
Room 2404 - 7:30 P.Ni.
CIVIC CENTER
MEMBERS PRESENT:
ASSOCIATE AIErk"IBERS PRESENT:
MEMBERS ABSENT:
PRESIDING OFFICIAL:
STAFF:
Belmonte, Nevel, Petterson, Prout, Seidman, Foster
and Breslin
Blue
Currie, Darragh, and Marston
Belmonte, Chair
Carter
APPROVAL OF AUGUST 9, 1989 MINUTES
Approval of the August minutes was carried over to the October meeting.
CONSIDERATION OF THE FUTURE WORK PROGRAM FOR THE PLAN COMMISSION
Chairman Belmonte requested that each of the subcommittees meet before the October Plan
Commission meeting and prepare a statement of the goals for that committee for the coming
year. He then distributed a long term agenda for reoccurring activities to aid in planning the
next twelve months. He identified seven potential committees including: the Zoning
Committee, the Downtown Committee, the Sign Committee, the Green hay Road Committee,
the Southwest Industrial area Committee, the Comprehensive Plan Corrr-ittee, and the
Community Development Committee.
Drtw Petterson ca 1(:tntlflei as the onl'. rurrert Tr't'nlber (?` t'- i rr rr;Ittee, a
Committee which .%ill becorne more active throughout the year as the _-,)airs Commission gets
its recommendations in writing. Our own ::oning Committee will be resaors:�re for providing
liaison to the Commission on the Plan Commission's recommendations as %�e;. as on any new
zoning functions which the Zoning Commission might recommend for t[:e PlErr,:ng Commission's
responsibility.
The [l(-)uritn�xrt L O, Trrlttev -.;I Is rn-.' changed focus to r,-e.:(,me a pre•sn• ' ... ,--lttt-e .and �kIII
be rnakir)1, their first pre'5e•nt.stion to the PlaT)mnF and De�eloprrlent f�p:c• t,er 2`
at 7:GG p.rsr. This %til[ be followed by presentations to other interestec = rtlne, the
Economic Development Committee in October.
The Sign Committee is no" working on a prototype sign and has 4t �e :re of a project
committee preparing designs for entranceways to the City. Jeanne F',re_::r a�-c Drew Petterson
are the current rr-iembers of this Committee.
The Green kay Road committee was identified as one which has beer =. ...t .--st yc•.rrs and is
nou l,c�ing to he reactatt'd as specific recom,T- endat:ons need to b- the
sclicclide of capital ir; pro-ements whirl) are scheduled in the nett fey: .
ill I I I l l AI �i p ii nl I ri I I I III II
'! II I i1 �� Ills �4�IlII i��flii�Il9r ii ' 1101,P �1i1 11i'�i'' �� III ° � UI ip 'Ip�,l IIII �I, r�1 IIu;FrlilliFll,.
Evanston Plan Commission
Minutes - September 13, 1989
Page Two
Southwest Industrial Area Committee was identified as one which has been "on again off again"
due to the various ideas which have been proposed and withdrawn by various developers. The
Committee needs to establish a closer link with the Economic Development Committee and
determine what role the Commission can play in the planning of this area.
The Comprehensive General Plan Committee has been meeting fairly regularly and has served as
an agenda setting and follow-up committee for the work of the Plan Commission as well as
reviewing the status of various recommendations made in the Comprehensive General Plan.
Chairman 8elmonte requested that when these Committees meet between now and the next
Plan Commission meeting that they prepare an agenda for the coming year. He asked them to
bring their reports to the next regular meeting so the entire Commission can review and discuss
the work program. Mr. Carter underscored the need to have the Committees look ahead since
their membership might be changing at the end of 1989 when several Commission member's
terms will expire. He felt it was important to strengthen the Zoning Committee in particular
since Mr. Petterson is the only member and will be leaving the Commission in January of 1990.
Discussion followed on means of strengthening that Committee and it was decided to try to
recruit an associate member with some background in land use law to help the Zoning
Committee in its work. "tar. Prout and Mr. fjlue also agreed to serve on this Committee.
Mr. Carter had drafted a program for two of the Committees and would be forwarding those to
the members. He stressed that the next few years would be very different ones for the Plan
Commission since they had concluded all of their major planning work on the Downtown Plan
r and the Comprehensive General Plan. In the future, Commission members 'would need to
become vocal advocates for the recommendations contained in these plans and would have a
great deal more contact with the Council and others in this role. He felt this change was
essential if the Commission was going to see the recommendations they had been formulating
over the past few years carried out. He felt it was essential for Plan Commission members to
"show up and speak up". He also stressed the need for Commission members serving as liaison to
other public bodies to keep the Plan Commission well informed on any potential issues and ask
for assistance when necessary.
Commission members discussed the current status of the 'onin C om-t55irm's and the
need to review that work in light of the original objectives set for a new ordinance. :Among the
issues not yet addressed by the Commission was down -zoning and group horses. One
breakthrough appeared to be the Commission's willingness to see a number of nian,or zoning
decisions handled administratively. The Zoning Commission had seemed reluctant however, to
give up the idea of eliminating nonconforming uses, at least for the time being. The concern
seemed to be more theoretical than real. %1r. Carter questioned whether er riot ther- «ere a
number of ohnnriotrs, nonconifo'nling uses which need to he
provisions of the .wining )rc lnance allowlnv f,-)r tilt` vhrl Inatiun of nor-
Carter announf_ed that the Zoning Cum.rnission hal" ackno%tledgec _ tit of Ilan
Commission's memorandum, declaring their willingness to serve as the arriencrng organlzatrun for
the new ordinance and to hear special uses. He did not feel that this a oWd Le acted upon in the
near future, however.
To help fill the gaps caused by future turnover in Plan Commission r,-e� tership, a land use
attorney and a landscape architect are being considt red for appointrnent as r,ew associates to
the flan C on,mission.
Evanston Plan Commission
Minutes - September 13, 1989
Page Three
Chairman Belmonte requested that Commission members interested in serving on particular
committees let him know or Mr. Carter so that new rosters can be developed.
In response to a question on what was happening in the Southwest Industrial Area, Mr. Carter
responded that there had been a number of tentative developer ideas or proposals brought
forward, but nothing concrete to be acted upon. While these various proposals are advanced and
withdrawn, he felt that it was important for the Plan Commission to do some generalized
planning for the area to set a framework in which various new development proposals could be
contained and evaluated. flight now; however, most of the initiative rests with the private
sector which has to determine whether or not it is willing to take the investment risk in the area
and what it would have to have from the City to offset those risks. Because of the highly
confidential nature of potential real estate deals, especially in the early formative stages, there
is not a great deal o! information which can be made public at this time.
The most solid accomplishment is the drafting of a TIF plan by a consultant as our major
financial tool to encourage development in the area. In order for anything to take place in that
area, major investments are going to be required in utilities as well as in cleaning up the
environment. He felt there were more questions than answers on development for that area, but
there was definitely developer interest. This interest tends to come and go and it is not one the
City has a great deal of control over. We do not own land and we are not in the position to be
an initiator, we are more of a secondary party. He felt that Commission could play a role in
defining the area, our objectives for it, things we would like to see happen and thinks we would
4L. like not to see happen. He thought a series of possible future options for the area, even
t•xy3 unpleasant ones, ought to be developed and examined.
