MORE OPEN SPACE, NO NEW TAXES
   
The Village Board took a bold step last week, approving the purchase of 10 acres of open space along the west branch of the Chicago River in the North Shore Corporate Park, now home to Target, Kohl's and several warehouses.
   
The Board agreed to a purchase price of $2,375,000, but Glenview could end-up paying half that amount. The Village has applied for matching money from the Ryan administration's new open space fund.
   
The vote was nearly unanimous with Trustee Larry Carlson finally displaying his "independent streak."  He voted against the deal.

The parcel is next to 65 acres of wild land known as the Techny Basin – an area visited by herons, hawks and a rich variety of shore birds.  To get there, take Willow Road to Kohl's parking lot.  Park and walk to the river bank, then follow the asphalt path south and east.

THE MONEY TRAIL

Village Manager Paul McCarthy found various sources of funding for the new park land.  Among them – proceeds from two small detention ponds near Pfingsten Road to be sold for residential development.  Closing date for the purchase of Lot 16 – no later than this June 5.

TRUSTEE'S PERSPECTIVES

Rachel Cook: "Lot 16 represents a significant addition to the preservation of natural resources in the community.  More important, it represents a bipartisan consensus of what has been a contentious issue in the past for this board.  I extend my appreciation to all my colleagues for taking a leadership position."

Kent Fuller: "It gives us an opportunity long-term to restore the banks of the river to a more natural condition . . . It is in an area of the village that has some good open space character and will serve as a long-term amenity . . . We wanted to take this action before we saw it developed with a large building, which would take it out of open space permanently."

John Patton Jr.: "I was uncomfortable about the process as you all know.  We went through the open space referendum debates in the fall, and we could not come to a consensus as to whether or not we were going to put a referendum to the residents of this town on whether they wanted taxes increased for purchasing open space. . .I agree with Trustee Cook that this was a necessary compromise, and I was pleased with the bipartisan effort to secure what I think is going to be a wonderful piece of property."

WHAT WOULD THE NEIGHBORS SAY?

While some residents and trustees have challenged the idea of our Village buying open space – suggesting that it is a Park District function – the Northeastern Illinois Planning Commission seems to support this role for local government too. In its guidebook, Protecting Nature in Your Community, NIPC argues that safeguarding our natural environment is too big a job for forest preserves and conservation organizations alone.

PATTON PLAYS PRESIDENT

With Village President Nancy Firfer away on business, Trustee Patton slipped into her chair to preside at last week's meeting.  Before the meeting began, Patton turned to Trustee Fuller and advised him to put a stopwatch on the meeting and see how fast it goes.  The time – less than three hours.

Is Patton's presence a sign of things to come?  Patton would love to occupy the president's chair on a permanent basis.  He's toned down his bad boy personal injury lawyer's image – perhaps to make himself  more attractive to cable tv viewers and potential voters.  Can he keep the lid on for another 12 months without bursting a blood vessel?

BAK'S NEW ABODE

Glenview's Development Director, Mary Bak, has purchased a lot from the James Co. at the Glen.  Late last year,  former Trustee Joyce Schmitt resigned after the public learned she had bought property there in violation of the TIF conflict of interest rules.

What makes Bak different?  The Village Board recently amended its ethics ordinance to allow Village employees and elected officials to buy anywhere at the Glen.

In announcing Bak's buy, Village Manager McCarthy said,  "I just wanted to let everybody know so that they would not be surprised in case anybody found out."

McCarthy said Bak would not have a "direct relationship with the James Co. so we can avoid the ghost of the appearance or shadow" of a conflict of interest, adding: "It is significant that this is a development that is already purchased, zoned, subdivided, marketed and the property that she purchased was in fact an existing product, an existing lot."

With all due respect, Glenview Watch wonders if Bak played a significant role in the purchasing, zoning, subdividing and marketing of the James property before making her personal purchase.  And what about Heatherfield, Glenlake Estates, Glenridge Meadows – all existing James Co. developments requiring oversight by Bak and her Planning Department?

