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The
Glenview Watch January 17, 2000 |
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A Fresh, New Source for News and Views
A belated Happy New Year. May
2000 bring a new direction for our community – a time of greater public
participation in government, a time of limits on
suburban sprawl and respect for our natural treasures.
As residents and taxpayers, we have
faithfully read the Glenview Announcements and
are distressed by its limited coverage of issues
and events. We subscribe to the Chicago Tribune
and the Sun-Times, but find little about our community in
their pages.
Enter the Internet and reporters Dean Schott and Sandy Hausman.
As residents of Glenview, we hope to give you the real scoop
through an e-zine called Glenview Watch. If you'd like to hear
from us, keep reading. If not, let us know and we'll
take you off the list.
Our address is GlenviewWatch@aol.com
HOME DEPOT TO BUILD IN GLENVIEW: CAN WE STOP SUBURBAN SPRAWL?
Despite calls for better planning and less suburban
sprawl in our once peaceful suburb, Glenview's Village
Board is about to consider a bid from Home
Depot, which wants to build a
big box shopping center with 1,259 parking spaces down the
road from Target and Kohl's. The buyer is offering $9.75
million for the so-called "Northern Triangle,"
a part of the former Glenview Naval Air Station
that once sported runway lights. In addition to a
giant hardware outlet, the new center
would feature two other big box stores and a smaller
shopping strip or "outlot."
QUESTIONS FOR THE BOARD:
–Does the Village need more retail?
–What impact will this have on existing stores in
Glenview?
–How much traffic will
this shopping center add to
an already congested thoroughfare?
–Would light industrial development generate
tax revenue without the traffic?
PROMISES, PROMISES
If the Board decides that development of
more retail is warranted, then those of us
who oppose sprawl and want more open space make this
request: Live up to your
promise! When Glenview decided to
use Tax Increment Financing to develop the Base,
officials promised that 20 percent of the money from
land sales would go into a special
reserve fund for "capital expense" – improvements
in other parts of the Village. One form of capital
expense is purchase of land. Before it's too late,
let's buy some of the last remaining green space in our
village, so there are places where we and our kids can go to
escape the asphalt we're about to lay down.
THE VILLAGE MANAGER'S LAMENT
Village Manager, Paul McCarthy is likely to oppose
the use of Base money as promised until Glenview
is sure it can repay its debts. Glenview
anticipated land sales of $73 million. We now expect
sales of $170 million. With a windfall that size, how serious
could our debt problems be, and can we trust the Village
Manager and his highly paid consultant Mesirow Stein
to make good guesses about the costs to
come? Last April, the Chicago
Tribune reported that the Village budgeted $12 million for building
demolition at the Base when the actual tab was $3.6 million.
The estimate for runway removal was $24 million. The real cost
– $4 million. Given that track record, we ought to get
a second opinion on anticipated expenses now.
And while we're at it, maybe we should demand a refund
from Mesirow Stein.
Watch the developments on Cable Channel 17 or come
to Village Hall Board Meetings at 7:30 p.m. on the first and third
Tuesday of each month.
Also on this week's
agenda:
- Glenview's long-awaited
Ethics Ordinance
- Higher impact fees from
developers for our parks and schools
– Glenview's new game show:
Who Wants to Be a Trustee
THE AIRMEN'S PRAIRIE: BYE BYE TO THE BIRDS AT THE BASE?
There is still no decision from the Environmental Review Committee
on whether Glenview's prairie is "environmentally significant."
A consultant has been hired to report on the plants and
wildlife which live on and around the 31-acre site, but
that report – which was expected in December –
has not yet been issued. Meanwhile, the company which intends
to build an industrial park around the prairie plans to
break ground this spring at the height of nesting
season. State law prohibits shooting an endangered Upland Sandpiper, but
you can't prosecute a developer for destroying its habitat.
Interested in nature and the environment? Visit the Glenview Prairie
Preservation Project at www.glenviewprairie.org
CURTAIN CALL
If you like politics and love to laugh, head for
the North Shore Center for the Performing Arts Saturday, January 22, when
the Capitol Steps stage a benefit for the Illinois Environmental
Council Education Fund. For details, call
630-964-0245.
YOUR TURN
What's on your mind? Drop us a line by e-mail at GlenviewWatch@aol.com or the old-fashioned way. We're at 3537 Maple Leaf Drive, Glenview, IL 60025. Thanks for reading. Dean Schott and Sandy Hausman, Co-Editors of The Watch.