Chairman Belmonte observed that this project could receive the same type of treatment the
Commission gave the Green Bay Road Corridor study in its early development. There followed
general discussion on what kind of data was available for the area, what sort of marketing has
been done and where people think the economic future of this area is. There was speculation on
how other, nearby shopping center development would impact the possi�ilities for this site. In
response to a question from ,Mr. Blue concerning the City's preference. Iir. Carter stated that
there '.Las :a hope far more' industrial than retail rlvvploplr cnt e_.: , t' Ktrong;er job base
associated with industry. Industry was 11SO less speculative and rnip,•}t rcrnain for the long, run
whereas commercial appears to be more of a gamble in todays mar..,_t. f=ither commercial or
industry is acceptable from the land use basis and either one will r,,r.tributc more to the tar
hase than the present situation. Certainly both would help irnproLc• the environment in that
area. He mentioned the difficulty of arousing; interest in industrial s:t" s hecause of the Cook
CocintL taxes. Vr. Nevel asked if zoning concessions %%,ere belng7 and Ilr. Carter
responcc•r. that .khan that- ctc•�(•!oht'rs '.tiantt•C. .gas a great deal of r7o Afsc•t t' ••ir first
casts its •Lt !! .as tag
It was asked whether anyone had analyzed what tax revenues the t-..t. --ay ',aye foreone not
having the area developed. Mr. Petteson observed that the cost of t—_ :nfrastructure nnirht be
so much more than the property taxes in the near future that the distn•-t require .ill of its
23years to catch up and maybe then some. This would be especi- ll. tole if it developed
industriallN. Mr. Petterson observed that this might be one of those s.t�,atior-s in which doing
nothing LLas the best course of action for the City. Mr. Carter conce�_. that t`:is coulo turn out
to be a reasonable alternative, but were some environrnert : that "Ii F'ht to
III II' II ��IIII II II IIII I'INI III II II I�'I I�III Ilgll�111 � II I lil I� I� rl I' i �Irin
�l� il"I� I�IIi ml I n
�� �,II I il�lilPlp'lli'I,I'I!�� IIIP111 71
i lip ri
-.��e c IL• I' 'i d9' I f
rl
Evanston Plan Commission
Minutes- September 13, 1989
Page Four
be addressed regardless of development possibilities. Chairman Belmonte explained that doing
nothing might be an economic option for the property owners since there will be a great deal of
cost connected with correcting the environmental problems. He explained that it was the
property owners obligation to eliminate these problems if development was undertaken. No
action was required if there was no development. He also noted that the property owner was
under obligation to disclose environmental conditions as part of the sale and that such disclosure
could prove a detriment to sales. Property owners are motivated to bring the property up to
standard only if proposed development is to follow. It could turn out to be in their best
economic interest to merely leave things as they are.
Mr. Carter emphasized that the City was not in the drivers seat as far as development in the
southwest industrial area was concerned. They could help promote, offer a TIF and the like but
a developer has to decide the location is worth investment and risk. He also stated that no one
really knew just what it would cost to correct the environmental conditions in that area.
Chairman Belmonte announced that the Comprehensive Plan Committee would meet prior to the
next Plan Commission meeting and prepare a rough forum for the committees to use and get
that to the committees ahead of the next regular Commission meeting.
CONSIDERATION OF SCHEDULE AND STRATEGIES FOR PRESENTING THE DOWNTOWN
PLAN
Chairman Belmonte reported on the Presentation Committee's meeting with the City Manager
and his comments. It was recommended that the Plan first be presented to the Planning and
Development Committee so that it could become a regularly scheduled discussion item on their
agenda. The presentation will be made Monday, September 25 before the Planning and
Development Committee. The City Manager had expressed the opinion that there might be
some controversy on some of the recommendations and had encouraged the Commission to snake
presentations to those organizations which might have some concerns about the
recommendations. The actual schedule of events will be better known after the Flan
Commission gets some feed back from the Planning and Development Committee on how to
proceed. It was derided that the Plan would first go to the Citv Council anc once the
presentation was made before P LLB distribution would be made to tht- other groups and
presentation dates would be arranged.
COMMITTEE REPORTS
SIGN (0MVITTEI'
Vs. 1�reslw repartee± that the Sign Committee had developed a rr�odu;ar - f_•
sign and setting. fir. Carter stated that he was dependent upon the � -_^-n,ittee ^ erz,bt-rs to
come up with a sign design and that they were \irtually donating their professional' ser%ices for
this task. He invited Commission member to take a look at the Dernpster Street entranceway
which had finally been cleaned out of all of the sign litter leaving a very nice site for the first
prototype° sign. Ms. hreslin explained that the concept called for a t'.rt-e foot cube in a
landscape rr,odule which would I-e contracted or expanded depending L,;.cr t`e a -cunt ,)f site
availahIe.
E inston Plan Commission
w
Minutes - September 13, 1989
Page I= i ve
GREEN BAY ROAD COMMITTEE
Commission members discussed the particular physical difficulties in creating an attractive
landscaped embankment similar to that of Wilmette's. Mr. Carter emphasized that it would be
a very large undertaking and that there were a number of landscape problems which would have
to be resolved. Questions were also raised as to how to get a proper level of maintenance
established for newly landscaped areas, such as the Main Street station, and how- to insure that
the railroad's operations and keeping the track area Clear did not damage the plant materials.
Mr. Nevel suggested that the Commission work more directly with Metra because they would be
more responsive and that they do have some funds for assisting. lair. Carter thought it would be
necessary to clearly to mark the area, possibly with a small fence dividing the track area from
the landscaped area. Mr. Carter felt that doing the embankment was going to be a very
demanding task both technically and financially. He felt it might be necessary to rally a
substantial support group to see this project through to the end. He noted that funds were
working their way up the schedule in the Capital Improvements Program for dealing with the
embankment, but a great deal of planning work needed to be done in advance of eypending these
funds. Ms. Breslin stressed the need to also do some long range planning on t.,e maintenance
aspects. Commission members discussed whether there might be support among the new
property owners which are coming with the redevelopment of segments of Green Flay Road.
Both aldermen of the ward have expressed interest in seeing improvements made to the
embankments. fir. Carter mentioned that Dominicks had planned a major remodeling of their
store and improvements to the site with some additional landscaping.
�t OLD BUSINESS
Chairman Belmonte announced that he had received a letter from ERDCC Engineering
expressing some concerns about the Plan Commission's testimony at the Zoning Board of
Appeals hearing on the Reba Fellowship special use proposed Custer and South, Boulevard. He
had objected to the characterization of the use of his property as an adaptive reuse as an office
building. Their concern was that the special use was not the best use of t e property and that it
would make it more difficult to market their property as industrial. i_!'airinan Belmonte stated
that he would talk to fir. Nesvig of ERDCO to clear up any misunderstar.cings. He had thought
that ERDC0 was supportive of thy_ Reba Fello%�ship �kork in the are,:.
Commission members still felt that their original position had not arc. based on the
evidence of industrial vacancy for a long period of time, felt that the reuse of the land was
for residential. fir. Petterson suggested that if there were any small :-.accuracies in what the
Commission had said, that these should be corrected in a letter to t. '`.is letter should
also be used to reaffirm the Plan Commission's position t`1at industr:� `at area is an
anachn< i�,rr.
Mr. Carter reported briefly on the Lake;A5hland site stating that t•,_ : ._-,cs thr Park had
contact the Leathers organization and would be holding a design at Dc.�-ey School the
following day. He announced that there would be a meeting on the t`:e architect earl,, -
in the morning with City officials and representatives of Friends of tre 'arc: try go over any of
the sites constraints or special design considerations. He invited Plar -c--rrission members to
attend and participate. He felt that representatives of the Friends -�f : rF Pa7�. -:axing looked at
some similar projects nearby, shared some of the Plan Commission's - _cr-, Lrout making the
�� structure too dense, securit,. issues, and the need to respect adjacent
Evanston Plan Commission
Minutes - September 13, 1989
Page Six
One of the measures recommended by staff would be for down -lighting over the structure which
would operate on a motion -sensitive. cell. After the park had closed at a certain hour, the lights
would go on automatically if anyone entered. Commission members discussed the possibility of
underground problems on the site such as the old foundation and any old oil tanks.