Was Bak's purchase price in line with others at the Glen? What amenities, add-ons and upgrades were thrown in and at what price?  Will she continue to play a central role in planning the Great Park and other amenities of interest to James?  These and other questions abound and cannot be easily disposed of by McCarthy's remarks.

HOW GOES GLENVIEW ROAD?

Spotters will soon be placed on Glenview Road.  At peak travel times in the morning and afternoon, they'll note license plate numbers to see how many cars go from Wagner Road to Greenwood and vice versa.  The goal: to figure-out how much traffic is created by people hoping to avoid a slow trip on the major arteries.

A study 10 years ago found 45 percent of the vehicles were using Glenview Road to avoid Lake and Golf.  Experts estimate it takes 20 minutes to traverse Glenview Road between Wagner and Greenwood during rush hour.

HEADING WEST ON WILLOW

It's too soon to say what impact it will have on traffic, but developers plan to break ground Tuesday for a new $100 million arena on Palatine Road in Prospect Heights.  The 12,000 seat facility will be smaller than the United Center (25,000 seats) and the Allstate Arena (19,000 seats) but could generate considerable crowds for the area.  Builders of the third largest center in the Chicago area hope to host emerging sports events like lacrosse and indoor soccer, minor league basketball or hockey and high-end concerts.

DRY CLEANERS – A STAIN ON DOWNTOWN DEVELOPMENT?

The Village has 28 dry cleaners for more than 38,000 residents.  Is that too many or not enough?  The Village Board doesn't know and apparently doesn't think it's a function of government to find-out.  The Trustees voted to deny a recommendation to restrict dry cleaning shops in the downtown (D-1) area.  Trustee Donna Pappo, who was not on hand for the vote, had asked for an environmental assessment of the dry cleaners' impact on Glenview.  We're still waiting for that information from Village Hall.

SIDEWALKS VS. TREES

The trustees find themselves in a sticky wicket over the construction of a sidewalk and the felling of trees at the Glenridge Meadows development.

Should the developer (the James Co.) build a sidewalk along the west side of Landwehr south of Willow?  Doing so would mean cutting down 33-47 mature trees.
   
Glenridge Meadows' residents, mostly empty nesters, see no need for a sidewalk since there are so few children in their area.  They'd rather keep the trees.

But pedestrians and cyclists from nearby neighborhoods might use a sidewalk.  Wouldn't they all be safer?  What are your thoughts?  Click on Reply and let us know.

GARDEN GETS GREEN

The Chicago Botanical Garden in Glencoe received $3.1 million in state funding last week for  assorted improvements, including the development of Evening Island, which will be connected to the main island by a bridge.  Evening Island, the largest of the garden's nine islands, will have horticulture exhibits and a teaching garden.  The money also will be used to reduce erosion and pollution along the 27,000 feet of lagoon shoreline.    

PARK DISTRICT UPDATE

The Park District predicts an early summer start for construction of soccer fields, a skate park, playgrounds, pathways for walking, jogging and roller blading and nature trails through 8 acres of wetlands along Milwaukee Avenue.  The new West Park is expected to open in autumn 2001.

SAVE THESE DATES

On April 16th, tour Harms Woods with local naturalists.  Take Harms south to the first driveway past Glenview Road.  Meet in the parking lot at 1 pm.

If you're downtown on Tuesday, April 18, swing by Daley Center between 10 a.m. and 3 p.m. for Prairie on the Plaza – a celebration of native Illinois plants.  There will be special displays for those interested in natural landscaping and creating butterfly gardens.

At 6:30 p.m. Thursday, April 20, author and biologist Peter Friederici will discuss his new book, "The Suburban Wild," and talk about the fragile environments along Chicago's North Shore.  For prices and reservations, contact the Field Museum at 312-665-7400.
   
FREE BROCHURE

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency now offers a free brochure for gardeners – "Grow Wild with Native Plants."  To get a copy, e-mail tsiapas.helen@epa.gov.


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.

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