ANNOUNCEMENTS
Chairman Belmonte announced that the Comprehensive Plan Committee would meet the
following Wednesday September 20 at 5:30 p.m. in the third floor conference room.
OLD BUSINESS
On subject of the Southwest Industrial Area Committee, Mr. Carter suggested that Mr.
Belmonte, Air. Darragh, Mr. Foster, Mr. Clarke and himself need following the next Economic
Development Committee meeting to assess what the Plan Commission's Committee should be
doing on this topic.
Meeting adjourned approximately 9:20 p.m.
W STAFF:
DATE:
7 Y77/83
r
MEMBERS PRESENT:
EVANSTON PLAN COMMISSION
MINUTES
Wednesday, October 12, 1989
Room 2404 - 7:30 P-M.
CIVIC CENTER
Belmonte, Nevel, Seidman, Foster and Currie
ASSOCIATE MEMBERS PRESENT:
MEMBERS ABSENT:
PRESIDING OFFICIAL:
STAFF:
OTHERS PRESENT:
Blue
Marston, Prout, Breslin and Petterson
Belmonte, Chair
Carter
Steve McCarthy
APPROVAL OF AUGUST 9, 1989 MINUTES AND SEPTEMBER 13, 1989 MINUTES
Mr. Nevel moved approval of both the August and September minutes as written. Seconded by
Mr. Currie. Motion passed. No days.
APPOINTMENT OF NEW ASSOCIATE MEMBERS
Chairman Belmonte reminded Commission members of the information on .Mr. McCarthy and
Mr. Rieliey which had been distributed to them earlier. He noted that the Comprehensive Plan
Committee had interviewed both candidates and enthusiastically recommended them for
appointment as associate members to the Commission. He felt both candidates offered very
strong experience in areas where the Commission would be active in the future. Mr. Nevel
moved approval of the appointment of Mr. McCarthy and Mr. Rie[lev as associate members to
the Plan Commission. Seconded by Ms. Seidman. Motion passed. No nays. Mr. McCarthy
briefly introduced himself and reflected on some of his earlier experiences working with the
Plan Commission as a consultant on the Green Bay Road project.
REVIEW OF DOWNTOWN PRESENTATION
Chairman Belmonte reviewed the second meeting of the Presentation C-)-^mittee v.-hich was
held with the Planning and Development Committee. He felt that the Downtown Plan had been
fairly well received and that there were a number of positive comments around the need for the
plan. There seemed to be general agreement that the issues raised x•ere pertinent and in need
of addressing. He did feel, however, that there were certain difficulties in how the Plan got
presented and a need to provide a little more structure in the presentation. He felt that
Commission needed to be specific about what it is they want the Council to do with the
document. Chairman Belmonte underscored the need to make Comrrni—ee -nembers comfortable
with the Plan and the need to present it to them in a more structur-c- :a5rson. He suggested
that the format of the executive summary be closely followed as a -resenting the Plan
since it %vas such a carefully and thoughtfully prepared statement.
10
Evanston Plan Commission
Minutes - October 12, 1989
Page Two
Mr. Carter observed that the Committee members were probably not going to have time to
digest the entire document and that it be presented to them with the executive summary as a
principal guide using specific examples to illustrate the recommendations. He suggested taking
five or six of the most important recommendations, particularly those that might have some
controversy, and focus upon those. He observed that the Committee sewmed particularly taken
with the idea of the need for a forum to facilitate communication between the diverse groups
which have some varying responsibilities for the Downtown,
Chairman Belmonte announced that the Committee wanted to complete their review of the Plan
within the next two meetings and urged Commission members to attend those meetings. Mr.
Carter noted that the interest picked up when there was more dialog between different
Commission members and the P&D Committee. He said that there dic seern to be some
confusion as to just exactly what the Downtown Plan was and that perhaps it was necessary to
redefine its several functions. %is. Seidman observed that the specific recommendations and
assignment of responsibility was something the Committee could respond to more easily. fir.
Darragh thought that the Commission ought to focus on specific actions .which the Plan is
calling upon the City to undertake so that the Council has a better idea of the consequences of
adopting the Plan and what's expected of them. He felt that if there were staffing implications,
those ought to be laid out. Mr. Currie also felt that spelling out the specific recommendations
for which the Council or City would be responsible would be helpful. Mr. Carter noted that
there was some confusion over just who is responsible for the overall Plan. %ir. Blue suggested
Commission members walk through specific points of the Flan to clarify individual and joint
responsibilities. Mr. Darragh felt that the Commission should step forward as the overall
advocate of the Plan and ask for approval of the Plan's recommendations as well as for the
Commission's role as overseer. Mr. Nevel indicated that, if the Commission was to play this
role, they would need a certain level of commitment from staff in order to do so.
.Mr. Currie brought up whether the Commission was asking the Council to buy into the concept
of the Plan and whether they supported creating expenditures for carrying out the specific
recommendations. Mr. Carter agreed that the Commission should first ask the Council whether
they agree with the tone of the Plan and its philosophic aspirations be for dealing with specific
recommendations. fir. Currie suggested that a general mandate for the Plan be created by
getting endorsement to a number of objectives from which the specific recommendations would
flow. First get consensus on the goals and then move to the issues, Mr. Darragh felt that
having the objectives was a good way to start consensus building prior to debate over
differences on the specifics.
There was discussion as to where the leadership would come from to coordinate overall efforts
on the Downtown. Mr. Carter felt that if the Commission could set up the forum, that the
leadership might evolve out of that forum. but the Plan Commission ^,would have to stay
involved. He felt it was key that each of the various Downtown groups rner::�ned in the plan be
represented. The initiative was clearly with the Plan Commission ;n zeta^C :`)e forur^ started.
Mr. Carter suggested that the leadership may, in fact, be more of a :cam than 3 single
organization or individual. stir. Darragh felt the leadership question should specifically be
addressed in the forum. He felt it was essential to have either a professional or volunteer
experienced in facilitating such meetings to be involved. fir. Darragh elaborated on how such a
forum might be facilitated and how to develop some consensus on ho,.v to proceed following the
forum. He underscored the need expert guidance during this process.
Evanston Plan Commission
Minutes - October 12, 1989
Page Three
Mr. Currie asked about how the Comprehensive General Plan gained acceptance and W. Carter
responded that there was a great deal of input during the development of the Plan and that the
Planning and Development Committee then carefully reviewed the goals, objectives and policies
before reporting a recommendation to adopt the Plan to the Council. He stressed the outreach
effort during the development of the Plan to agencies and organizations which had some
expertise or responsibility as a means of achieving consensus on the final Plan.
Discussing who ought to be the "keeper of the Downtown" Mr. Carter emphasized the need for
that group to be inclusive rather than exclusive and the need to involve all oI the players in the
Downtown. As far as organization was concerned,. Mr. Darragh suggested that there might be
one large group made up of a number of individuals or organizations which could annually assess
the state of the Downtown and another smaller group meeting more frequentiv to air specific
issues and assign tasks to groups. Underneath that might be individual groups .;hick might form
alliances depending upon what the specific projects were. Such an organization would not take
away funds nor dilute the authority or responsibility of individual organizations, but could
Provide for better coordination.
Mr. Darragh suggested that the thrust of the Commission's presentation to different Downtown
groups be to encourage them to participate in the forum as a means of reaching agreement on
what needs to be done on the Downtown and who needs to do it. There should be a general
agreement on what kind of a downtown we want to form the basis of specific recommendations.
Out of the forum, some structure can follow and the Plan be modified if necessary. Once this is
done, both the involved organizations and the City can formally adopt the Plan.
Mr. Darragh thought that one of the main issues for the Plan Commission •sras who would
conduct the forum, themselves or a facilitator? He thought the Commission should be willing to
take a leadership role to organize the forum and ask the other parties to participate as well as
contribute to any cost of conducting the forum. In the discussion of whether or not the Plan
Commission should seek adoption of the Plan at this time, k1r. Nevel pointed out that until we
have the consensus of the other parties, formal adoption doesn't really get the Commission very
far. The Plan itself should be the guiding document around which to develop consensus.
In summarizing, Chairman Belmonte noted that there needed to be further discussion on the part
of P&D to explore and become more familiar with the Plan. The Commission should ask for
P&D for their endorsement of the general thrust of the Plan and of the concept for holding a
forum for arriving at consensus on the recommendations.
REVIEW OF COMMUNITY BLOCK GRANT RECOMMENDATIONS
Mr. Currie distributed copies of summaries of the neighborhood revitalization which the
Commission was to review. He reviewed for Commission members "�e Fear:nx process which
the CD Committee was currently undertaking. He told them about t'e -,ee:s ;caring conducted
earlier in the year which was now being followed up with specify: protect proposals. The
Committee is now conducting an in-depth review of each proposal. The Plan Commission is
invited to comment on the neighborhood revitalization projects as,;,ell as economic
development. There are some 47 proposals before the CD Committee. The summary sheet
which %ir. Currie passed out included funding levels for last year as yell as the request for the
current year. He noted that funds requested totaled slightly twice the actual f-sncs available.
Evanston Plan Commission
Minutes - October 12, 1989
Page Four
He reminded Commission members of last year's review technique in which they developed a
matrix ranking projects in accordance with the ??? CIP program as low, medium and high
priorities. He agreed to arrange the recommendation of such a matrix and ask for the
Commission's direction. s
Mr. Nevel asked how the request would be most likely cut, eliminating whole programs or
making across the board reductions? Mr. Currie indicated that there would probably be a
variety of ways including eliminating entire requests as well as reducing others. He noted that
ECDC had requested a substantial increase in their- funding and that some Committee members
appeared to support this.
Chairman Belmonte noted that the Plan Commission is one of the few groups that has
consistently supported a strong capital improvements element in the CD funding largely because
it was one of the few ways to accomplish physical improvements in the target areas. He noted
that, over the long term, a very substantial impact has been made to the physical appearance
and strength of the infrastructure in the target areas. He noted in particular the substantial
improvement in the parks within the target area. %ir. Currie noted that one of the reasons the
Plan Commission has had to be an advocate for capital improvements is that the City has not
done a very effective job in presenting the rational for their own programs. He felt there was a
need to show what has been accomplished and what remains to be done in the area of capital
improvements with each of the recommendations. Traditionally the City simply comes in and
requests a certain level of funding for each element and there is no sense of what the tot.: need
is or how much progress we are making. Mr. 8elmonte noted that the thrust of neighborhood
improvement programs were comprehensive, that is, attempting to combine such things as
rehabilitation of homes and public facilities together to achieve a greater impact.
Mr. Foster observed it sometimes appears that CD funding is a well kept secret and that only
certain groups know how to get into the cycle of funding. He thought that perhaps other groups
who were not as knowledgeable were unable to break into the CD funding cycle.
Mr. Currie noted that those agencies which do get into the funding cycle receive a great deal of
help and guidance from the Planning Department staff. He stated that he would be prepared to
assist the Plan Commission in their review of projects in a more ,pccific a -ay at the next Plan
Commission meeting.
In noting the Emerson Street Bridge Protection project, Mr. Carter stated the Plan
Commission's position has been that if the perceived safety proven is in fact a safety problem,
that this problem should be rectified by raising the height of the railing and not by throwing up a
chain link fence. Do it right or don't do it at all. Mr. Currie stated that one of the issues might
be the continued peacemeal funding of Fleetwood Jourdain in the -insence of a specific long
range Plan for its improvement.
REVIEW OF COMMITTEE OBJECTIVES AND WORK PROGRAM
Chairman 8elmonte called Commission members attention to the one page objectives amd work
programs statement for each of the Plan Commission's committees. He noted that a couple of
the committees had not yet appointed chairmen and stressed the irnr rtance of each committee
having a chairman. It is the chairman's duty to call the meetings and to report results at
subsequent Plan Commission meetings. The Downtown Presenta-z.— �7-ornmittee, The Sign
Committee and the Creen Bav Road Committee are in need of chair^-"--.
Zvanston Plan Commission
4linutes - October 12, 1989
Page Five
Under the discussion of the Zoning Committee's role, Mr. Blue commented that the Committee
had rnet and decided that one of its important functions would be to help prepare the Plan
Commission for its new role in zoning by conducting some workshops on the subject.
Mr. Foster reviewed the meeting of the Southwest Industrial Area Corgrnittee which redefined
the study area, examined different truck route possibilities, and considered whether the area
now under intensive study should possibly go on hold in favor of another sector. The major
problem with the area of current interest are its substantial environmental problems and the
uncertainty of their impact on its development potential. The Committee talked about the
possible impact of the TIF district proposed for the area. He announced that staff would be
doing some further analysis of the problems and opportunities and reporting back to the
Committee.
Chairman Belmonte announced that the Comprehensive Plan Committee meets on a regular
basis the Wednesday following the Commission meeting to act as the executive committee for
the Commission, evaluate the previous Commission meeting and set the agenda for the next
one. They also monitor progress on the Comprehensive General Plan. At each of their meetings
they invite a different Plan Commission member to attend as an alternate to get their views and
hear about any special interest or concerns from their committee's work. Mr. Foster was
invited to attend the next meeting.,
Chairman Belmonte asked that the Green Bay Road Committee select a chairman, review the
Plan of a few years ago and begin to prepare recommendations. Steve McCarthy agreed to
serve as the chairman. Mr. McCarthy noted that it was very ambitious proposal and that it
would require the expertise of a number of different disciplines to be a successful project. Mr.
Carter indicated that he would attempt to get a few additional people to assist with this
Committee that are outside the Plan Commission, but could offer certain expertise.
On the Sign Committee, Mr. Carter indicated that they were waiting for one of their members
to develop a preliminary design for a city entrance sign. He noted the great improvement
created by simply removing the signs at South Boulevard and Sheridan Road as well as the
Dempster Street Entrance. He stressed the challenge of the prototype design as one which must
be tasteful, appropriate, and attractive enough to win popular support.
ANNOUNCEMENTS
Chairman Belmonte announced the upcoming meeting with the Economic Development
Committee on the Downtown Plan and requested that as many members as possible be present.
He also announced that they would be meeting with the Planning and Development Committee
on Monday, October 23 and the City Chamber Committee on Thursda" morning, November 16.
Mr. Carter announced that the City has apparently come to an u;t') the 'Z oman's
Club and will be negotiating a settlement on acquiring the par—e, us, west of their Club
headquarters. The design competition for the library can now proceec.
Meeting adjourned approximately 9:30 p.m.
STAFF: f��S
/ C
DATE:
7Y69/74
U
EVANSTON PLAN COMMISSION
MINUTES
DRAFT NOT APPROVED
Wednesday, November 8. 1989
Room 2404 - 7:30 P.M.
CIVIC CENTER
MEMBERS PRESENT:
ASSOCIATE VEVBERS PRESENT:
%1E1tBER5 ABSENT:
PRESIDING OFFICIAL:
STAFF:
APPROVAL OF OCTOBER 22, 1989 MINUTES
Belmonte. Petterson. Seidman. Currie. revel.
Foster, Breslin. and Prout
R ielley
Marston. Darragh. Blue and McCarthy
Belmonte. Chair
Carter and Modaber
Vr. Currie moved approval of the October 12nd minutes as written. Seconded by `.tr. Nevel.
Motion passed. No nays.
COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT BLOCK GRANT RECOMMENDATIONS
Chairman Belmonte referred Commission members to the chart of C ommtinity Developments
Mock Grant neighborhood revitalization proposals which was distributed at the last Commission
meeting. He a!so noted that Vr. Currie had prepared a spreadsheet nn these projects with their
funding history to aid the Commission in their review.
Vr. Currie explained the chart to Commission members. He noti•, that the total funding
requests were significantly higher this vear. double what is actually ,0able. The total amount
of CD reauests which the Plan Commission is to review is approxir72T1•:•, I'3 of that total. He
noted.. that t'le l_it` r--cix"ts ha('. not increased sipniftcantly. but 0'z, ..:ate recuests .tiere four
tirres «hat I1t ��r.r., .},,, Lt'.lr heIorp_. In approachin i7 thy• cask D! iions )i
C P funning. \'r. to dv%elop SorT)e over3f1 3ollt'� SZU:_1- _ %'r,ii '.t�•' t' flaid"
in total as oncos o to the Cr) Cominittee's approach of OealinQ u!t •--!s in a :ing.11'lr
hasis. Ntr. Currie saic that he would like to see a more systematic to mdl+mg fundine
decisions. 1•?e reported that the CD Committee wanted the Plan mission to rani. the the
priority of the list of projects and his summary table provided colur-r `-,r Going that.
N'r. Carter %gas askec'. about c'esignations for the Capital Improyes Program �! "urgent.
necessary and desirable." F;e .• iplained that there were no urger! : ns on this %ear's list
because then hac' been taker. care of previously. He stated that rrijerts were working
their way up in priority because they had been deferred earlier nov. r7,`%ing from
desirable to necessarv.
In
Plan Commission
Minutes - November 8. 1989
Page Two
He felt that designations were accurate and truly reflected the work that needed to be done. He
explained that the very disciplined priority -setting exercise that the staff team goes through in
order to arrive at these designations eliminates many of the the items that is not truly needed.
so that the list before the Commission is far more than a mere "wish list." He felt that if
anything,, we were doing less then we ought to be doing simply because of the lack of funds. In
response to a question from Mr. Currie about what happens to the position of a project when
insufficient CD funds are available, Mr. Carter responded that an effort is made to do projects
on a most needed basis. regardless of whether they are in the target area. a general policy had
been followed. however, to do target area capital improvements %with CD funds and the same
kind of projects outside the target area v.-ith non -CD funds in order to get a better geographic
spread. It was clearly not enough money to do all the needed work throughout the city and this
approach appeared to be a logical one. He noted that if anyone looked at a ten )-car map of
capital improvements, they would see that the target areas did generally better than the rest of
the community.
Mr. Carter commented on the policy approach of the Commission as a thoughtful one, but he
noted that this did not appear to be the way the game was played. Those who are making the
decisions tend to see it more project by project and fund by fund and not in any broader
context. He felt the policy approach was a wise one, but noted the Commission would be
"swimming upstream." \%hen the money is on the table and aw•!ncies are present with
expectations. policy does not appear to be very compelling in its influence on the decision
making. 1,1r. Currie noted that last year the Commission did reasonaoly well in relationship to
the priorities which they had given different projects and the resultant funding..
`.tr. Currie went through the list of projects and briefly explained each to the Commission. The
commission discussed their own criteria for evaluating proposals such as their conformance with
the Capital Improvements Program and/or the Comprehensive General Plan. Commission
'embers questioned whether the availability of other sources of fundine should be criteria.
The Commission made the following funding recommendations on CDBG Droposals:
Emerson Bridge fence: $0 funding for the 1990-91 year and the reallocation of the
$10,130.
Industrial .area assistance Program: Recommendation of $0 furdinp for the 1990-91 year.
1817 Church Street Leasehold Improvements: Commission member discussed the need for
the City to male a decision regarding the disposition of this buildGnQ prior to investing more
money in it. %Ir. Currie told the Commission that money was reallor-atec from orevious Years
ECDC prograrn5 to repair tht� roof anc that C'DPG funds being red e<_ter f �r next .tar are for
the darnagta none Inside the h,mlding from the leaking roof. `IS. P-o. . '—Nest,' ! tl,.tt if tf)e
building were sold to an out<_ir4e party, items In ECDC's application .is stall jt=,�n ,anc ne%�
carpeting might not be necessary as new building owners often insta': the:r oun carpeting to
match their decor. Commission members recommended funding^!: these portions of the
application relating directly to safety concerns or correcting fire .iolations as opposed to
cosmetic improvements due to water carnage. Commission members recommended $700 as
indicated in the line item for correcting fire violations.
YWCA Playground: The Commission originally considered tars proiect to be a low
priority, but later in the meeting to upgrade it to a high priority anc-�,rommended funding only
for the improvements to upgrade the safety of the play equipment ,s -)pposed to de,,eloping
additional plavground for older children. They advocated that the Par-s Department rctiiew the
design for safety standards.
Plan Commission
Minutes - November 8, 1989
Page Three
Brummel Park (Ridgeville Park District): Commission members discussed the issue of
Ridgeville Park District being a separate taxing body and whether the park might ultimately
come under City jurisdiction. Mr. Petterson raised the question of definition of different terms
used to describe park improvements such as renovation, restoration and rejuvenation. Mr.
Carter explained that Brummel Park was in the condition that City parks were previously in
before they were upgraded in a park enrichment program some ten years ago. The current cycle
of City park improvement is a refurbishing of those already improved parks. In his opinion.
Brummel lagged far behind the others and should be upgraded. The Commission advocated
listing Brummel Park as a high priority item.
Isiah 58:12: Mr. Petterson noted that there were a lot of cuestions raised about this
proposal. It was also noted that they had another site available to rent if CD monev did not
come through. The Commission recommended ranking this project as a low priority.
Child Care Center Air Conditioning and Fire alarm: The Commission discussed the
question of how much in the way of CD funds have already been given to the Child Care Center
in the past and whether other sources of funding for these items have been investigated by the
Center. The Commission recommended ranking the project as high priority for the fire alarm
portion only.
Fleet wood/ Jourdain Air conditioning and Furnace: Commission members discussed the
timing of installing a new furnace before the more energy efficient windows were in place. The
Commission ranked this project as a low priority because they believe it is out of sequence and
discussed the apparent lack of long range planning for this facility.
Citv Park Projects: Mr. Currie noted the Parks Department had requested funds totalling
$95,000. It was suggested that the Commission recommend that the CD Committee fund a
certain fixed sum and ask Parks to list its priorities for the projects submitted. The Commission
ranked Clyde, Brummel. Hobart and ktason Parks as high priority. Fitsimmons Park restoration
was ranked as medium priority and the ,Monroe Tot Lot. Fitsimmons Tennis Court. Gilbert and
Perry Parks were given low priority.
First Step .fir Conditioning and Interior Rehabilitation: %ir. P .c:: �rought up the question
had sought other funds or was relving on CD money alone. Commission recommended that this
project be listed as a low priority.
New Sidewalk Installation: The Commission ranked this project as high priority, but
recommended its funding level be reduced to $10.000.
Special .assessment for Unimproved Streets: This prograr- ;r', T: high ::r.ority in
order for the City to fulfill its intention to finish paying all unpa, ec :n f:•.arstc• .
Sidewalk Replacement: The Commission discussed how to r�oerate this program and
whether it would stretch the City's CDRG money if it were used to supplement the Citv's 50150
Sidewalk Replacement Program. Its. Modaber commented that the _jse of money like the 50/50
would require income verification of the residents receiving CDBG !uncs and would substantially
increase the administration costs. The Commission voted to rank s!:!ewalk replacer^ent as a
high priority, recommended that the funding level for the prograr-- --e rF,-duced to $5'1.000 and
that they examine and evaluate the operation of the Sidewalk Progr_- :, ; !at-r date.
Plan Commission
(Minutes - November 8, 1989
Page Four
Street Paving: The Commission ranked this program as high priority because of the City's
policy to pave all unpaved streets which is almost now completely carried out.
Alley Resurfacing: Commission members discussed the City's policies towards paved and
unpaved alleys. They discussed whether paved alleys reduced or increased flooding problems in
neighborhoods. The Commission ranked this project as a low priority.
Viaduct Pavement Replacement: Ms. Breslin commented on the improper paving and lack
of expansion joints under supports on certain viaducts. She noted the pavement had been poured
right up to the supports and cracking has occured due to vibration. Mr. Carter suggested that
the CD staff note this for the Director of Public Works. Chairman Belmonte raised the Question
as to whether work on the Simpson Street viaduct would be compatible with future work an
Green Bay road. The Commission ranked this project as high in order to finish resurfacine the
viaduct pavements in the CDRG target area. It was also suggested that improvements should be
consistent with future improvements to Green Bay Road.
Curb Replacement: Plan Commission recommended ranking this program as high priority
because of the positive impact it makes in a neighborhood. In order to stretch CDBG dollars it
was recommended that this project be funded at 1989 funding levels f$50.00G1.
Catch Basin Replacement: Mr. Currie and Mr. Belmonte raised questions regarding how
the Catch Basin Replacement Program is funded outside of the target area and if sewer funds
are used to replace target area catch basins if there is minimal CDLG funds available. The
Commission ranked this program as high priority and recommended that it be funded at the i 989
level of S25,000. Mr. Carter recommended that the Commission discuss some of the funding
policies and public works practices with the new Director of Public %I orks as part of their
follow-up on questions Concerning Community Development Block Grant funding. The
Commission members felt that if only CD dollars were used to fund catch basins in the target
area and sewer fund dollars used to fund catch basins elsewhere, that this policv needed to be
reexamined.
Motion was unanimously passed to forward the above recommendations to the CD Committee.
REVIEW OF DOWNTOWN PRESENTATIONS
Chairman Belmonte reported that presentations had been made to the Planning and
Development Committee. the Economic Development Committee. and the 4oning Commission.
He stated that the next presentation would be on November Ib with the Citv Chamber
Committee. In summarizing the response from the first three groups.'�e states that ,t nad been
very positr.e bnth for the plan itself and the plans approach. Also ter
Commission's recommendation to conduct a forum on the Dmo ntoun P:ar _ •-t•ans ,,4 -arr,. roc,
out its recommendattons. He noted that the Presentation Committee ,gas _'r e to report hack to
the Planning and Development Committee on November 20th with some -pore detail on the
forum, its format and possible cost. The underlining understanding waq that the cost be shared
in part by the City and other participating agencies. The next challenge is in getting the
Chamber to buy -into conducting the forum.
Chairman Belmonte reported on his conversations with Mr. Darragh. %oho has had experience in
conducting such forums and who offered to gather some additional inform.st,on and report back
on possible facilitators for the forum.
Plan Commission
Minutes - November 8, 1989
Page Five
Mr. Darragh thought the work could be done for somewhere between $10,000 and $15,000
because so much of the content has already been developed in the Downtown Plan itself. What
is needed now is a disinterested third party to come in and conduct the forum to sort out the
various issues and develop consensus about what needs to be done. He envisioned two sessions,
each beginning early in the morning and ending at midday with a possible third session to wrap
up, if necessary.
Chairman Belmonte expressed his pleasure and surprise in how little in the way of critical
comment the Plan had generated. Mr. Carter commented that there really hadn't been an
opportunity to seriously discuss some of the main issues of the Plan. particularly the whole
Question of Downtown zoning controls. He noted that the Economic Development Committee
had expressed their concern on this issue to the Zoning Commission, but had not discussed it
with the Plan Commission when they were at the Economic Development Committee meeting.
He stated that the 'Zoning Commission had an excellent discussion on the issue of "down zoning"
with some interesting give and take. He stated that. on one hand we don't seem to have people
beating a path to our door to build big buildings in Downtown anymore, yet here we sit with a
zoning ordinance which permits something in considerable excess of what is likely to happen.
What we have now is an obsolete zoning ordinance which, if we tailor to the present market
probably wouldn't make any difference in its impact on what people want to build. yet, we have
a Chamber of Commerce who is greatly concerned that any such rezoning would send a negative
message to the development community. We are also concerned that we are taking something
away that really isn't there. It seems to be more of a perception problem than a real problem.
He was concerned that in terms of future development the kind of change being suggested to
accommodate new development is probably a non -issue. but to the Chamber it seems to be
coming a volatile issue. It seemed to be coming down to a question of whether you lived with an
obsolete ordinance and concept or create divisiveness among groups you want to cooperate
because you brought the zoning ordinance more in line with reality.
Vr. Petterson commented that they do not seem to be grasping the idea that the Commission
was talking about a finite amount of development due to the limitations of the street network.
He noted that the last zoning ordinance had lasted thirty years and that the next one was likely
to cover a similar period. The possibility is that we will have some renewed interest in
development and it would be wrong for us to assume that there would be no market demand for
additional large buildings in the next thirty years. It made sense to him to have a zoning
ordinance which reflected what he wanted to have.
Mr. Carter commented that it was very difficult to have an objective discussion of the issue
since such strong positions have already been taken. Vr. Nevel commented that what was
happening was a crystalization of issues that need to be discussed in the forum ane that was the
advantage of going through what is happening now. Vr. Carter cornrrertec t`,;* `c dn't feel
that the Chamber reallv grasped the idea of the economic value that -tich ;f `..e present
character of the Downtown has. This, perhaps needs to be said !n different ua,s. He felt it
would be more constructive to focus on making the best of what we ha%e here and nook rather
than the old dream of making Evanston headquarters city. He noted that during this period of
thirty -some years new, major corporations had not come into Evanston. Growth had been from
internal expansion of existing corporations and institutions. He felt that too man% people were
blind to the existing assets we have and their value to the economic hale. He thought it was
important that new development did not destroy the character, but rather fit-xithin :t. It was
also important that the retail core not be destroyed by new office .e�elopment but rather,
complement it.
Plan Commission
Minutes - November 8, 1989
Page Six
Chairman Belmonte noted that there was at least one developer who truly understood the
concept of building on the value of the image we now have and that is Richie Stein. In our first
round of interviews before doing the Downtown Plan, fair. Stein said the Commission said the
was absolutely right in its approach to the Downtown on this issue of recognizing and enhancing
the value of the Downtown's present ambience. This is a character that other places don't
have. Mr. Carter felt that there were additional arguments the Commission needed to
articulate. such as the aggressive pursuit of a real marketing program, not just hype. People
needed to be aware of the extensive improvements being made to offices on the floors above
older retail buildings. The focus seems to be more on parking problems and vacancies without
acknowledgment where the strengths really are.
Nis. Seidman suggested that some additional hard data be generated to demonstrate what is
happening in the Downtown. Vr. Petterson suggested that it might •�e he!pful to have someone
from Research Park talk about how then viewed the Downtown as a -rar=:eting strength for the
Park itself. Informal polls were suggested to r'etermine what did attract certain enterprises to
Evanston.
Chairman Belmonte noted the recent article in Crains which talked about newer communities
beginning to create more traditional downtowns. Vany of them are going to great lengths to
create a true town center. He felt that some real estate developers did appreciate the
traditional values and were trying to build upon them. Chairman Belmonte announced that the
next meeting on the Downtown Plan would be with the City Chamber Committee at 7:30 A.M.
on November 16th. Following that. the Presentation Committee would be meeting with the
Planning and Development Committee on November 20th at 7:30 P.V.
APPOINTMENT OF NOMINATING COMMITTEE
Chairman Belmonte asked Its. Seidman and Nis. Breslin to serve as a nominating committee for
officers for the Plan Commission for 1990 and report back with their nominations at the
December meeting.
COMMITTEE REPORTS
Mr. Carter reported on behalf of the Green Bay Road Committee a: •.4-hjch they began to plan
their wort: program and get started as a new Committee. Their first program will include the
City's former horticulturist, Fred Cullen, who will share his views on what worked and didn't
work on the original experimental planting plan for the railroad embankment. Mr. Jim Gamble
of Land Design Collaborative will also be present to discuss the prototype planting plans he is
developing for VETRA at other locations in the metropolitan area. He noted that there would
be a number of other staff people working with the Green flay -ornmittee. `.'r. Carter
reported that he expects to have the Director of Public 1L vr.L. :'Ie Director .f Parks.
Re(-reation and Forestry, and the Director of Housing and Propert% 5:--cards involver with the
work of this Committee. The subsequent meeting will involve a repor- on what 1l ilmette was
able to accomplish in their landscaping program of the C&NW right-o'-xay.
ANNOUNCEMENTS
Vr. Carter announced that he had filled the planner vacancy wit~ a highly qualified person.
Charmain Borvs. This should provide a great deal more staff support `. :)• the Commission's work
program.
Plan Commission
(Minutes - November 8, 1989
Page Seven
Jean Breslin announced that six of the townhouse units at the Custer Project had been sold.
Mr. Carter announced that the City Council had approved the contract for the consultant
conducting the library competition.
Meeting adjourned approximately 10:00 P.M.
STAFF: f- ��
DATE:
R EC/mec
7Y79/84
EVANSTON PLAN COMMISSION
MINUTES
DRAFT NOT APPROVED
Wednesday,
December 13, 1989
Room 2401 - 7:30 P.M.
CIVIC CENTER
\'EMBERS PPESFNT!
ASSOCIATE \+EMBERS PRESENT:
ME.NIPERS APSENT:
PRESIDING OFFICIAL:
STAFF:
Belmonte. Nevel. Currie, \larston. Foster
McCarthy. Darragh
Prout. Petterson. Seidman, Blue, Rieliv
Belmonte. Chair
Carter. Rorvs, Clarke
APPROVAL OF NOVEMBER 8, 1989 MINUTES
This agenda item was deferred to later in the meeting until a quorum was present. when enough
members had arrived, Mr. Nevel moved approval of the November 8 minutes as written. Motion
passed with no nays.
Nominatine Committee Status
\'embers of the Committee were not present. therefore a status report Aas not given.
Downto\rn Plan Forum
Yr. Pelmonte started the discussion by reporting that he had met t ith. the E.anston Chamber of
Commerce to get their feedback regarding a forum through whirl tr,-:scuss the downtown
plan. He ;aid even though he structurec' the discussion awav froe- issue, it
ender' lip on this topic amwa`•. He sai(' the Chamber was f,r— caf'.
"do%knionlnp" of the Downto\vn. Yr. F�elmonte said he stressed thr ::r,, t ,-a: t`'e cc%] nzonki)z
issuf' %%as not the only aspect of the proposed plan. He said the awreed to continue
discussions with the Plan Commission but would not commit to funcir:p ,r Prdorsinp the forum.
\1r, Re Imonte said he had also met with the Executive Director of ti— t-rar-ber of Commerce to
discuss the forum. and this meeting envied with the same results.
Vr. 5elmonte saiO that Vr. 3erry VUrphv offerer' to attend the neat P.r_r �-'or-•mission meeting
in 3anuarv. I')ar, N+r. Belmont added that the Commission needs : , rsarer `low to %iew the
"dou-nzoning" issue in light of advancement of the plan and the : onirir - • a-
"r. \evel added relations with the Chamber had been positive unt,! � . He said he had also
attended the meeting with Vr. Beltnonte and that the Zoning issue hac taper of the meeting
discussion. He said he thought there might be problems if the Charrioer ;on-inated discussions
and issues at the forum.
{
Evanston Plan Commission
Minutes - December 13. 1989
Page Two
\tr. Carter. who was also present at the meeting. said he did not think it was a positive
encounter. either. He said he believes the forum is a good way in which to facilitate a
cooperative approach to downtown planning. and would not want to see it monopolized by one
issue. He also said he views the proposed planned development approach as a way to preserve
and protect the characteristics of the downtown. A+r. Nevel then suggested that the other ideas
and issues discussed in the plan need to be highlighted and to frame the "downzoning" aspect in
that context. Mr. Carter then said that the Toning Commission would he reviewing the
"downzoning" issue in th near future. A a result. by the time the forum takes place, the zoning
issue could alreadv have been dealt with and would be a moot point.
Commission member went on to discuss the cuestion of appropriate strategy for gaining the
charnber's participation in the forum without having preconditions on what issues can be
discusser'. It was agreed that the forum was exactly the place where issues needed to he
explored and consensus developed. PFgardless of outcome, it is in the exploration of issues that
greater understanding and stronger possibilities for cooperation emerge. It was felt that he
forum was the place to hammer our priorities based upon he Downtown Plan's recommendations.
develop the commitment to follow through and define roles.
The Commission also discussed the role of Inventure in the forurn and Chairman Belmonte
announced that the Presentation Committee would be meeting with Inventure in January.
In describing the structure of the forum +.'r. Darragh visualized it in tuo steps, the phvsical,
logistical planning aspects and the planning of the seminar based upon desired results. He
suggested selecting discussion facilitators who were respected community leaders with technical
knowledge and the ability to guide the discussions well. The Commission needs to set the
guidelines and be clear on their own strategy. They need to have a plan of action if the
Chamber chooses not to participate. Vr. revel stressed his point that the Commission needs to
expose all of the issues regarding the downtown plan and the zoning issue should be discussed in
that context. Vr. Currie emphasized this point by saying that we do not want to discuss
individual issues outside of the forum. In fact, we can establish the reed for the forum by not
discussing positions prior to the forum. Further, he added. we uilJ to able to use the forum to
develop positions, 1.1r. `evel asked how we will be able to know ho•.� the Chamber's stance on
other issues besides the downzoning if we do not discuss positions :)f.!O, to the forum. \tr. Currie
said we should not he concerned with their positions, but with their oarticipation in the forum.
He said we would be able to talk about positions at the forum. %here evervone will have the
or)portunity to express their opinion and place their vote. \ts. Varstorn added that we need to let
the Chamber know that we want their position to be expressed and they may win support for it
at the foram. N'r. Currie emphasized that the Commission is interested in other issues besides
downzoning and this needs to be ron�eved to the Chamber.
"r, r)arragh said the Commission should state that we .ire willint the results jrorn the
forum, whatever theN may be. He suggested a slide show preser' —,:cr at the meeting. Vr.
r)arragh stressed that we need to emphasize the planning process arc the way to avoid issues is
to just not discuss them. He said we need to explain to the Chamwe, that we want to discuss
issues at the forum with evervone present. Nor. Relmonte said he % rite the letter to the
i harriher of Commerce inviting them to the January 10, 1989 Plan C ,.--fission meeting.
Evanston Plan Commission
Minutes -• December 13, 1989
Page Three
SOUTHWEST INDUSTRIAL AREA COMMITTEE REPORT
Ntr. Foster, the Chairperson for the Southwest Industrial Area Committee told the group that
the Committee had met and had discussed the new issues surrounding the Southwest Industrial
Area. He then deferred to Vr. Carter and Vr. Timothv Clarke to provide a more detailed
presentation regarding the area. fir. Carter quickly reviewed the history of the area for the
past two years with the Commission. He then introduced Vr. Clarke who presented to the group
the newly proposed subdivision plan submitted by Mr. Phil Zera for the development of his
property, tiIr. Clarke also presented various options for enhancing the circulation within the
area. He recommended a route which would not only promote logical parceling of the area but
also could act as a trunk route upon which additional routes could be built as necessary as the
rest of the area develops. The route however, does not support %1r.:era's second submission for
his subdivision development, but supports fir, era's first submission. 1+r. Clarl.e continued by
saying that he hopes the Economic Development Commission will be able to find money for the
roadway. He said EDC intends to use a Tax increment Financing (TiF) procrar-. but may not pay
for the road unless there is a guarantee of development.
�'r. narragh asked the Commission to Outline some general planning polirws for the area. He
said Vr. Zera will not guarantee he will develop his property according to `Is first plan unless he
has an indication of the City's interest and partnership. After sore discussion the group
decided that there is a need to establish what is a fair market price for the properTv.
Vr. Carter asked the Commission what they could recommend in order to promote some positive
action towards development of the area, regardless of the current issues or monetary
constraints. He suggested that, first, a right-of-way is needed through the property. Mr.
Darragh suggested we could begin to eliminate those options which v.e do not recommend. He
also suggested the group take a planning standpoint. including the accuisition of a right-of-way
through the property. Itr. Darragh also suggested that if all else fails that the city be prepared
to purchase the entire property for landbanking.
Mr. Carter told the group that the Southwest Industrial Area is not entire! an economic
development project. He said that the area needs to be cleaned up and although the Cite might
not necessary} make much money or the development. it rfot�sn't .art to lose an,.. Laurie
Marston reiterated that access is needed through the propert% regardless of ho%.r it develops.
Vr. Carter added that, in time, somethinL- will be developed there, and tf:e RONI will provide a
framework. He again suggested further that mavbe a road shoulc not be built until the Cite
receives firm commitment that development will orcur. Vr. ize!-onto askec if this
recommended POV proposal was the most efficient for the area. �'r. Carter reminded him of
the hit'h tt�nslnn .k irt— that rur 'flroug,$) t!iv .jrea which cal,,e ce%v!oc-n nt. as
we!l. ,r-. C.trter 1,,rther adr'or' ',,it 0,o nrClt w;vri I' l 11 Ic .t "' ;r• .-i.t'': t ?\ - .t he the
hest that {]llld he cle�vjonec% ~Lit It IS not hac' consi(�t?rwv t� a Vs, acJ(4v •
that the high tension wires further negato--elv IrT)pact the r,ecrt•, for ar,. resicfenual
development. %1r. Clari<e Said that the Pust-Oleum site also is as a lac. location for
residential or food industry development. Mr. Darragh said the FCCC take �,p the issue at
its next meeting and he would like to present the Plan Coma ssl^n's recommenc—_trons for
development. Vr. Clarke proposed some recommendations for tf e t !an Commrssior• but the
Commission decided not to tale action on the new site plan ir:s' e'. "r. ^arragf-. said he
h��lieyes the Citv should take a planning role on a site by site a final to+►arcis frill
coordinated development of the area. Vr. Carter also explainer ' ' r_rt, -I'! rep eu each
project Individually brit the Plan Commission could set the frame1.cr .N!oprent.
Evanston Plan Commission
;Minutes - December 13, 1989
t Page Four
Mr. Nevel then made a motion to have the Planning Department staff develop a circulation and
land use study for the area which would describe the area and the alternatives for the site. He
also said he would want the alternative considerations reviewed against the Comprehensive
Plan. The Motion passes! unanimously. Vs. Marston asked whether it was imperative that the
Commission respond immediately. 1tr. Carter answered that it was not, but that some kind of a
framework plan is needed for the area, especially if it is to be developed piece meal.
COMNIUNITY L?EVELOPVENT BLOCK GRANT FUNDING RECOMMENDATIONS
Mr. Currie. the Chairperson for the CDBG Committee. said there were twice the amount of
applications this year as there were last year. He said unfortunately available funds were lower
this year. He said most of the final funding recommendations were consistent with those of the
Plan Commission.
He further suggested that lump sum allocations should be considered rather than the large
number of little allotments that are now dispensed. This would be especially true for public
improvements. I,tr. Currie requested that CD staff attend the nett Plan Commission meeting to
review some funding policy issues. He said he would like to work more with staff on how
decisions are made rather than just the amounts received by each organization. He further
stated that he felt that the funding decisions were made idiosyncratically and not in anv plan or
context. He suggested that the Planning Staff prepare goals and obivr:tives staternents for
CDBG investment.
GREED BAY ROAD CO1tt1ITTEE REPOPT
Mr. Carter stated that Mr. Jim Gamble of Land Design Collaborative and Fred Gullen, former
City Horticulturalist, gave a presentation at the last Committee meeting regarding the Chicago
and Northwest right-of-way. Mr Carter summarized the presentation into three main topical
points:
1) Improvement would be a phased process.
2) The condition and treatment of the existing retaining Nka!!, and
3) If green Bav Road is a State roast, is the `-t.-tte lia~'e for ;r^provement: who is
liable: Evanston. State of Illinois. Chicago and N:orthue stern, or VETP.A.
"r. Carter asked Vs. k'arston if she would prnyide a brief presentation of %r ilmette's experience
with the Green I;a`• Poad issue at the next Plan Commission meetinv. Powever, it :.as agreed
by the group that Vs, Varston should make her presentation at t-e npxt Greer Fav Road
Committee anc' \'r. VrCarThv, the Chair of that Comrl�ittee. 5r,el the --?st of the
Conewtssion 3t ,ts afmar%-reetinp.
k'r. Darragh sai(a that we need to determine a protect area, a pry.)pram, ae-«-rmine a
consultant group, establish a time table, develop a process for intertie%king the con.si_:tants and
finally make a selection. He also suggested the need to hire a consultant to interface with the
railroads and the State agencies involves!.
A\N01'�:CE"ENTS
"S. f�orvs and \'r. Carter suggested the option of a breakfast --eating to r�-)nor Plan
Conirnrsstoner Jeanne Breslin for her work on the Commission. %'s. r� sl:n's ter— expires on
1", 31/89. It was c`ecided that Thursdays or after a Plan Commission---o,etirp were rood times
for eervone.
a
Evanston Plan Commission
IN41nutes - December 13, 1989
Page Five
1
Mr. Clarke announced that the Custer Project Open House will be held at 9:00 A.i41. on
Thursday, December 14. 1989.
Ass. Borys reminded the group that associate members need to be reappointed at this meeting.
She also said she had applications for full membership for those associate members interested in
Vs. Preslin's position. Associate members were all unanimously reappointed for one year terms.
Vs. Borvs asked if the packets given to the Plan Commissioners contained too much
information. Commission members replied that they would like to continue receiving the
information which they currently do. but that they would like to have the minutes separated
from the superfluous information and they would take an individual package if the4 want one.
The meeting adi Jrned at app�q.W4e1v79:50 P.�'.
STAFF:
DATE:
7Y53/57